Warming Center and Support Services
Organization/Location: Macomb County Warming Center, Inc., Eastpoint, Mich.
Funding: Two-year grant - $41,500 first year; $43,500 second year
Contact: Kathleen McKinley-Goodrich, Executive Director, 586.321.0998
The Macomb County Warming Center (MCWC), in partnership with a network of area churches, provides a warm, safe place for homeless individuals to spend the night and receive nourishing evening and morning meals. In addition, innovative peer support groups, which are guided by trained group leaders, meet weekly. This concept allows individuals who are homeless to help others in the same situation find services that will help meet their needs. Through a federal program, individuals receive a cell phone that allows them to make and receive phone calls to assist in their employment searches. Free emergency dental services and medical clinic services are available to those who need them. The shelter serves between 500 and 650 homeless individuals each season and an additional 325 individuals are served through the day program and peer support groups.
Medical Eye Clinic for the Homeless
Organization / Location: The Nest Medical Clinic, Birmingham, Ala.
Funding: $6,000 one-time grant
Contact: Cindy Underwood, RN, 205.746.6265
The Nest Medical Clinic provides basic medical care and eye screening for people in the Birmingham area who are homeless, without insurance, or unable to afford medical attention. The Clinic is held once a month and operates underneath an interstate expressway in downtown Birmingham. This clinic was started by a nurse three years ago, and volunteer nurses provide blood pressure screenings, blood sugar screenings and other basic health assessments and health education. Local volunteer physicians dispense up to 30 days of medication at a time, including over-the-counter medications and a limited variety of prescription drugs. The clinic volunteers also distribute hygiene bags that contain toothbrushes and toothpaste, soap and other basic toiletries, and a local church provides hot meals in conjunction with the clinic.
Diabetes Self-Management Education in Southeast Arkansas
Organization / Location: Daughters of Charity Services of Arkansas, Dumas, Ark.
Funding: $25,000 one-time grant
Contact: Kathryn Musholt, CEO, 870.382.3080
The Daughters of Charity Services of Arkansas (DCS-ARK) is a two-clinic system of rural certified health centers that provides accessible, quality primary healthcare, dental and health education services and dental care to approximately 29,000 people. It improves the health of those served by emphasizing holistic care and promoting personal responsibility for wellness. An exceedingly high percentage of individuals in the service area have diabetes. Many individuals are unaware they have the disease or do not know how to manage it. DCS-ARK offers screenings for people with diabetes and pre-diabetes and also has developed and implemented a diabetes self-management education program. These classes are held weekly and cover proper nutrition, shopping and cooking tips, the meaning of HDL and LDL levels, causes of diabetes, disease progression, foot and eye care, self-management techniques and goal setting. Participants receive individualized care plans and guidance toward a pharmacy assistance program when necessary.
St. Vincent's Rural Health Outreach Ministry
Organization / Location: St. Vincent’s HealthCare, Jacksonville, Fla.
Funding: $16,000 one-time grant
Contact: Mary M. Owen, Grant Manager, 904.308.7019
St. Vincent’s Mobile Health Outreach Ministry provides healthcare access for individuals who are medically underserved, uninsured and underinsured in rural communities. Some of these areas are extremely poor with increased risk of overall poor health and chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, the possibility of stroke and cancer. St. Vincent’s is the only provider of mobile health in the region, and has built trusting relationships with the targeted populations. The mobile outreach ministry has provided nearly 30,000 patient encounters to this population, including primary care visits, case management, transportation and medications. It also has provided an additional 29,000 encounters to provide clothing and food. The outreach program allows individuals to address their health needs and control exacerbation of conditions, decreasing the need for emergency services. It also is a portal for these individuals to community resources, which encourages self-sufficiency and promotes social justice.
Project Hope
Organization / Location: Marillac Social Center, Chicago,Ill.
Funding: $25,000 one-time grant
Contact: Maureen Hallagan, Executive Director, 773.584.3232
Marillac Social Center is a community-based, non-profit agency that provides child care, mentoring and tutoring, adult education, family services and social services. Project Hope is a program for pregnant and parenting teens, ages 12-21. It provides prenatal health and education and developmental screenings for children, violence prevention, networking and peer support, school advocacy, prenatal and parenting groups, home visits, birthing services, development of life skills that lead to self-sufficiency, recreational activities, support to young fathers, and referrals to schools, health agencies and job training programs. Project Hope currently offers support to 65 young mothers, their children and extended families. The participants are from families experiencing multiple risk factors: teen mothers with low-income, low education levels, and unstable employment histories. By targeting pregnant and parenting teens, Marillac is effectively addressing child abuse, neglect, and other poor outcomes for teens, as well as their children, creating positive options for young families and empowering young parents to take positive control over their lives.
Community Services Extension
Organization / Location: Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Center, Gloverville, S.C.
Funding: $33,000 one-time grant
Contact: Sister Mary Jean Doyle, DC, Administrator, 803.593.2634
Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Center is a rural multipurpose center that serves the people of Horse Creek Valley, an extremely poverty-stricken area in Aiken County, South Carolina. The Center provides home visits, child care, food, emergency financial assistance, education, information and referral assistance, and space for locally available human services. Donated modular units are used to provide GED classes, tutoring and mentoring, and emergency assistance. Although sewer lines are available in proximity to the Center, the Center currently maintains septic tanks because of the high cost to connect to these lines that are located on the other side of a highway. Funds from this grant will be used to connect the Center to the sewer lines, also providing the potential for service to the residents on the same side of the highway as the Center.
CAPACITAR en la Frontera
Organization / Location: Centro Mujeres de la Esperanza, El Paso, Texas
Funding: $24,500 one-time grant
Contact: Kathy Revtyak, Board President, 915.545.1890
The goal of Centro Mujeres de la Esperanza is to empower women through a series of classes and presentations on personal growth, spiritual development, preventive health, family and community development, and skills development. A holistic approach is used to strengthen the physical, emotional and spiritual health of individuals, families and communities. The majority of the population is underserved in the areas of health, education and social service. A large number of the women come from situations of physical and sexual abuse. CAPACITAR is a network of empowerment and solidarity, which responds to needs by providing a holistic education program to those traumatized by poverty, illness, natural disasters and violence. Capacitar en la Frontera (Capacitar on the Border) is a one-year, in-depth training program for grassroots leaders from both sides of the U.S./Mexico border who suffer the effects of traumatic stress that are a result of a hostile immigration environment and the recent violence in Juarez. The goal is to empower and educate these men and women who will in turn become Capacitar trainers under the supervision of and in collaboration with Centro Mujeres de la Esperanza. Using a hands-on approach, Capacitar teaches simple wellness practices that lead to healing, wholeness and peace in the individual and the community.
