The Foundation for a Healthy High Point Announces Fall 2022 Grant Awards
The Foundation for a Healthy High Point, a private foundation that collaboratively engages the Greater High Point community to transform upstream social influences on health and well-being, today announced its Fall 2022 grant awards totaling $1,100,609. The local efforts propose to address access to care, behavioral health, capacity building, health equity, food security, health promotion, and housing/homelessness.
“We are thrilled to support local nonprofits addressing multiple social determinants of health,” said Curtis Holloman, executive director of the Foundation for a Healthy High Point. “We are making more investments that address the root causes of health problems confronting our community.”
The specific focus of this cohort is broad, ranging from improving access to primary care and mental health services to expanding legal advocacy for children affected by domestic violence. Funds support implementing school-based telehealth in two elementary schools, increasing prevention services for sexually transmitted infections, developing a perishable food recovery program, and expanding street outreach services and intensive case management for people who are homeless.
“The grants also underwrite implementation for innovative new projects,” added Whitney Davis, Foundation program officer. “For example, we support the planning to establish a brick-and-mortar location in High Point to provide furniture to individuals and families transitioning into more stable housing, and a new model for school-based telehealth that creatively addresses the shortage of school-based nurses.”
Holloman noted that the resources provided to the seventeen initiatives build capacity and provide infrastructure, support advocacy and health prevention, bring stakeholders together to find solutions, invest in the start-up or expansion of services, and support research that will inform policy and planning.
The approved Fall 2022 grant recipients are:
Access to Care
• Community Clinic of High Point ($122,000) provides access to medical care for uninsured and low-income residents of Greater High Point, regardless of their ability to pay. Funding continues to support the organization’s ongoing operational expenses and capacity building to support its development and fundraising efforts.
• Guilford Education Alliance, Inc. ($250,000) provides advocacy and education to galvanize the community on critical issues and quality public education in Guilford County Schools. The organization is partnering with Cone Health, GCS, and Triad Adult and Pediatric Medicine to implement school-based telehealth clinics in two Title I High Point elementary schools over three years. Funding will assist with the fixed costs associated with the implementation – technology equipment, CMA, and administration. This program seeks to advance both educational and health equity goals.
• Triad Health Project ($50,000) provides sexual health services, such as free pregnancy testing, STI prevention services, and health education, by addressing barriers and discrimination faced by people living with HIV or other STIs. The organization seeks to expand its prevention services, including increased PrEP Care Program enrollment, STI testing hours, and education sessions. Funding supports the High Point office’s staff time and operating and outreach expenses.
Behavioral Health
• Guilford County DHHS, Division of Public Health ($23,000) established the JustTEENS clinic in 2016 to reduce teen pregnancy rates through teen-friendly clinical services. The organization plans to build infrastructure for the clinic to offer integrated behavioral health services. It recently began providing individual and group counseling, crisis intervention, and medication therapy management. Funding supports a portion of psychiatric services, advertising and recruitment efforts, and educational materials for clients.
• Foundation for Health Leadership and Innovation ($63,300) is a statewide organization focused on building healthy communities through collaboration. Their Center of Excellence for Integrated Care (COE) serves as the Foundation’s strategic partner and project manager for the Healthy Minds initiative by providing technical expertise for implementing evidence-based integrated care systems, accountability and oversight, and opportunities for collective advocacy and collaboration. Funding continues to support staff time and program-related expenses.
• Guilford Adult Health ($80,000) is a public-private partnership between High Point Medical Center, Cone Health, and Guilford County through the Division of Public Health to address the healthcare needs of uninsured adults. The organization facilitates the Guilford Community Care Network (GCCN), a collaborative of healthcare providers for the uninsured. Funding supports a Behavioral Health Clinician who provides integrated behavioral health services at the Community Clinic of High Point and in-patient services at the High Point Medical Center.
• The Children’s Law Center ($50,000) provides children with quality legal advocacy focusing on domestic violence, high-conflict custody cases, and children’s rights in public education. The organization intends to expand its reach in High Point, and will work to raise awareness about its services among newly appointed judges. Funding supports the mental health of vulnerable children, helps address the outcomes of ACEs (adverse childhood events), and decreases the incidence of further violence. It will support staff salaries and program expenses.
• YMCA of High Point ($40,000) has been one of the leading nonprofits strengthening the Greater High Point community through youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility since 1923. The organization seeks to expand its Social Emotional Learning Out of School Time Program. Goals include the selection of a research-based SEL curriculum for implementation in their 2023 programs and strengthening SEL skills and resilience among youth. Funding supports staff time, the upfront cost of the SEL curriculum, supplies, and equipment.
Capacity Building
• Greater High Point Food Alliance ($15,000) focuses on alleviating hunger by creating and implementing city-wide and neighborhood-focused initiatives to develop sustainable food systems. The organization plans to increase its administrative capacity and position itself for growth and potential expansion. Funding supports a portion of costs for an administrative position and will enable the organization to lead planning efforts in The Duke Endowment’s Healthy People, Healthy Carolinas initiative.
Equity
• YWCA High Point ($50,000) is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace, justice, dignity, and freedom for all. The organization plans to hold a two-day Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Conference focusing on social determinants of health. The goals are to empower attendees to foster diversity and inclusion in their organizations, develop a network of leaders focused on equity and systems change, and identify strategic priorities for action. Funding supports keynote speaker fees, the development of a State of Race report, conference expenses, and staff planning time.
Food Security
• A Simple Gesture ($50,000) seeks to provide a regular and sustainable food supply to local pantries to ensure no child is hungry in Guilford County. The organization plans to expand its RePurpose perishable food recovery program to Greater High Point. Funding will assist with staff salaries, costs associated with an educational series, educational/promotional materials for developing new relationships with businesses/families, and program supplies.
• Growing High Point ($65,000) is a grassroots organization focused on transforming under-resourced neighborhoods through community engagement, empowerment, and entrepreneurship. It uses evidence-informed and hyper-local strategies to increase access to healthy food and foster economic development. Funds will support new positions to support community engagement and marketing.
• Out of the Garden Project ($23,500) provides food to families in the Piedmont Triad so they can grow, learn, and thrive. The organization plans to implement a mobile kitchen and community-based cooking classes alongside its five fresh mobile markets in Greater High Point. It aims to teach families new cooking skills and increase confidence in making a nutritious, healthy meal at home. Funding will support the purchase of a chef’s mobile cooking cart, cart equipment, generator, staff time, and educational materials.
Health Promotion
• Boys & Girls Club of Greater High Point’s ($40,000) mission is to enable all young people to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens. The organization aims to serve 250 youth across five locations through its afterschool and summer programming. Funding supports the start-up for the “Take Charge of Your Health” health promotion program, which focuses on healthy eating, active living, and abstaining from risky behaviors. It will expand the organization’s capacity and support a part-time project coordinator, staff salaries, and program equipment/supplies.
Housing/Homelessness
• Partners Ending Homelessness ($90,000) engages critical stakeholders to bring about effective solutions through collaborations, advocacy, and resources to end homelessness in Guilford County. Funding supports the expansion of their street outreach services in High Point. Street outreach services provide critical support to address immediate basic needs while linking clients to housing resources and providing intensive case management. Funding supports a portion of staff salary/benefit expenses for a full-time Street Outreach Case Manager over three years. The organization plans to step down requested funding in years two and three and sustain the position by year four.
• The Barnabas Network ($30,000) fills a critical gap in meeting basic needs by providing furniture at no cost to individuals and families transitioning into stable housing. The organization seeks to become the go-to agency in High Point to play this important role, which is currently coordinated by volunteers or across various nonprofit agencies. Funding supports establishing a brick-and-mortar location for the organization in High Point, including a consultant to facilitate the planning process, staff time, and expenses related to focus groups.
• The University of North Carolina at Greensboro’s ($58,809) Center for Housing and Community Studies is a community-engaged and applied research center that develops community-informed solutions for families in the most vulnerable neighborhoods. The Center plans to create a complete, accurate, and up-to-date High Point eviction database with information about the tenant, landlord, location, and grounds for eviction. This database would be the first of its kind for High Point. The data will enable policymakers and advocates to deploy their resources more efficiently and intervene where most needed. Funding supports UNCG project staff and research-related expenses.
The Foundation funded 35 projects for $2,106,295 in grant awards this year. Since its inception, the Foundation has approved more than $13 million to support the Greater High Point community.