CHRISTIANSTED — Project Promise, a non-profit organization on St. Croix, will launch a month-long initiative, starting April 3, 2018, to help residents deal with the psychological after-effects of Hurricane Maria.
Project Promise, in collaboration with The Coaching and Leadership Professional Training Institute, will provide much-needed mental health services to residents, to assist them as the island continues on the road to recovery. 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 psychological impact of the storm,” said Resa O’Reilly, Project Promise president. “It was with this thought in mind that we developed this program.”
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.”
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.
The initiative will be spread over four weeks and will move from community to community.
For more information about the Trauma Intervention and Relief Project, or other Project Promise programs, contact Resa O’Reilly at (340) 513-0446. To learn more about Project Promise visit www.projectpromisevi.com and to support the organization’s Hurricane Maria Relief efforts, click Help Hurricane Impacted Children In St. Croix.