Resiliency in Communities After Stress and Trauma (ReCAST)

The City of Oakland Human Services Department (HSD) is currently in the fifth and final year of implementing the Resiliency in Communities After Stress and Trauma (ReCAST) initiative, funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The purpose of this program is to assist highly stressed youth and families to receive community-driven trauma and resilience support to improve their behavioral and mental health, thus creating more resilient communities and reducing incidents of violence and trauma. 

As part of this final year, the Oakland ReCAST program partnered with Youth Leadership Institute (YLI) and members of the Oakland ReCAST Community Advisory Board (CAB) to expand our mini grant process. Over the course of 5 weeks, ReCAST worked with 12 community members, ranging from Youth to Senior Adults, to design a community-led funding process. CAB members worked collaboratively to develop the criteria and approach for distributing up to $200,000 in funding to Oakland-based projects.

ReCAST Overall Goals include: 

• Building a foundation to promote well-being, resiliency, and community healing through community-based participatory approaches
• Strengthening the integration of behavioral and mental health services and other community systems to address the social determinants of health
• Creating more equitable access to trauma-informed community behavioral health resources
• Ensuring that program services are culturally specific and developmentally appropriate
• Increasing opportunities for community-driven resilience and healing among and between community members most affected by violence and trauma.

Grant Application timeline

Funding Categories

Funding opportunities are divided into 3 categories, REST, REPAIR, and REBUILD. Each category is intended to support community-driven initiatives that help reduce trauma, strengthen mental health and wellness, and build community-centered approaches to care and healing across Oakland.

REST

Rest is an important part of the work we do in Oakland. Rest is needed to take a pause and engage in reflection. We aim to fund organizations or projects that do not have enough resources to provide wellness activities or supplies to promote wellness or self-care/community care activities for staff and/or participants. This funding aims to provide opportunities to recharge to continue to move forward with community work.

Project examples include, but are not exclusive to:

• Somatic therapy, opportunities to practice breathing
• Acupuncture
• Wellness space/room for staff and community 
• Wellness space/room at work/school
• Hosting wellness workshops
• Meditation, regroup, self-care activities for victims of violence
• Nature and wellness activities
• Mindfulness/Mental Health retreats/practice
• Eco therapy, mindful reflections
• Training for mental health providers 

REPAIR

Repair is about providing opportunities to reduce trauma in Oakland. We aim to fund organizations or projects that contribute to restoring trust, community relationships, and/or increase the capacity of organizations to lead trauma-informed services or learning and training. This funding aims to provide coaching, facilitation opportunities, and training capacity building for organizations.

Project examples include, but are not limited to:

• Mentorship with a mental health component
• Community-centered, restorative justice practices
• Repairing broken services for repairing trust / orienting to the community 
• Team building/community events with a mental wellness component
• Group therapy, support groups - Supporting families and victims of violent crime  
• Training for mental health providers 
• Violence prevention programs 
• Access to sport/arts/ music classes/curriculum with a mental wellness component
• Somatic care activities/ programming that uplift mental wellness 
• Mental health programming for community members impacted by the incarceration system 
• Mental health support and healing 
• Trauma-Informed Learning and Training
• Professional development for staff to increase trauma-informed facilitation

REBUILD

Rebuilding trauma-informed services is vital to Oakland. We aim to fund organizations or projects that need initial or additional resources to grow, expand, scale or strengthen trauma-informed community activities or programs. This funding aims to provide resources to address gaps in services and significantly rebuild systems, protocols, and workflows to enhance trauma-informed programming.

Project examples include, but are not limited to:

• Gap in Mental health and trauma-informed services and programming, with a need to rebuild the system/protocols/workflow surrounding
• Improving upon or expanding a beneficial aspect of mental health support, trauma-informed services, and healing. This could include expanding a program into a new territory or site 
• Soft skills related to trauma-informed training, mental health learning, and support
• Peer Mentor programs with a curriculum centered on trauma reduction, mental health, and mental wellness 
• Access to counselors trained in trauma reduction, restorative justice, mental health, and mental wellness 
• Hands-on rebuilding the community safety, connection, belonging and joy using a trauma-informed and mental health lens. 

Funding Amounts

This year, ReCAST CAB members are funding the following amounts for the three categories:

Funding Criteria

• All applicants must be from an Oakland-based organization or group, and projects must be implemented in the City of Oakland. Priority will be given to projects in West, East, and Downtown Oakland. 
• Only one application per organization/group per funding category can be submitted. 
• Organizations must have 501(c)3 status. Projects without an organization must have a fiscal sponsor at the time of application submission. A fiscal sponsor can be an organization outside of Oakland, but the project must be implemented in Oakland. Fiscal sponsors can sponsor more than one project.  
• Applications must address one of the funding categories of REST, REPAIR, or REBUILD.
  • Youth-led projects can ONLY apply to the REST category. Youth-led projects MUST include at least one adult mentor who can serve as the Lead Contact. 
  • REBUILD category grants must serve more than five participants and will need to submit THREE reference letters from current/past participants, community partners, or current/past funders demonstrating the impact or potential impact of the project proposed. 
• Applicants must submit a detailed timeline outline using the timeline template provided. Applications that submit an incomplete timeline will not be considered.
  • Timeline and Evaluation Template
• Applicants must submit an event 5K, 10K, or 25K budget using the budget template provided. Applications that submit under or over budgets will not be considered.
  • Honorariums in the form of gift cards up to $20 per participant are allowed. Supporting documentation and tracking will be required.
    • Supporting documentation includes receipts of giftcard purchase on behalf of the organization and signatures from participants receiving giftcard.
  • Budget Template
• Joint applications with more than one organization/group applying are encouraged.
• A supplemental video may be requested post-application submission to support in finalizing decisions.

Apply Here

Questions?
Reach out to the ReCAST team at recast@oaklandca.gov.