Grant Program: Community Impact Grant

This project, led by the City of Madison Fire Department, provides students underrepresented in the public safety workforce with paid experience and formal mentorship, in order to support them in attaining eligibility for full-time employment with the Madison Fire Department. The overarching goal of this project is to expand workforce capacity. Michael Spigner, MD, EMT-P, Department of Emergency Medicine, UW–Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, serves as the academic partner.

This project, led by Children’s Outing Association, will promote health equity within the Amani neighborhood—a Milwaukee community facing significant health disparities and elevated risk for many chronic health conditions — by building local community capacity and enhancing access to high quality primary care services and health education. David Frazer, MPH, Center for Urban Population Health, UW–Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, UW-Milwaukee, Advocate Aurora Research Institute, serves as the academic partner.

This project, led by GSAFE, addresses social and community factors that impact health for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and other gender-expansive (LGBTQ+) youth at home and in school through the development and evaluation of interventions in the areas of educational policy analysis, educational leadership and family engagement. Mollie McQuillan, PhD, UW–Madison School of Education, serves as the academic partner.

This project, led by Embolden WI Inc., aims to improve health outcomes for communities in Milwaukee and Rock Counties by addressing the health factors of social connection and community belonging to promote civic engagement. Through culturally specific education and a civic health training program, this project will strengthen social connection and community belonging and build participants’ capacity as public health decision makers and influencers. Mary Beth Collins, JD, UW–Madison School of Human Ecology, serves as the academic partner.

This project, Medical Legal Partnership (MLP), led by Wisconsin Primary Health Care Association, Wisconsin Primary Health Care Association (WPHCA), Legal Action Wisconsin (LAW) and Judicare Legal Aid (Judicare) aims to improve financial stability and well-being for patients with lower incomes and unmet civil legal needs by connecting them with free health related legal services. Amy Washbush, PhD, UW–Madison School of Human Ecology, serves as the academic partner.

This project led by Marshfield Clinic seeks to improve food security for children and families in rural northern Wisconsin by partnering with after school programs on the four pillars of food security: availability of healthy foods, access to healthy foods, knowledge about preparation and stability of diet. Maggie Bohm-Jordan, PhD, Department of Sociology and Social Work, UW–Stevens Point, serves as the academic partner.

This project, led by Lutheran Social Services (LSS) seeks to improve the mental health crisis facing youth from historically under-resourced neighborhoods in Milwaukee County through the implementation of family coaching services and community engagement that addresses the social factors contributing to poor health and educational outcomes. Joshua Mersky, PhD, The Institute for Child and Family Well-Being, UW–Milwaukee, serves as the academic partner.

This project, led by Three Gaits, Inc., will implement a Riding in the Moment (RM), an adaptive horseback riding program, to reduce isolation and improve the health and quality of life for people living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias and their family caregivers.

This project, Empowering African Immigrant Women’s Health and Well-being: A Virtual Center for Women’s Health and Mental Health in Wisconsin, will establish a virtual center for women’s health and mental health dedicated to African immigrant women. As of 2021 there were over 21,000 African immigrants in Wisconsin and this demographic has significant diversity, necessitating services tailored to effectively meet their needs.

This project, titled Advocates in Medicine Pathway 2.0, seeks to improve representation in medicine in North Central Wisconsin by addressing barriers to medical school for rural and underrepresented medicine students from this region. Strong doctor-patient relationships are crucial to providing excellent health care and such relationships are best facilitated by having physicians that represent the people that make up the local community. Students from rural, underserved communities are most likely to return to those areas to practice medicine, but these students often face barriers to matriculating to medical school.