01 Aug Genesis Promise Academy Receives $153,000 Grant from the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City
Genesis Promise Academy recently received a grant for $153,000 from the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City (now the Health Forward Foundation) to support the Genesis Counseling Program.
Genesis School will utilize funding from the Health Care Foundation to continue the Genesis Counseling Program which provides school-based individual, group, and psycho-educational group therapy to students. The goal of the program is to help children cope more effectively with the impact of trauma and psychosocial stressors at home and in the community. Current program and support partial salaries of three counselors, Director of Counseling, and the Family Resource Specialist. Funding will also be utilized for equipment and supplies to support direct therapeutic services, as well as training for staff in the areas of cultural competency, trauma informed care, and program development.
Many Genesis students are referred from homeless shelters, special homes for youth, and social service agencies. Many come to Genesis multiple grade levels behind where they should be and have severe obstacles to learning such as past histories of trauma, abuse, and neglect. The Genesis Counseling Program provides individual, group, and psycho-educational group therapy to approximately 290 students per year ages 5-14 at the school. This Counseling Program has been at Genesis School for over 20 years. The goal of the program is to help children cope more effectively with the impact of trauma and psychosocial stressors at home and in the community. Counselors focus on a wide range of topics in individual and group therapy, such as identifying/articulating emotions, coping with trauma, relationships, anger management, conflict resolution, and impulse control.
Genesis serves kindergarten through 8th grade. Beginning as a VISTA program in 1975, Genesis today has served over 2,000 youth needing academic & social development to be successfully in their educational journey. Certified teachers offer 90 minutes of reading and math, mental health counseling, cultural/performing arts, computer instruction & intervention. Genesis was created to address the special needs of our students. We help each student become a responsible and a self-sufficient learner.