Grant Type: Community Grant

This initiative, designed for and by Black men, aims to improve the mental-emotional health and well-being of Black men in Southeastern Wisconsin in order to achieve higher quality of life and longevity. In Wisconsin, African American men have a life expectancy seven years shorter than white men and are more likely to report serious psychological stress and feelings of hopelessness and worthlessness. Black men face health equity issues including low mental health literacy and education, stigma around mental health problems and lack of access to mental health support services. Their stress has been further heightened by the dual crises of COVID-19 and racial injustice. The initiative will normalize and destigmatize mental health issues in the Black community, improve access to mental health supports and help men address the historical and current health inequities they are experiencing.

The Good Hood project, led by The Mellowhood Foundation, aimed to cultivate a more empowered community by securing financial resources to pay more adults a living wage, offering more youth opportunities in paid programs and enhancing educational opportunities. Systemic racism has significantly impacted Madison’s Meadowood community, resulting in feelings of hopelessness among community members and contributing to poverty, crime, housing instability and mental and physical health issues. Good Hood successfully enhanced community infrastructure, safety and housing quality. It supported residents facing eviction, assisted new renters with security deposits and ensured access to healthy food through a food share program. To improve health and well-being, a summer program was launched to address immediate food insecurity needs, and 16 youth were engaged in activities that promote physical exercise, stress management and mental focus. Finally, the project formed new, and maintained old, partnerships which helped to distribute resources, support educational initiatives and address key social issues in the community.

This project led by Common Wealth Development, Inc. aimed to improve health outcomes and advance health equity in Madison’s Meadowood community. Members of this community face barriers to several social determinants of health, and these disparities contribute to poorer health outcomes. Substantial progress was made through a coordinated care model and community engagement efforts, resulting in over 235 job placements and enhanced access to health care for more than 300 individuals. Flexibility in response to the COVID-19 pandemic strengthened the project’s sustainability by transitioning to online services and implementing an effective data management system.

High-quality early childhood education is an evidence-based intervention proven to reduce the risk of health disparities like heart disease, drug and alcohol abuse and teen pregnancies. The lack of quality early care and education options has resulted in an achievement gap seen in children as early as eighteen months old with lower neurological, cognitive and social emotional development. With this Community Impact Grant, the Wisconsin Early Childhood Association (WECA) and its partners, including childcare providers and parents, will develop The Wisconsin Early Education Shared Services Network (WEESN) – Milwaukee initiative to strengthen the quality and continuity of local child care providers in the most under-resourced areas of Milwaukee. The initiative will work to stabilize child care by connecting family and group child care programs to pool resources and capitalize on economies of scale and expertise. By sharing resources, knowledge, and staffing, child care programs can build capacity in their caregiving, and improve outcomes for young children and their families. WEESSN-Milwaukee will promote and sustain more accessible, high-quality early care and education opportunities, ultimately benefiting children, working parents, child care providers and their communities.

This project, Healthy Workers, Healthy Wisconsin, led by Community Advocates, Inc., aimed to improve the health and economic well-being of low-income Wisconsin residents by increasing employment and connecting people to effective mental and physical health care. Poor health and exposure to trauma, particularly among low-income populations, has been shown to interfere with job-related outcomes, including higher rates of unemployment, poverty and use of social services. The Milwaukee Transitional Jobs Collaborative was formed in 2009 which emphasizes the importance of transitional jobs (TJs) as a pathway for low-income job seekers with barriers to secure formal economy jobs, leading to sustained unsubsidized work. The project significantly expanded TJ programs over six years, increasing funding from $6 million to $9.5 million annually by 2022 and notably improving Black male employment rates in Milwaukee. Advocacy efforts led to the expansion of TJ programs across Wisconsin, providing over 10,000 low-income job seekers with sustained employment opportunities. Furthermore, the project’s implementation of trauma-informed practices enhanced support systems, empowering job seekers to overcome barriers and achieve meaningful employment outcomes.

This project is designed to make a substantial and long-lasting impact on the social emotional health of African American/Black students enrolled in the McFarland School District both now and into the future. While McFarland consistently ranks high among districts academically, their African American/Black students are not meeting critical health indicators as compared to their White counterparts. To address these disparities, this initiative will implement and expand the Natural Circles of Support program, in close partnership with student, school leaders, teachers, and families to change the conditions that perpetuate racial disparities and create a learning environment that ensures equity. The project, with plans to expand beyond McFarland, will work to increase engagement and belonging, expand equity and improve teacher support and relationships with Black students to create conditions that support all students’ ability to reach their full potential.

Through the creation of the Well Black Women Institute (WBWI), the Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness will connect, train and empower Black women to reshape the conditions in which they live, work and play. Through this Institute, the Foundation will prepare women as health equity leaders to address the persistent health and birth outcome disparities plaguing Black women in Wisconsin. In Wisconsin, Black women face higher death rates, lower life expectancy and some of the highest rates of infant mortality. Black families experience chronic stress caused by systemic racism and economic instability. These health challenges have been further exacerbated by COVID-19 and racial unrest. The WBWI will harness the talent and experience of Black women and provide them with the tools and training to become systems change leaders who can inform and promote policies and solutions to change how Black women experience health and well-being.

This project, led by Marshfield Clinic, aimed to change the way clinics, campuses and communities interact to advance health equity by refining and expanding the Community Connections Team (CCT) model to screen for and address unmet social needs. The CCT model recruits, trains and supervises volunteers to connect patients with unmet social needs to community agencies for assistance. Traditional health care systems excel in treating illnesses through medication, therapy or procedures but often fall short in addressing upstream social factors that significantly influence health outcomes. Systematic screening for social needs is rarely part of routine care, leading to many patients not receiving the necessary referrals and support. This project successfully advanced health equity by screening over 54,300 individuals for social determinants of health (SDOH) needs and facilitating 11,361 referrals to community agencies, connecting patients with baby needs, dental care, housing and more. The integration of Findhelp into Marshfield Clinic Health System’s electronic health record system expanded access to a directory of social care programs via a ZIP code search. Additionally, the project trained and supported 154 volunteer navigators who collectively contributed over 15,500 hours to bridge health care gaps and promote health equity through community resource navigation.

The goal of this initiative is to improve population health by reducing health problems that are fueled by civil legal injustices. The initiative’s approach combines technology and community-based programming to address legal problems that are barriers to employment, economic stability and health and well-being. Civic legal issues like child support, consumer and medical debt and evictions, influence economic and employment stability, housing access and poverty, and chronic stress, and impact families and individuals who often don’t have the resources to address these issues effectively. This grant team aims to transform the legal aid system, court procedures and the policy environment through community-driven policy and a technology response to make legal services more accessible to Black, Indigenous and People of Color in Dane County (LIFT Dane), Racine County (LIFT Racine) and statewide (LIFT Wisconsin). By addressing issues that can be resolved with a legal intervention, through a system that is modern and accessible, this initiative will work to improve health and well-being for people throughout the state.

Nehemiah Community Development Corporation, Inc. will expand its Justified Anger pilot work through an initiative titled Reducing Health Inequity through Promotion of Social Connection, which focuses on reducing disparities in overall health among African Americans by addressing implicit and structural racism.