By Stephen Fusi
North Carolina Central University (NCCU) has been awarded a $213,500 grant from the U.S. Department of Education to support the campus in recovering from events related to a bomb threat received by NCCU in January 2022.
The Project School Emergency Response to Violence (Project SERV) provides short-term funding for local educational agencies and institutions of higher education that have experienced a violent or traumatic incident to assist in restoring a safe environment conducive to learning. NCCU is among the more than 50 historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and historically Black institutions that have experienced racially-motivated bomb threats in 2022.
NCCU’s Project SERV proposal entitled, Eagle Strong Recovery and Prevention for Race-Based Traumatic Stress and Coping, outlines a recovery plan featuring additional counseling support, case management and campus safety initiatives.
“The Project SERV award allows us to strengthen our collaboration with the NCCU Police Department and Office of the Dean of Students to offer specific trauma-related outreach programming and services to students,” said Charnequa Kennedy, director of NCCU’s Counseling Center. “This work will foster resiliency in the impact recovery of our students’ academic, psychological and emotional well-being related to the bomb threat and other race-related traumas. We are also able to streamline how care support is provided to students as a part of comprehensive services with our campus partners and a network of community providers who extend the reach of mental health resources available to our students.”
Funds received through the grant will support:
- Materials and speakers for additional counseling-related support to students, fostering resiliency and recovery skills for trauma stressors and general well-being through a series of workshops and listening sessions.
- Additional staff for case and care management services for recovery and ongoing prevention support through coordinated wraparound services with campus and community partners to address trauma stress and related responses that interfere with students’ daily functionality and well-being.
- Additional campus safety staffing, including the cost of aid provided by public safety agencies during the response to the bomb threat, and subsequent increased security measures implemented during the recovery and restoration of safety to the campus community by NCCU public safety officers and residential life staff.
