The multi-cultural community alliance, C/O encouraging leaders will use funding to strengthen collaboration among youth, parents, schools, public safety, public health and ethnic community-based…

The Multi-Cultural Community Alliance, through Encouraging Leaders, was awarded a $702,864 Project Grant from the Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention under the Opioid Affected Youth Initiative (CFDA 16.842) program. The funding will support strategies to strengthen collaboration among youth, parents, schools, public safety, public health and ethnic community-based organizations in Minneapolis to provide community-based education and support services for youth of color ages 5-17. Services will integrate youth development, trauma-informed, culturally responsive positive youth development principles to identify at-risk individuals and engage opioid users in treatment. The Alliance will utilize cultural integration frameworks and bicultural healthy living practices to provide cognitive behavioral training, mental health treatment, and substance use prevention tailored for crime victims impacted by the opioid crisis. The award period is from October 1, 2021 through September 30, 2024.

The multi-cultural community alliance, C/O encouraging leaders will use funding to strengthen collaboration among youth, parents, schools, public safety, public health and ethnic community-based organizations to support youth of color (ages 5-17) in minneapolis by providing community-based education and support services. Strategies include the integration of youth development services with trauma-informed, asset-based, culturally responsive "positive youth development principles" that will identify individuals who may possess risk factors for drug use, and engage opioid users to attend treatment and build capacities for support, utilize "cultural integration framework" and bicultural healthy living practices for equity and inclusion, provide cognitive behavioral training, mental health treatment and substance use prevention that is trauma-informed and culturally responsive to children and youth who are crime victims of the opioid crisis. Additionally, the applicant received priority consideration by including policies, practices, and /or procedures in response to DOJ priorities, as well as a discussion of how the project will benefit those in high-poverty areas.