Blue Ridge Court School Receives Grant from Barton Foundation

00:00 AM - September 01, 2020

In August, the Blue Ridge Court School at the Juvenile Treatment Center (JTC) in South Lake Tahoe, was awarded a $5,000 grant from the Barton Foundation. The grant will help the program address mental health and substance use issues that are prevalent among the students. These young people have overcome the effects of adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) that have created complex and serious mental health and related physical health issues. The Barton Foundation annually awards grants to non-profit organizations.

Blue Ridge has served students in the Tahoe region and several other counties since 2004. The program serves approximately 100+ students per year. Principal Carey Buchannan expressed, “We are grateful for this opportunity to enhance our focus on Social Emotional learning, especially during this time of Covid-19 that has added new stressors. Students everywhere are struggling in various ways and our students at the Juvenile Treatment Center are no exception. These funds will allow us to continue to provide top notch services to aid in the mental and physical wellness of our students. We appreciate the Barton Health Foundation recognizing the need and providing an opportunity to enrich services.”

By creating a positive and productive learning environment for students, Blue Ridge School is in a unique position to combine experiences, support, and resources that are effective best practices for addressing the needs of the youth involved with the Juvenile Justice System. The focus is to provide the youth evidenced-based curriculum, resources, experiences, and support so they are better equipped to meet the challenges they face including mental and behavioral health, social and emotional capacity, academic achievement, and substance use as well as life skills to transition successfully to adulthood.

The program that the grant will support is designed to advance the development of academic, social, and emotional competence for all students. Students will have access to a variety of evidence-based mental health and substance use related curriculum that highlights topics like building healthy relationships, support to manage their depression, anxiety, anger and other mental health conditions, academic support, building their capacity for social and emotional skills, development of life skills, and breaking intergenerational cycles of addiction and violence. These are programs designed to have a lasting impact on the youth during the time they are detained at the Juvenile Treatment Center, as well as once they are released and re-enter their community.

Since its inception in 1990, the Barton Foundation has raised more than $20 million to ensure that state-of-the-art medical care is available in the community. They are committed to improving the health of the South Lake Tahoe area and to moving Barton Health into the future. For more information regarding the foundation, visit https://www.bartonhealth.org/foundation/foundation-home

Back Back