Community project funding/congressionally directed spending - construction - this project will support renovations and modifications to our family counseling center program so critical supports of…

Community project funding/congressionally directed spending - construction - this project will support renovations and modifications to our family counseling center program so critical supports of one- to-one client contact and the additional wrap-around supports of training, group therapy, preventative interventions and education for children, youth, families, and professionals can be offered in a trauma-informed setting. IT is our intent to specifically respond to the growing mental health needs in our community. Our overall plan, including this project, will include creating a fully trauma-informed campus that addresses the need for trauma-informed spaces within our buildings and in our outside spaces for training, treatment, group therapy and state-of-the-art healing. Incidents of trauma and adverse experiences impacting maine children, youth, and families have been trending upward over the past decade and have risen significantly during the pandemic. Even though there is a conceptual "end" to the pandemic - there is no such delineation to "end" the emotional and mental health impact on children, youth, and families. The two-plus years of chronic stress, impacted learning, and isolation will have long-term effects on children's development. And there is no place where this is playing out more dramatically than in our schools, which were already dramatically under resourced to support children's mental health, before the pandemic. There is a well-documented mental health crisis in the united states that has been exacerbated by the covid-19 pandemic. Statistics currently being collected regarding depression, anxiety, suicide rates, and other significant mental health issues overwhelmingly point to a need for a safe place for treatment and support. This project is designed to create these safe spaces for children and their families coming to our program while the program staff also works collaboratively with other maine children's home programs including the connected families project to support those caring for child REN outside maine children's home such as educators and child care providers.