Action4Equity is a Black-led, intentionally multi-racial  coalition of educators, parents, students, faith leaders, and community members building a movement to advance racial equity. The mission of Action4Equity is to collaborate and influence policy decisions that foster equity in education. Action4Equity will create a culturally competent network between the community and institutions that will ensure that the convening efforts for building a trauma resilient ecosystem in Winston-Salem are filtered through an equity and social justice lens that benefits marginalized children and families. Action4Equity will serve as a backbone agency of the Model, serve as an advisor to the project and supervise and deliver the Embedding Mentoring Program with youth and families in the East Winston community.
action4equityws.org 

Crossnore is a recognized national leader in supporting children who have experienced abuse or other trauma, reclaim, rebuild, and imagine the essential belief in a safe, dependable home. Additional Crossnore services include outpatient and school-based therapy, independence and self-sufficiency preparation for foster teens and young adults,  charter schools for children, and trauma-informed training and consultation for community-based groups through Crossnore’s national Center for Trauma Resilient Communities.
www.crossnore.org

Forsyth Futures was created in 1975 as part of the early work of the Juvenile Justice Council and renamed Forsyth Futures in 2006. Its mission is to catalyze Forsyth County’s collective problem-solving capacities for positive change and they achieve this by studying our community to understand the causes of systemic challenges, communicate these insights in accessible, engaging ways, and disseminate them to stakeholders at all levels to inform positive change. Forsyth Futures will serve as the program evaluation team for this initiative.
forsythfutures.org

Crossnore’s Center for Trauma Resilient Communities (CTRC) creates healing ecosystems grounded in science, learned in collaboration, and measured by outcomes. CTRC supports individuals, organizations, and communities as they recognize the long-term wounds of adversity and trauma.
traumaresilient.org

The People’s Research Council (PRC) oversees the Community Needs and Resource Assessment (CNRA). The PRC is an emerging local research infrastructure for Forsyth County, North Carolina. The PRC’s three primary goals are to: prevent harm through research; expand who influences research, prioritizing those who have been traditionally marginalized; and, align research with action to maximize community benefit and improve the material conditions of people.
peoplesresearchcouncil.org

Community agencies serving as Backbone Agencies (BBAs) are critical in creating, strengthening, and sustaining a trauma-resilient Winston-Salem. In this role, BBAs are true partners, drive the implementation process within the organization directly, and serve as strategic leaders in the community. 

A BBA is one of several organizations in Winston-Salem that: 

• Understands the harmful impact of organizational trauma on staff, individuals and families served, and the larger system of care for children and families; 
• Wants to cultivate a healing, healthy, and equitable work environment for all within the organization;   
• Has the willingness, time, capacity, and commitment to become a trauma-responsive and trauma-resilient organization; 
• Has the backing and support ACROSS the agency (from leadership to front-line staff) to engage in the training, consultation, evaluation, and supports from the CTRC;  
• Is willing to serve as a leader in Winston-Salem and the larger community to bring hope and healing to individuals, communities, and system of care partners.

Backbone Agency Benefits

Backbone Agencies will receive agency-wide workforce development, mentorship, and implementation support for the duration of the project period from Crossnore’s Center for Trauma Resilient Communities.. In addition, BBAs will be a part of a community of practice focusing on social learning and collective impact. By the end of the entire engagement period, BBAs will: 

• Understand the key areas of trauma, trauma impact, and trauma resilience; 
• Have supported their staff in developing and using core organizational “resilience building blocks”;
• Have built a trauma-responsive and trauma-resilient culture, aiming to decrease burnout and turnover, increase compassion and accountability, and improve overall organizational health and effectiveness; 
• Have built organizational capacity by developing internal TRC champions; 
• Implemented an approach that moves the organization beyond basic trauma theory to cultivating a trauma-resilient organizational culture.

Backbone Agency Commitments 

• Agency leadership adopts the TRC framework  as a priority for organizational development and dedicates the time and resources to support becoming a trauma-resilient organization. 
• Create an internal BBA Core Team of champions who train, embed, embody, and lead the agency in sustainable culture change, representing the perspectives and needs of all staff and clients. 
• Active commitment from BBA leadership to resources such as staff time to participate in training, consultation sessions, and implementation support, including active engagement in meetings. 
• Participate in evaluation activities designed to help BBAs measure their progress by completing organizational assessment tools, workshop and training surveys, interviews, and implementation tools.