East Tennessee Foundation’s Mount Rest Fund

September 14, 2017

The Florence Crittenton Agency received a two-year grant from the East Tennessee Foundation’s Mount Rest Fund to support our new Healthy and Productive Futures initiative. The grant runs from 4/01/2016 to 03/31/2018.  This project helps combat the residual effect of significant childhood trauma that is so prevalent in the youth we serve. The severe effects of prolonged trauma prohibits our clients from receiving traditional health care, as most providers are not equipped with appropriate services to fully treat these youth. Additionally, it puts them at a much greater disadvantage to overcome their hardships and enter into adulthood with the necessary tools for employment and self-sufficiency. The Healthy and Productive Futures initiative provides weekly ropes challenge courses and daily culinary classes, pre-employment classes, and life skills education to youth in our residential treatment programs. Without projects like this and support from the East Tennessee Foundation’s Mount Rest Fund, our clients would have a higher risk of being jobless, homeless, and systemically dependent.

What our clients have been working on in the kitchen:

In the garden:

And in the computer lab: