More About Project TRUST (Training for Resiliency in Urban Students and Teachers)
The goal of Project TRUST, an eight-year study (2012 - 2020) funded by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities of the National Institutes of Health*, was to use a Participatory Action Research approach to develop and implement a school-based intervention focused (primarily) on the needs of Somali, Latino and Hmong middle and high school youth.
Somali, Latino, and Hmong are the largest immigrant groups in Minnesota and comprise a large and growing proportion of children in urban public school districts. For this reason, Project TRUST was formed as a collaboration with St. Paul Public Schools and the Somali, Latino and Hmong Partnership for Health and Wellness (SoLaHmo), along with researchers from the University of Minnesota Program for Health Disparities Research under the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health. Even though the three immigrant groups represent distinct cultures and experiences, SoLaHmo has identified commonalities, including shared community values (including formal education) and assets, and a shared desire for safe, healthy and strong families and communities.
Over 800 middle school and high school students from St. Paul Public Schools provided the basis for the research undertaken by Project TRUST and SoLaHmo. Students from a diverse selection of schools in the district agreed (with parent consent) to participate in the study, and a number of research methods were employed, including the recruitment of parents from each of the 10 participating schools (the PPAR parents).
*Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute On Minority Health And Health Disparities of the National Institutes of Health under Award Numbers R01MD010586 and R24MD00766-01. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
