Project Promise Announces Launch Of Trauma Intervention Program, A Community-Geared Initiative

Project Promise, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of at-risk youth, announced this week the launch of a month-long initiative starting April 3 to help the community deal with the psychological effects after Hurricane Maria.

The organization, in collaboration with The Coaching and Leadership Professional Training Institute, will provide the much-needed mental health services to the community to assist residents on the road to recovery, according to the release. In addition, the two organizations will recruit and train individuals to become Certified Life Coaches (CLC) as the first step in trauma interventions.

“Six months after Hurricane Maria many in our community are still reeling from the emotional and psychology impact of the storm, it was with this thought in mind that we developed this program”, said Resa O’Reilly, Project Promise president.

The St. Croix Trauma Intervention and Relief Project will focus on several communities on the island, and the group will be taking the services into those communities. Board-certified coach and psychologist Dr. Derrick Johnson said he’s excited about the partnership.

“It is with great humility, gratitude and appreciation that we have partnered with Project Promise to bring training and consulting in the areas of Trauma Informed Care and Life Coaching to the residents of St. Croix,” remarked Dr. Johnson. “Our team has visited the island several times over the past three years as we supported the mission of Project Promise, and we will bring the same enthusiasm and professionalism to our partnership as we work to help the citizens of St. Croix recover from the psychological and emotional trauma of Hurricane Maria,” concluded Dr. Johnson.

The goal of the program is multi-pronged, including identifying members of the community that may need trauma-related intervention, expanding access to trauma-informed care, and then training local individuals to become certified life coaches to continue to care for the community after the initial project has ended, according to the release.

The initiative will be spread over four weeks, and will move from community to community. “In addition to helping our community recover, the newly Certified Life Coaches will also get the added benefit of a marketable skill, that will continue to help the community for years to come”, Ms. O’Reilly said.