Project Thrive conference addresses traumas behind youth violence

Santa Cruz Sentinel - 10/5/2017

Oct. 05--SANTA CRUZ -- The lasting effects of youth violence generate, and often result from, traumas that can be treated and, over time, overcome, Samuel Nuñez of Stockton told a group of about 250 people in Santa Cruz on Wednesday.

Nuñez described his struggles as a young man entrenched by survivalist philosophies of Latino gang culture that rejected love as a weakness.

The idea is to raise awareness about the lasting impacts of trauma and the gradual, deliberate path to trauma recovery. The method: To develop a trauma-informed system that addresses the childhood troubles of young men who turn to crime, Nuñez said during the day-long conference hosted by United Way of Santa Cruz County and the Santa Cruz County Criminal Justice Council's Project Thrive at Cocoanut Grove.

The effort in Santa Cruz County, spearheaded by Project Thrive, seeks to increase the quality of life for Latino and African-American men and boys ages 16 to 24 in Watsonville, Santa Cruz and Live Oak by promoting access to services, according to the group's website, sccyvpt.org. Project Thrive is a collective of Santa Cruz County Probation Department, Community Action Board of Santa Cruz County, Santa Cruz County Mental Health and the United Way.

HARDENED LIFE

Nuñez, who grew up in migrant camps and, later, in troubled neighborhoods of Stockton dominated by established gangs, lacked a full-time, supportive male role model, he said. While serving time for attempted murder -- after being shot with a shot gun and retaliating -- he was inspired to change his life with the news he soon would be a father.

"I was hard to love. ... I had anger. I had rage," Nuñez said.

The healing process had started years before, when Nuñez's girlfriend recommended that Nuñez ask his probation officer if she could visit him at juvenile hall while serving time there.

"I said maybe I could change my approach," Nuñez said. "I had hope for the first time."

Now, Nuñez spends his time working with teens and young men who grew up on the streets of Stockton, but unlike the treatment he received as a ward in juvenile hall, Nuñez starts conversations with a welcoming hug.

Sarah Emmert, of United Way of Santa Cruz County, said trauma-informed care requires a systematic understanding of trauma's impact on the young mind.

"Communities of color have been dealing with issues of trauma for generations," Emmert said. "We know, based on science and research, how the impacts manifest in youth and families, and how they affect future behavior."

Emmert said the United Way helps to convene community leaders to address complex issues.

"This is our convening," Emmert said. "This is getting law enforcement, the courts, education (officials), government (officials), health care workers in the same room, developing a common language and a common understanding for the issue of trauma."

FUNDING APPROVED

The U.S. Justice Department issued a $1 million grant, for which the Probation Department is the administrator, September 2016 to 2018 for Project Thrive.

The Justice Department announced $660,000 for the project to use through 2020, Emmert said.

"We see Project Thrive as planting the seed," Emmert said. "It's not about asking 'What's wrong with you?' It's about asking 'What happened to you?'"

Casey Conway of Applied Survey Research is part of the team conducting "gap analysis," an assessment to determine the disconnect preventing youth from seeking available services.

Conway said the results of the survey revealed many young male minorities either did not know about services or they did not know how to access the resources. She said others feared for their safety if they seek help.

A survey of local agencies, including law enforcement, showed roughly half do not screen for trauma. Work also could be done to bring schools "up to speed" in dealing with trauma, Conway said.

Jasmine Najera, behavioral health program manager of Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency, said funding now available will enable the addition of a half-time mental-health liaison to work with law enforcement officers. She said this will provide coverage seven days a week.

"Trauma has no boundaries," Najera said. "It does not discriminate."

MariaElena De La Garza, executive director of Community Action Board of Santa Cruz County, said agencies that work with at-risk young men and teens must work together to address youth violence.

De La Garza also said women's voices must be incorporated into the community discussion and policy implementation.

She said the system must understand the backgrounds of youth involved in violence. Change, she added, would be the result of "pushing through our discomfort" in the process.

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