Our Programs
Our programs adapt and evolve based on high-priority and emergent needs of the community. While we work with people of all ages, races, and socioeconomic backgrounds, we often find ourselves serving rural African American communities because:
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Although Rocky Mount has an almost equal distribution of white and black residents, over twice as many black residents are living in poverty.
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Edgecombe — composed of almost 60% black residents — has the fourth highest prevalence of food insecurity and twenty-sixth highest prevalence of diabetes in North Carolina.
Current Programs
Addiction Algebra
Project Momentum — in collaboration with Twin Counties Partnership for Healthier Communities — received a three-year grant from the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust to lead a community based research data collection. The project assesses community and stakeholder insights about substance misuse in Edgecombe and Nash Counties.
Our priorities include gathering comprehensive data to assess the root causes and systemic issues that contribute to substance use and misuse; making recommendations for future program designs to meet the needs of people with substance use disorders; and reducing substance use rates in our counties.
The project — entitled Addiction Algebra — explores community perceptions about:
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what constitutes “problematic” substances
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impacts of social determinants of health
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systemic and environmental factors
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a review of the forms of recovery support and whether this support represents a “one size fits all model” in its current format.
County-level data will offer a clearer perspective of use in our area and will allow us to develop programs specific to our geographical needs, improving the lives of local residents. Addiction Algebra received $722,000 from the Trust, to be distributed over three years.
Mysha Wynn, Executive Director of Project Momentum, stated, “This grant will allow us to collaborate with other providers and stakeholders to formulate a plan to address substance misuse across our two great counties.”
MAPSCorps
In rural communities, approximately 30% of businesses are open but not represented in online search results, and another 30% are closed but appeared to be open (source). As a result, people miss vital community resources, harming both businesses and their potential customers. MAPSCorps aims to address this problem by training young adults to manually map community assets.
The program creates meaningful employment for youth, boosting local economies. Participants learn about scientific research, collecting high-quality data. In the summer of 2018, youth mapped a total of 2,650 community assets over 194 square miles, adding 290 new assets to an existing database.
Minding Our Business
Minding Our Business is a project with hopes to develop and implement products that will play a role in the reduction of social and environmental factors that contribute to mental health disparities.
We are looking for African American youth at least 12 years of age who live in Edgecombe, Nash or Wilson Counties and are willing to share their experiences and help improve their community. Youth who are interested in sharing their experiences should ask their parents to contact us!
Our Mental Health Matters: A Healing Circle Intervention
Healing Circles provide a safe space to discuss important issues that have impacted our lives. During the Healing Circle, you will discuss issues important to you and your community, learn about resilience, and learn skills that you can use to cope with stressors.
Valiant Families Youth Mental Health Counseling
Youth balance a lot of things. They have academics, family responsibilities, social dynamics, and so many other things to navigate. It is great when they are able to express themselves and gain insight into how to best handle it all.
Sometimes it is easier for students and families to connect with people they do not see on a regular basis. Valiant Families is a community agency that is partnering with Project Momentum and other community agencies to offer free counseling for youth!
Substance Use Treatment
Project Momentum offers three forms of substance use treatment:
Outpatient Substance Use Treatment
Our program includes individual and group addiction activities and services to assist adults and adolescents to begin recovery and learn skills for recovery maintenance.
We can adopt treatment to individual needs. The length of this program varies.
Alcohol and Drug Education Training School (ADETS)
This program satisfies court, job, school, probation, and other requirements — allowing individuals to rebuild their lives following incidents. We use an evidence-based curriculum called Prime for Life.
Driving While Impaired Assessments (DWI)
In the state of North Carolina, anyone convicted of a DWI must have a substance use assessment completed. Project Momentum provides assessments, as well as any education and treatment needed, based on the assessment. Out-of-state reviews are also available.
Completed Programs
Diabetes Prevention
Young women who had been diagnosed with diabetes or prediabetes came together weekly to learn healthy living strategies and support each other in maintaining their health. Services included nutrition counseling, cooking classes, meetings with a personal trainer, exercise coaching, and monitoring health metrics.
Domestic Violence Intervention Program
This 12-week educational intervention program focused on domestic violence among teens in Edgecome County, NC. Young men and teenagers came together to discuss domestic violence in a broader context and within their own lives.
Mobile Market
A refrigerated, insulated trailer sold fresh fruits and vegetables in rural areas dealing with food insecurity.