To promote resilience and equity, improve behavioral health, and reduce trauma through a sustained community change process.
The Philadelphia ReCAST Initiative, led by the City of Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services in collaboration with Temple University and other stakeholders, aims to promote resilience and equity in communities recently affected by civil unrest. Focused on youth, young adults, and their families, the initiative seeks to develop evidence-based violence prevention and community youth-engagement programs, along with providing access to trauma-informed behavioral health services. Funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the ReCAST goals include preventing or reducing community violence, addressing stress and trauma, and strengthening community capacity for engagement. The ReCAST Mini-Grant funding supports activities that promote the mental health and well-being of youth and their families, with strategies like creating safe spaces, engaging families for wellness, promoting healthy communication, providing gun violence prevention activities, offering educational and skill-building opportunities, teaching about trauma and mental health, beautifying neighborhoods, and building community capacity to address these objectives. Funding is available in two tiers based on the scope of the project and collaboration levels.