Brotherhood Crusade and 2nd Call: Answering the Second Call - A Holistic, Culturally-Responsive, Trauma Informed Re-Entry Program

This proposal seeks a $220,000 grant from JAG to expand and enhance Answering the Second Call, a holistic, culturally-responsive, trauma-informed re-entry program that combines the highly effective re-entry program of 2nd Call with the Los Angeles Brotherhood Crusade, Black United Fund, Inc.’s (Brotherhood Crusade’s) nationally-recognized and acclaimed Proud to be Me Trauma-Informed Anti-Recidivism Initiative. Resilient Residents are Los Angeles County residents (with an emphasis on low-income people of color in South Los Angeles County) who are or were incarcerated within the juvenile or criminal justice system and are now re-entering or preparing to re-enter society.

2nd Call’s re-entry program features a continuum of fee for service and free (based on eligibility) job readiness, life skills, court approved anger management, parenting and domestic violence programs that promote positive growth and post-release mentorship. Through these intervention, counseling and support opportunities, 2nd Call provides an alternative to violence and abuse.

Similarly, Brotherhood Crusade’s Proud to be Me program is an engaging, highly-effective, comprehensive, culturally-relevant, evidence- and research-based, communitywide trauma-responsive, approximately 894 hour, 10-phase active engagement and 12-month intensive follow-up cognitive behavioral mentoring and workforce development model program that was developed and designed to address the specific needs of South Los Angeles County Resilient Residents of color and prevent them from re-entering the juvenile/criminal justice system (prevent recidivism).

Taken together, the proven, highly-reputable efforts synergistically comprise the Answering the Second Call program for which the following outlines our theory of change:

Facilitate mindset change (changes in attitudes, behaviors and beliefs) in Resilient Residents such that their acceptance of engagement in criminal or illegal activity is transformed and their desire to engage in such is eliminated or significantly reduced.
Effectively address the needs of Los Angeles County Resilient Residents such that the influences that may heighten their willingness to engage in criminal or illegal activity is minimized.

Influence policies and systems so as to improve strategies that minimize the willingness and desire of Resilient Residents to persist in criminal or illegal behavior and, simultaneously, implement more effective methods of reducing the impact of risk factors that heighten the likelihood Resilient Residents will struggle to successfully re-enter society.

Working in collaboration with our juvenile justice, criminal justice, Resilient Resident-serving public entity, educational entity, and community partners, 2nd Call and Brotherhood Crusade matriculate Resilient Residents through their respective model pedagogies.  Each component is critical to the success of Resilient Residents. As such, successful matriculation is only achieved when Resilient Residents demonstrate documented mastery of the critical success indicators associated with each component.