$42 million in funding catalyzed by The Audacious Project for Glasswing International will make mental health support accessible to over 9 million Central Americans

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April 11, 2022

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Glasswing becomes first Latin American grantee

NEW YORK, April 11, 2022 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — The Audacious Project announced Glasswing International as a 2021-2022 grantee and has catalyzed funding of $42M over five years for the organization to expand access to mental health support at a 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.

Students at a Glasswing Community School participate in an after-school program.

“With this new funding, Glasswing International’s work will endeavor to ease the cycle of violence in the most vulnerable communities in El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala by democratizing access to mental health care,” said Anna Verghese, Executive Director of The Audacious Project. “Our goal is to match bold ideas with catalytic resources, and we’re proud to support Glasswing in this work.”

Every year The Audacious Project – a collaborative funding initiative catalyzing big, bold solutions to the world’s most urgent challenges—brings together some of the most trusted names in philanthropy to select ideas with the potential to create global change. Supporters who make Glasswing’s Audacious project possible include: Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies; Galaxy Gives; MacKenzie Scott and Dan Jewett; Oak Foundation; The Patchwork Collective; Pivotal Ventures; Reed Hastings and Patty Quillin; Seagrape Foundation; and other anonymous donors.

“We are incredibly grateful for the support of The TED/Audacious Project community, and to those who have supported our work over the past 15 years,” said Celina de Sola, Salvadoran co-founder and president of Glasswing International. “For communities that are regularly exposed to so much violence, it is critical that frontline workers – like teachers, doctors, and law enforcement – be trained to understand and address the impacts of trauma on themselves and those they serve, and equip individuals with the tools to cope and begin to recover. We believe that communities can pave their own paths to healing with this kind of knowledge and skills.”

Over the last 20 years, violent crime has reached crisis proportions in Central America, disrupting millions of lives and holding back social and economic development. The challenge is most extreme in countries like El Salvador and Honduras. 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 be revictimized. Trauma and violence have also led to a loss of talent as these dangers forced hundreds of thousands of young people to flee the region.

Despite high levels of violence and trauma, there are extremely few mental health supports in communities to mitigate its effects in this region. Mental health is stigmatized, and the limited services that do exist are underfunded.

With The Audacious Project grant, over the next five years, Glasswing will integrate self-care and trauma-informed practices in over 2,000 institutions – including schools, police precincts and healthcare facilities – in 25 of the highest-risk municipalities in the Northern Triangle.

The project is expected to reduce negative effects of trauma for trained individuals and those they interact with, including improved emotional regulation and coping skills for all trained individuals, increased protective factors for students at participating schools, and a reduction in violence, a core contributor to and consequence of trauma. This includes reduced rates of teacher stress and peer-to-peer violence in participating schools, reduced rates of reinjury among hospital patients, higher levels of emotional regulation among police officers, and an increased overall perception of safety in the community.

For more information on Glasswing’s Audacious project, visit: www.audaciousproject.org/grantees/glasswing-international and https://glasswing.org/ouraudaciousproject/

Media Contact:
Jaime Horn
[email protected]
202-308-8810

About Glasswing International
Founded in 2007, Glasswing International is a non-profit organization that addresses the root causes of poverty and violence through education and health programs that empower youth and communities, and strengthen public systems. Its cross-sector approach creates partnerships with international and local governments, businesses, NGOs, and civil society. Since its founding, Glasswing International has impacted the lives of over 1.5 million individuals in Latin America, the Caribbean, and the United States.

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. The funding collective is made up of respected organizations and individuals in philanthropy, including the Skoll Foundation, Virgin Unite, The Valhalla Charitable Foundation, ELMA Philanthropies and more. The Audacious Project works with the Science Philanthropy Alliance to identify and vet high-quality basic science projects. Each year The Audacious Project supports a new cohort. The 2021-2022 recipients are The Center for Tech and Civic Life, ClimateWorks: Drive Electric, Code for America, Glasswing International, The International Refugee Assistance Project, myAgro, Noora Health, The Tenure Facility, and Woodwell Climate Research Center.