2nd Call (2nd Chance at Loving Life) is a non-profit organization that provides holistic, culturally-responsive, trauma-informed services for Los Angeles County residents focused on creating a pathway that begins with healing and concludes with self-sufficiency. The key principle is honoring the participants' dignity and presence while valuing the participants' contribution and voice. 2nd Call's first step is to create a physically and emotionally safe environment for community members of all walks of life to share and learn from others without judgment. Through education and peer support, 2nd Call builds healthier human beings, promotes healthier lifestyle choices, and ensures that the participants will be productive members of society.
Here are the services that your donations will support:
Community Healing Space
2nd Call holds weekly meetings throughout Los Angeles County in which community members can come together to discuss a variety of topics, with the goal of community healing. Talking points are focused around “Dysfunctional Families”, with topics such as triggers, low self-esteem, effective communication, anger management and many others. The “Dysfunctional families” life skills curriculum is the heartbeat of 2nd Call, acknowledging that without prioritizing the healing process, our communities will not be able to reach their full life potential. Participants are encouraged to share their own experience to connect with and learn from others. Research shows that unresolved trauma develops through a lack of safe places for individuals to release their bottled-up feelings and emotions. We build on strengths, heal family connections, and explore the impacts of personal, community, and intergenerational trauma, strategies for resilience, and motivations for breaking the cycles of poverty and violence. Through 2nd Call healing circles, community members learn the differences between what is "normal" and what is "healthy". By providing a space in which community members are physically and emotionally safe, the healing process can begin. 2nd Call healing circles are facilitated by highly trained 2nd Call staff with extensive life experiences.
Your donation can assist with the creation of new meeting spaces throughout Los Angeles County and beyond.
Would you like to see a 2nd Call healing space in your area? Please contact us and let us know!
Community Interventionist
2nd Call’s Community Intervention Specialists are used as an alternative to 911 in non-emergency situations. The goal is preservation and protection of targeted areas (e.g. parks, train stations) and safety for local residents. The key to our community intervention specialists is that we employ indigenous community members with long standing ties to the area being served in order to promote trust. Interventionists prevent/interrupt violence, mediate conflicts, provide resources to those in need, and serve as advocates for the most vulnerable community members. Currently, 2nd Call has community interventionists at Leimert Park and the Metro K Line.
Your donation can assist with the hiring and training of additional interventionists on current projects.
Safe Passage
2nd Call’s Safe Passage is focused on youth intervention within schools and requires community members to work in and outside the schools. It requires community members with different skill sets. Two community interventionists will work with students during school hours, addressing issues such as: class disruption, conflict between students and faculty, mental health, referral to resources and other issues as they arise. Additionally, three community interventionists will work outside of school (“in the street”), ensuring that students are able to safely travel from school to home. They mediate conflict, effectively communicate and provide rumor control, have a general understanding of mental health, and make appropriate referrals. Community interventionists “in the street” have strong lived experience and a “License to Operate” in that area.
Your donation can help with hiring additional community interventionists, which will increase the ratio of community interventionists to youth in need of Safe Passage.