State Grant Aims to Help Fresno Residents With Mental Health Struggles

A $300,000 state grant will enable Brain Wise Solutions of Fresno to team with local nonprofits to help people struggling with mental health.

Using the state Office of Child Abuse Prevention funding, Brain Wise will train the nonprofits to provide behavioral mental health aid to children, youth, and families.

The participants are A Hopeful Encounter, which serves a minority neighborhood just west of Fresno State; the Fresno Street Saints in southwest Fresno; and the faith-based Every Neighborhood Partnership.

By having Brain Wise work with these nonprofits, the hope is to reach Fresno’s southeast Asian, Black, and Latino communities.

Impact of Childhood Experiences

Crucial to the effort’s success is teaching nonprofit staff to build their own resilience and awareness of how their brain works, said Jason Williams, the co-founder of Brain Wise Solutions.

“A lot of our training is helping people understand that their earliest childhood experiences really shaped how they interact with folks at work and in their homes and in their everyday lives,” said Williams.

“We kind of talk about how if you didn’t have strong, nurturing, safe relationships when you were young, you might see the same thing in your life today where you continue to maybe struggle with relationships.”

In addition, beginning Saturday, Aug. 13, Brain Wise will host a certification and training class for nonprofits, teachers, coaches, and mediators to help support youth.

For Additional Information

To sign up for a six-hour Trauma Informed Certification Training, click here. 

You can visit the Brain Wise website here.