The Key to Success of CHC’s Ravenswood Initiative for More Kids

CHC’S bilingual and bicultural staff work closely with program partners to support the mental health and wellbeing of families in their preferred language and in their own community.

Launched in 2014, the Ravenswood Initiative for More Kids provides professional, culturally relevant educational and mental health services at no cost to children, teens, and families in East Palo Alto and parts of Menlo Park and Redwood City.

Now in it’s 4th year, the key to the success of the Ravenswood Initiative continues to be trusted partnerships and a highly skilled clinical team who represent the cultural diversity of the community. CHC’s bilingual and bicultural staff work closely with program partners like Ravenswood City School District, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula, Eastside College Preparatory School, KIPP Schools, All Five, Able Works, and Girls to Women to support the mental health and wellbeing of families in their preferred language and in their own community.

Ravenswood is designated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as a “Health Professional Shortage Area,” meaning there are not enough medical and mental health professionals to meet the community’s needs. Funding from generous donors makes it possible for CHC to help fill this service gap. Not only does CHC support families dealing with trauma, grief/loss, anxiety, disruptive and high-risk behaviors, the team also offers ongoing support to the staff and teachers at our partner agencies. One partner in East Palo Alto recently shared how CHC works with their staff and the students they serve:

“We partner directly with the CHC team to provide access to mental health and emotional support services for our afterschool program serving over 150 elementary students. Our staff feels comfortable using CHC as a resource when problem-solving for student needs. CHC’s consistent weekly on-campus presence allows us to address chronic social-emotional issues with students on a one-on-one basis, allowing us to be much more impactful in our advocacy for these students…

CHC’s clinicians visit classrooms to observe instruction, provide feedback, and model strategies for managing student behaviors. CHC also leads workshops to help deepen our instructors’ understanding of socialemotional learning (SEL). One of the key things echoed by CHC staff is that to support the emotional wellbeing of our students, we, as educators, must first take care of our own emotional wellbeing. This is a lesson that they have not only taught us through words, but through action, and it has been a tremendously positive influence across our program. It is this positivity that encourages us to continue to strengthen and expand this partnership in the future.”

Learn more about the Ravenswood Initiative.