Raise the Future, a nonprofit organization dedicated to youth and families touched by foster care and adoption, was recently recognized as a TBRI® Ambassador Organization from the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development at TCU. TBRI® Ambassador Organizations are identified as key partners who have long-term relationships with the Purvis Institute and are furthering its mission at a systemic level using TBRI®.

Raise the Future TBRI® Practitioners

Raise the Future has been recognized for their holistic approach to family permanency across three states, their connection-based model of family support services, and for their work to bring TBRI® into education and judicial systems in the states they serve.

KPICD Training Specialist, Amanda Purvis, said this: “Raise the Future has led the way in holistic care for families and children in Colorado, Nevada, and Utah for many years, and for this reason we are so pleased to welcome them as a TBRI® Ambassador Organization. Their dedication to making TBRI® accessible to families is unmatched, and they approach family permanency with the goal of hope and healing for all involved. Raise the Future works across systems of care and practice to implement TBRI® and has established themselves as a pillar of trauma-informed care in these spaces.”

Raise the Future’s TBRI® Summer Camp

Raise the Future began offering TBRI® Classes to the families they serve in 2015. They now have 12 TBRI® Practitioners across three states, have secured government and philanthropic funding to ensure their services are grounded in TBRI® in their respective states, facilitate TBRI®-based workshops for the families they serve, and provide individualized consultation for other entities such as school districts and courts. Raise also has facilitated six TBRI®-based family camps.

Additionally, they are making strides to infuse TBRI® internally as well, applying the principles to internal processes and prioritizing connection and felt-safety among Raise team members. Brooks Kaskela, Director of Family Support Services, said: “We don’t want to just give TBRI to the families. For us at Raise, it’s a way of being and doing. As we’ve developed internal processes, we went back to the (TBRI®) model as a how-to of all parts of the process. Now it’s part of the DNA of the organization.”

TBRI® Family Camp

“Our brand promise, ‘connect,’ is at the foundation of all that we do.” Said Raise the Future CEO, Ann Ayers. “Many organizations provide similar services, but what is unique about Raise is our focus on how we do what we do, and the answer is always connection. TBRI® has given us a framework for that connection and a way to scale it.”

Raise the Future’s reach and impact is apparent in a recent update for the organization. In the 2023 NBA All-Star Game to be played in Salt Lake City, Utah, Team Giannis will play for Raise the Future operations in Utah.

Looking forward, Raise the Future hopes to enhance TBRI® knowledge and practices throughout the organization, and develop concrete structures for systemic implementation of TBRI®.

To learn more, visit www.raisethefuture.org.