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Funded Projects

Advancing Health Equity Through Legal Interventions for Low-Income Wisconsinites

Awarded in 2020
Community Impact Grant
Updated Apr 22, 2024

At a Glance

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.

More Funded Projects

community icon: shaking hands and group of people
Community Impact Grant

Reducing Health Inequity Through Promotion of Social Connectedness

Outcome Report
Awarded in 2018
This grant awarded to the Nehamiah Community Development Corporation aimed to reduce racial health disparities by strengthening social connectedness and community leadership among African Americans in Madison. Grounded in the understanding that racism – not individual behavior – is a primary driver of poor health outcomes, the project focused on addressing Racial Battle Fatigue (RBF), the chronic stress caused by daily experiences of discrimination and microaggressions.
community icon: shaking hands and group of people
Community Impact Grant

Connecting Clinics, Campuses, and Communities to Advance Health Equity

Outcome Report
Awarded in 2017
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.