Grant Type: Community Grant

Funding for this grant has ended. EXPO (Ex-Incarcerated People Organizing) has received an award for the FREE campaign that focuses on supporting Black women recently released from incarceration seeking to reunite with their children and also supporting women before a possible pregnancy. The organization and its partners will offer access to low/no cost doula services, breastfeeding support, family support through a two-generation lens to ensure a supported community transition.

Next Door Foundation, in collaboration with Penfield Children’s Center, received a grant to improve health for Black families with children under the age of one in Milwaukee through maternal care and support. This project aims to strengthen access to post-partum maternal care and address infant needs through community-based activities, increase knowledge of the social determinants of health, inform about risk factors associated with premature births and infant mortality and provide information related to prevention and early intervention strategies in Milwaukee.

Children’s Service Society of Wisconsin led the Milwaukee Start Right project, with the goal to improve the health of Black families in Milwaukee County through evidence-based home visiting services for pregnant or parenting women. The program addressed health disparities facing participants by offering prenatal and postpartum education, developmental screening, parenting support and connections to medical, mental health and community resources.

The Marathon County Start Right program, led by Children’s Service Society of Wisconsin, aimed to improve maternal and infant health outcomes by expanding culturally and linguistically responsive home visiting services for families of color in rural Marathon County. Recognizing the disproportionate impact of systemic racism on communities of color—including reduced access to care and increased risk for poor maternal and child health outcomes—this project sought to strengthen family support and reduce disparities through comprehensive, evidence-informed programming. Over the course of the grant, 18 Spanish-speaking families received personalized home visits, developmental screenings and parenting education using the Parents as Teachers curriculum. Services were tailored to each family’s unique circumstances, covering topics such as postpartum care, child development, nutrition, mental health and parenting in a new cultural context.

This grant ended on July 12, 2024. Lead exposure in children causes serious, adverse health outcomes including brain and nervous system damage and interference with growth, development, learning, behavior, hearing and speech. Racial inequities in lead poisoning persist in Wisconsin as African American children were lead poisoned at 3.5 times the rate of non-Hispanic white children. This project aims to reduce childhood lead poisoning and prenatal exposure to lead and advance health equity through three goals.

Marinette County (MC) is ranked among the least healthy counties in Wisconsin. The opioid-related hospital admission rate is higher in MC than the Northeast Wisconsin regional rate. Individuals with substance use disorders who are in recovery often have difficulty obtaining and maintaining employment due to gaps in work history, education, and lack of structure and support. This project aims to support individuals in recovery, as well as their employers, by connecting individuals with sustainable employment.

This project, led by YWCA Madison, Inc., aims to support citizens returning to their communities post-incarceration by providing technology skills, employment training and networking opportunities critical for achieving economic stability while fostering healing and dignity. Investing in individuals to create positive change in their lives and the lives of their families is at the heart of this effort. Providing access to long-term earning potential and career growth opportunities while addressing the diversity gap in the tech industry by helping to provide qualified candidates to area employers is a critical component of this grant. According to Healthpeople.gov, men and women with a history of incarceration are worse in mental and physical health than the general population. The added hardship and adversity created by COVID-19 and the country’s health crisis of racism adds to their health challenges. This grant will work to improve health and health equity for returning citizens by providing support as they transition to life back in their communities. The initiative will engage returning citizens in the YWeb training program, and incorporate restorative justice into its approach and process, to help support and heal individuals and families.

A grant to REAP Food Group increases the capacity of an innovative collaboration between REAP Food Group and Roots4Change Cooperative, a cooperative led by Latina and Indigenous women, to advance health equity by working with the food and healthcare systems to address individual and collective health and well-being in a holistic, culturally aligned way.

This project, Race to Equity Wisconsin, led by Kids Forward Inc. aimed to address racial and ethnic inequities in Wisconsin that were revealed in the 2013 Race to Equity Report. The report revealed that while white individuals in Wisconsin generally fare better than the national average, Black individuals and other communities of color in the state experience lower levels of well-being. This was particularly evident in areas like high school graduation rates, employment and incarceration statistics. The report underscored the need for collective action to address racial equity challenges and foster results-driven change. Kids Forward successfully replicated the Race to Equity model in Rock County, released a comprehensive report addressing disparities and initiated the development of the toolkit for other communities to replicate the model. Over 50 community meetings were conducted, and partnerships were established with Black, Latiné, Asian and ally-led organizations. The project also contributed to internal, local and state policy reforms and recommendations.

This project, Social Service Redesign, led by Sixteenth Street Community Health Center (SSCHC) aimed to improve health outcomes by reducing housing insecurity. SSCHC is Milwaukee’s largest Federally Qualified Health Center and has been addressing the health needs of economically disadvantaged individuals, many of whom face housing issues and homelessness.