| Name | D'Angelo |
|---|---|
| Last Name | davis |
| Home Address | 2725 Cannon Ave Chattanooga, TN 37404 United States |
| Organization Name | I Am Foundation |
| Describe Your Role In The Organization | The I AM Foundation's mission is to dispel misbeliefs and misconceptions about the LGBTQ Community and the disparities within the LGBTQ community, especially regarding the African American Gay Community. The I Am Foundation believes the population of youth experiencing homelessness in the LGBTQ community goes unseen. With this firm belief, we actively advocate for these youths' needs and ensure our partners in our extended civic community those whom we serve will have the knowledge they need to help create natural, lasting change. The I Am Foundation advocacy and policy work will shape services for LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness for decades to come. Taking the lead on the rights of LGBTQ rights and ensuring our LGBTQ youth live and grow in safe, nurturing places. Since April of 2014, I Am Foundation has been a consistent voice at both the city and state levels of advocacy and policy work. |
| Organization Address | 2725 Cannon Ave Chattanooga, TN 37404 United States |
| Website | https://www.iamfoundationchattanooga.gov |
| Best Phone Number To Reach You | 423-320-5743 |
| Alternate Phone Number | |
| Email Address | contacts@iamfoundationchattanooga.org |
| Alternate Email Address | iamfoundationchattanooga@outlook.com |
| Please Describe Your Project In Detail | Drop-In Resource Center: The future Raynor & Deborah Davis Drop-In Resource Center will be a safe, welcoming space youth can come to whenever they feel the need. A complete continuum of services will be available under one roof, including housing placement, life skills programming, employment support and financial literacy, primary health care, mental health/substance use assessment and treatment, and childcare. The I Am Foundation uses the Harm Reduction Model, a public health strategy initially developed for adults with substance abuse problems. This model approach has effectively reduced morbidity and mortality in these adult populations. The Harm Reduction Model has been successful in sexual health education to reduce teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV. These programs that have used the harm reduction philosophy have seen a lowered use of alcohol. With our target population being LGBTQ+ community and context in which the harm reduction strategies are delivered to influence the specific interventions used. Many health care practitioners (HCPs) who provide care to adolescents are aware of these types of harm reduction strategies to reduce the potential risks associated with normative adolescent health behaviors. For the harm reduction model to effectively work, one must incorporate motivational interviewing strategies and acknowledge that the adolescent's individual goals are being developed for addressing resistance and inconsistency or resistance to change. The harm reduction model emphasizes self-responsibility in changing or modifying one's behavior. Using these strategies with slightly older participants 17 to 20 years of age has led to reductions in alcohol-related problems. Those who have incorporated the harm reduction model strategies of motivational interviewing style sessions had significantly lower harmful behaviors after six months of sessions and follow-ups. The harm reduction model is a developmentally balanced approach to the primary and secondary prevention of risky behavior in the adolescent LGBTQ+ population. HCPs have been well-positioned to deliver harm reduction messages to their adolescent LGBTQ+ patients. Surveys of adolescents have been supported the fact that many adolescents identify HCPs as credible sources of health information. The I Am Foundation has applied this model acknowledging the adolescent's role in decision-making about his/her/their health behavior is an essential component to their growth as an individual. We avoid judgment about the client's potential risky behavior, which enhances our ability to deliver a vital message about risk reduction. |
| Please explain how your project meets the requirements of the American Rescue Plan | The I Am Foundation offers a comprehensive continuum of services to youth aged 14 to 21 who are unstably housed or experiencing homelessness. Beyond meeting youth's immediate needs, our services provide youth with all the tools and support they need to succeed: stable housing; access to employment and education opportunities; primary and mental health care; lasting connections with caring adults, and skills to live a healthy and independent life. We will work with each young person individually to help them overcome trauma and hopelessness while working toward becoming a self-sufficient adult. Our all-inclusive model includes transitional and independent living options and community-based programming to connect with a support youth crisis- all trauma-informed, evidence-based, and culturally sensitive. We make a solid obligation to putting young people on a path to reaching their full potential. |
| Where would your project take place? | The areas that we would service: East Lake, Clifton Hills, Alton Park: Chattanooga Fire Station 9: 3250 8th Avenue, Chattanooga, TN 37407 |
| How much will your project cost in total? | 150000 |
| Do you have any matching funding sources from other local governments, private entities, non-profits, or philanthropic entities for your project? | No |
| Please describe the source and list amounts of any other funding. | |
| What portion of the project are you asking the city to fund? | |
| If funded, when would your project start? | February 7, 2022 |
| How long would your project take to complete? | on-going project with no end date |
| What milestones would you use to measure your project’s progress? | Each individual that the I Am Foundation will service at the Raynor- Deborah Davis Resource Center will have interal- external goals that will be measured per each Client's need. Each Client will have an initial intake process, monthly client base interviewing, and weekly programming that best suits the needs of each Client. The I Am Foundation will measure each internal goal internally to close social, economic, and emotional gaps that each Client may experience. |
| How would you ensure accountability and transparency throughout the project lifecycle? | We see our work as a public good and are committed to making information open and accessible. This is consistent with our mission and part of our mandate. We believe that an organization like ours has the duty to provide citizens with the information that allows them to understand the day-to-day operations of the I Am Foundation. For us, openness also means that citizens should be able to use that information to shape policy and track dollars received by this organization. We have put this commitment into practice, we work with multiple civil society actors and public stakeholders. We will use a new interactive and innovative instrument such as Your Better Life Index (www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org) to engage with citizens on issues of central concern to their lives, and empower them to feedback on their opinions to the I Am Foundation. |
| If successful, how would your project benefit the community? | The future Raynor & Deborah Davis, Drop-In Resource Center, will be a safe, welcoming space youth can come to whenever they feel the need. A complete continuum of services will be available under one roof, including housing placement, life skills programming, employment support and financial literacy, primary health care, mental health/substance use assessment and treatment, and childcare. We will work with each young person individually to help them overcome trauma and hopelessness while working toward becoming a self-sufficient adult. Our all-inclusive model includes transitional and independent living options and community-based programming to connect with a support youth crisis- all trauma-informed, evidence-based, and culturally sensitive. We will make a solid obligation to putting young people on a path to reaching their full potential. |
| How will you attract community buy-in for your project? | Since the start of the I Am Foundation, we have had consistent community support from both neighborhood associations and elected officials. The communities we will service believe that each person matters no matter the race, sexual orientation, or economic status. Because of this progressive ideology, the I am Foundation has already received community buy-in for the project(s) of the I Am Foundation past and present. |
| Name | D'Angelo Davis |
| Contact Information | 423-320-5743 contacts@iamfoundationchattanoooga.gov |
| Is there anything else you would like us to know about your project? | The I Am Foundation is in great need of this budget request to fulfill the duty and oath that we took to make lasting change in the lives that we touch each day. Our list of accomplishments is listed as follows: - Since our founding in 2014, we have moved six at-risk young Black and Latino LGBTQ adults from poverty to stability - Since our founding in 2014, we have assisted five at-risk Black and Latino LGBTQ youth in the areas of trauma-based informed sessions and social & emotional learning in coping with life stressors to keep them from a pathway of harmful life actives. - In 2015, The I Am Foundation would apply the Harm Reduction Model to service its clients, which would assist a total of eleven at-risk Black & Latino youth and young adults in the LGBTQ community in the Greater Chattanooga community. With more resources and partners, we believe we will reach more than we have in the past years. Based on our ideology, we must take care of those who cannot care for themselves due to being out of their control. The I Am Foundation has been the guidance for those who are consistently overlooked in our society. |