Bridgeport, CT – Today, Congressman Jim Himes announced LifeBridge Community Services, a Bridgeport non-profit that has provided invaluable services to its community for 174 years, will receive nearly $1 million from the Department of Justice’s STOP School Violence Grant Program.
“LifeBridge understands that reducing violence in schools begins with mental and emotional support for struggling students. They will ensure that Bridgeport’s public schools are equipped to offer those resources, and that educators are trained in de-escalation and counseling. For nearly 180 years, LifeBridge has looked out for our community’s most vulnerable, and I am thrilled that this federal funding will strengthen their mission and ensure that Bridgeport’s children are set up to succeed,” said Congressman Himes.
Edith Boyle, LCSW, President and Chief Executive Officer at LifeBridge explained, “Children who witness violence, or fear impending threats or uncertainty about their safety, are more likely to have difficulty in school, abuse substances, show aggression, have difficulty forming attachments and building relationships, experience mental health concerns, and are at risk of committing crimes once they reach adulthood. This funding allows us to employ the?trauma-informed multi-tiered system of support?(TI-MTSS) framework to help mitigate these risk factors by implementing age-appropriate, evidence-based social-emotional learning (SEL) programming for students, providing Community Resiliency Model (CRM) training for educators and administrators and expanding access to mental health services. We are grateful that Congressman Himes, Senators Blumenthal and Murphy, and the US Department of Justice have supported these critical interventions.” ?
LifeBridge Community Services partners with individuals, youth, and families to improve well-being, strengthen resilience, and create a brighter future for all of Bridgeport. In conjunction with Bridgeport Public Schools, the non-profit will use its three-year STOP School Violence Grant to run trauma-informed practices and conflict de-escalation trainings for teachers, implement social-emotional learning curricula at three of the city’s largest high schools, and offer dedicated mental health counseling services for students.