Our Priorities

Social connectedness is essential for vibrant and healthy communities. Isolation and loneliness put people at risk for the development of serious mental and physical health conditions. According to the Centers for Disease Control, one in four U.S. adults report not having social and emotional support. Through our responsive grantmaking, the HealthComp Foundation seeks to build vibrant communities of belonging where people can thrive and live their healthiest lives. To this end, we support (1) efforts and initiatives that increase social and community support as well as (2) programs anchored in equity that utilize community health workers and other peer connectors:

Programs that increase social and community support

Non-medical factors, like relationships, neighborhoods, and societal structures, profoundly influence people’s health, and strong community ties can act as buffers against stress and hardship. Our interests are in promoting strong communities through the following:

  1. Discrimination: We fund programs and initiatives that provide support to communities facing discrimination and heal from harms that they did not choose and cannot control.
  2. Civic Participation: We support the elevation of community voice in the development of policies and solutions that promote health and healing. We value initiatives that promote increased capacity for self-efficacy and self-determination and engagement in the democratic process.
  3. Social Support and Cohesion: We are specifically interested in programs that provide social support to youth and families experiencing trauma. We will consider requests for:
    • mentoring programs aimed at helping young people overcome adversity and develop resilience (more detail provided below);
    • programs and initiatives that help parents, especially single parents, with building supportive networks, developing self-advocacy skills, or developing and maintaining healthy and supportive relationships with their children;
    • programs that provide social supports for children experiencing the trauma of parental incarceration; and
    • supports to family caregivers of people with disabilities to reduce anxiety and depression.
  4. Incarceration: We support advocacy for reforms in the criminal justice system that address the disproportionate incarceration of people of color.

Requests for support of youth mentoring programs will be evaluated according to the degree in which they incorporate best practices identified by MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership. We are interested in programs that:
• target youth that will benefit most from mentoring, namely those most at risk;
• have clearly defined and articulated goals and expectations;
• include a level of flexibility that accommodates the diverse personalities and needs of mentors and mentees;
• incorporate activities that facilitate relationship building;
• support and involve parents and families to the degree possible;
• coordinate with other services and supports as needed;
• provide some structure to allow for careful matching between mentors with mentees;
• provide training for mentors both before and after they are matched with youth;
• have reliable screening practices for mentors; and
• provide consistent oversight, training, and support for mentors to ensure that needs of mentees are being met and concerns are being addressed effectively.

Programs/initiatives that DO NOT fit with the HealthComp’s interest in increasing social and community support
• Provision of items or services to meet basic needs (e.g., food, housing, transportation, etc.);
• Programs that provide job training or employment services;
• Initiatives aimed at increasing the educational level of community members or advancing literacy;
• Services that are billable to Medicaid, Medicare, or other payers, such as adult day services or medical/behavioral health treatment.

 

Programs that utilize community health workers and other peer connectors (e.g., peer recovery coaches, navigators, doulas, etc.)

Community health workers (CHWs) and other peer connectors provide social supports and connect people to resources needed for their optimal health. These resources may include, but are not limited to, housing, employment, training and education, health care services, family planning, etc. The intentionality behind the CHW/peer model includes hiring, training and deploying persons who share lived experience with the people they serve and can provide trustworthy, culturally appropriate support consistent with their clients’ values and needs. In the case of CHWs, they also often reside in the communities they serve and possess personal knowledge and insight of neighborhood dynamics.

Examples of programs that would fit with this focus area include, but are not limited to, those that:
• Connect pregnant women and new mothers to resources needed for both mom’s and baby’s best health;
• Provide peer support to individuals seeking recovery from substance use disorders;
• Help individuals find appropriate health insurance and understand their benefits;
• Assist individuals with securing resources for basic needs.

Important note: This funding priority is not intended to support traditional case management conducted by social service agencies; its focus, instead, is on peer-delivered support and connections.

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