The 3 R’s Project: Building Relationships, Resiliency, and Recovery in Children
Los Angeles, California

About our project:

Norwood Street Elementary School (Los Angeles Unified School District) is located just south of downtown Los Angeles, adjacent to the University of Southern California. The surrounding community is comprised of a diverse Latino population, primarily of Mexican and Central American immigrants and the preponderance of the students at Norwood is Latino (96%). Also, many are English Language Learners (79%) and a significant number are uninsured (40%).

3 R’s Project - a partnership between Norwood Street Elementary School, Norwood Healthy Start and Parent Center, a community mental health agency (Los Angeles Child Guidance Clinic), a community-based agency focused on the health and welfare of the local residents (Esperanza Community Housing Corporation) and a foster care prevention program (Casey Family Programs)- is providing increased access to culturally competent, trauma-informed, school-based mental health services for immigrant students and their families at Norwood Street Elementary School. Fore more information, view our poster.

Demographic data:

California: http://migrationinformation.org/datahub/state.cfm?ID=CA
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06/06037.html

Our work:

The 3 R’s Project provides campus-based services with bi-lingual, bi-cultural staff from the Los Angeles Child Guidance Clinic to foster easy access. These services include: A walk-in Clinic for information and application for mental health services or referrals; parent education and teacher training on the impact of trauma in the classroom and in the home/family; and direct mental health services. The direct services include individual, family and group therapy, utilizing a trauma-informed model of intervention. One unique intervention has been a cinema-therapy group for clients’ parents who migrated to the USA. This group seeks to help parents explore their own issues related to their migration, so that they can improve the relationships in the home, especially with their children. Additionally, the staff provides training for Esperanza’s community health promoters (promotores) who are residents of the area, on the importance of mental health and helping families obtain services.

Our Partners:

• Norwood Street Elementary School
• Norwood Street Healthy Start
• Norwood Parent Center (part of the school)
• Esperanza Community Housing
• Casey Family Program

What we are learning:

We are learning that our effectiveness depends on the active collaboration among the partners, especially the campus-based service providers-between LACGC staff and the Healthy Start and Parent Center staff and volunteers. We have developed a group of parent supporters who have informed and advised the project on various matters. Now this group is aiming towards being advocates for 3 R’s and other services at Norwood to improve the education and welfare of their children and community. Their input and involvement has been invaluable. (We have translated most materials into Spanish and have conducted most meetings in Spanish, or have had an interpreter. This has taken much time and effort.) We are witnessing the impact of larger social forces, e.g., USC’s expansion, debate on immigration and economy, on families’ well-being. Lastly and most importantly, our early findings from our evaluations show that 3 R’s Project has had a positive impact on students’ effort grades.

Success Stories:

• Little Lucy: Alone in a Crowd
• A Grab for Attention, A Cry for Help: Maria's Story

For more information about this project, contact Eric Inouye at einouye@lacgc.org