On April 11th, The Audacious Project announced Glasswing International as a 2021 grantee and has catalyzed funding of $42M over 5 years for the organization to expand access to mental health care and support at the community level in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. Glasswing is the first organization whose team and programming are based in Latin America to which The Audacious Project has committed funding, and its work will bring trauma-informed care to over 9 million Central Americans.
The Problem
Over the past 20 years, the rate of violence has been increasing and has now reached crisis proportions in Central America, disrupting millions of lives and holding back social and economic development. The challenge is most extreme in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras -- the region known as the Northern Triangle.
Exposure to chronic and acute violence can result in trauma -- which can have severe negative consequences for individuals, communities, and the region as a whole. Traumatic events -- including experiencing or witnessing violence -- are linked to chronic physical and mental health problems, diminished educational and economic outcomes, and an increased likelihood to perpetuate or be revictimized. Violence and trauma have also led to a loss of talent as hundreds of thousands of young people and families have been forced to flee the region.
Despite this context, access to mental health care to mitigate the effects of trauma is virtually nonexistent in these countries. Mental health remains stigmatized and underfunded, and there are very few mental health professionals, especially at the community level.
The Opportunity
Our Audacious project is to democratize mental health in the most violence-affected communities in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. With $42M over 5 years, we will rewire over 2,000 institutions, including schools, in 25 of the highest-risk municipalities in the Northern Triangle, as well as every one of El Salvador’s 30 hospitals and their surrounding clinics and precincts.
Bringing trauma-informed support to over 9 million people across the region by increasing trauma and self-care knowledge and skills:
Our trauma-Informed mental health ecosystem will have three levels of care:
Our Expected Impact
Reduction in negative effects of trauma for trained individuals and those they interact with
Reduction in violence, a core contributor to and consequence of trauma
Help us expand mental health in the region by joining our Audacious initiative and donating today.
About The Audacious Project
Launched in April 2018, The Audacious Project is a collaborative funding initiative that’s catalyzing social impact on a grand scale. Housed at TED, the nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading, and with support from leading social impact advisor The Bridgespan Group, The Audacious Project convenes funders and social entrepreneurs with the goal of supporting bold solutions to the world’s most urgent challenges.