Local organizations receive $4M grant to collaborate on new initiative for East Winston

Three local organizations Action4Equity, Crossnore’s Center for Trauma Resilient Communities, and Forsyth Futures have formed an initiative to uplift families and individuals in the East Winston Community through a $4 million federal grant program.  Here’s what we know: In May 2023, it was announced that Crossnore Communities for Children was a recipient of a 4-year, $4 million grant ($1 million per year) from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to support the We Heal Together initiative (WHT). The initiative seeks to employ a community-driven resilience framework to reduce the impact of trauma and uplift the East Winston community. WHT’s goals include increasing community-based research participation, enhancing youth engagement, reducing high-risk behaviors, and addressing families’ mental health needs.   We Heal Together is just one of seven initiatives throughout the entire country to receive the grant from SAMHSA. WHT is also one of the only nonprofits to receive the grant. Brett Loftis, CEO of Crossnore Communities for Children, said the grant is usually awarded to bigger cities and organizations.   “Normally these grants are going to places like Detroit, Nashville and San Antonio. So we were a little bit of an underdog, which is a little bit of our story...