{"id":19260,"date":"2023-01-25T00:52:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-25T00:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/?p=19260"},"modified":"2023-01-24T20:53:13","modified_gmt":"2023-01-24T20:53:13","slug":"st-lukes-supports-youth-mental-health-and-other-health-issues-through-community-health-improvement-fund-chif-grants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/2023\/01\/25\/st-lukes-supports-youth-mental-health-and-other-health-issues-through-community-health-improvement-fund-chif-grants\/","title":{"rendered":"St. Luke\u2019s Supports Youth Mental Health And Other Health Issues Through Community Health Improvement Fund (CHIF) Grants"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Joy Prudek<\/em><\/p>\n

Outside of clinical settings, one major way St. Luke\u2019s carries out its mission – to improve the health of people in the communities we serve – is through the Community Health Improvement Fund, which provides financial support to many of our community partners.<\/p>\n

This year, 75 non-profit organizations across the Treasure Valley, West Treasure Valley, Elmore County, McCall and the Wood River regions received more than $550,000 in CHIF grants. St. Luke\u2019s will invest an additional $325,000 in Magic Valley nonprofits this year.<\/p>\n

When choosing how to distribute the grants, St. Luke\u2019s gave special consideration to organizations whose proposals target needs identified through St. Luke\u2019s Community Health Needs Assessment. Because the assessment is both quantitative and qualitative, it takes into consideration the voice of local experts and community members to identify needs from their lived experience.<\/p>\n

The CHNA\u2019s top priorities are:<\/p>\n

Nutrition Programs, Education and Opportunities<\/p>\n

Substance Use Disorder Services and Programs<\/p>\n

Availability of Mental and Behavioral Health Services<\/p>\n

Housing Stability<\/p>\n

Services for Families Experiencing Adversity<\/p>\n

Accessible Modes of Transportation<\/p>\n

Healthy Air and Water Quality<\/p>\n

In the Wood River Valley, five organizations were awarded CHIF grants:, Family Health Services, Higher Ground, Idaho BaseCamp, I Have a Dream Foundation, and Men\u2019s Second Chance Living.<\/p>\n

Sarah Seppa, St. Luke\u2019s Wood River\u2019s Director of Community Engagement spoke to the meaningful impact these organizations and their programs can have, \u201cOur community partners are all doing amazing work that address improving the health of people throughout our Valley. I am always impressed with the thoughtfulness and thoroughness that go into providing programs and services that work to prevent and\/or help individuals overcome obstacles to physical and mental health.\u00a0 <\/span>They often dedicate their heart, their skills, their time and other resources, going above and beyond, to make a difference.\u00a0 <\/span>It\u2019s rewarding to be able to assist with a CHIF grant to further the work that they do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Higher Ground offers many programs throughout our community, including the year-round Higher Ground (HG) Adventure Club program which is a unique opportunity for children who are deaf\/hard of hearing and\/or blind\/visually impaired to partake in recreational activities in a safe, learning- and language-rich environment throughout Idaho. Executive Director, Kate Dobbie said, \u201cWith St. Luke’s support, Higher Ground will be able to provide highly individualized recreation opportunities. The skills gained through this multi-seasonal program will help all participants gain self-confidence while recreating, empowerment in social settings, and independence in all facets of life\u2019s daily challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n

I Have a Dream Foundation (IHDF)\u2013Idaho is committed to helping under-resourced children in our community change their lives through the power of education, social-emotional support, and long-term, consistent relationships. Laura Rose-Lewis, Executive Director, expressed her gratitude, \u201cSt. Luke\u2019s Community Health Improvement Fund (CHIF) grant is invaluable because it supports one of the key components of our programs– social-emotional learning. This year, we applied, and were awarded, a CHIF grant to fund the purchase of a social-emotional learning curriculum, \u201cWayfinder,\u201d that provides our teachers, mentors, and volunteers with age-appropriate, hands-on social emotional activities delivered through a workbook provided to each child.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the past 25 years, Idaho BaseCamp (IBC) has been committed to cultivating the leaders of today and tomorrow through individual and community development and creating a connection to nature. Whitney McNees, Program Director, Idaho BaseCamp commented, \u201cIBC is so grateful to be recipients of the CHIF grant this year. Between Covid setbacks, social media, and the tech world we live in, our youth are in great danger as far as mental health is concerned. Research has proven time and time again that being outdoors and connecting with our natural surroundings is perhaps one of the best remedies for someone with mental health struggles. The direct impact of these outdoor experiences builds self-confidence and positive mental attitude amongst students throughout southern Idaho.\u201d<\/p>\n

Men\u2019s Second Chance Living (MSCL) House provides safe and sober living to adult men in early recovery from substance use disorder. Sonya Wilander, Executive Director, explains, \u201cOur programs provide wraparound support and skills necessary for residents to reintegrate, becoming independent and engaged community members.\u201d Programs include the safe and sober living house; funding for counseling, preventative dental and medical care and crisis care; financial education classes; matched savings accounts; education costs; and nutrition assistance. \u201cThrough our programs, MSCL House addresses four of the top-ranking community health needs identified by St. Luke\u2019s 2022 CHNA. We address nutrition program and education by connecting our new residents with the Hunger Coalition (food pantry), conducting group meals in the house, and teaching residents how to eat healthy meals on a budget,\u201d commented Wilander. The St. Luke\u2019s Wood River Foundation also provided a generous grant to MSCL.<\/p>\n

Last January, Family Health Services, opened a medical, dental, and behavioral health clinic, with pharmacy services in the city of Bellevue to serve the uninsured and under-insured in Blaine County.\u00a0 <\/span>A $1 million grant from the St. Luke\u2019s Wood River Foundation (SLWRF) helped to make the clinic a reality. The 2023 CHIF grant award will help with gas cards for patients with transportation barriers as well as to provide part-time assistance of a bilingual outreach coordinator from St. Luke\u2019s Wood River\u2019s Center for Community Health.<\/p>\n

St. Luke\u2019s begins accepting CHIF grant applications from non-profit organizations every summer. In the Treasure Valley, McCall and Wood River applications open in August and close Sept. 30. Magic Valley accepts applications two times a year, in February and in July.<\/p>\n

Each application is reviewed by multiple committees, expert volunteers and St. Luke\u2019s leaders. As part of the grant award, receiving organizations must submit an \u2018Activation Report\u2019 by October 1, outlining how the grant dollars were used and where the impact was made.<\/p>\n

Find program application forms on the\u202fCommunity Health Improvement Fund Grants\u202fpage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Joy Prudek Outside of clinical settings, one major way St. Luke\u2019s carries out its mission – to improve the health of people in the communities we serve – is through the Community Health Improvement Fund, which provides financial support to many of our community partners. This year, 75 non-profit organizations across the Treasure Valley, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10691,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_pvb_checkbox_block_on_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[72,74,76,79,84,18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-19260","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-community","8":"category-education","9":"category-emergency-services","10":"category-health-news","11":"category-in-brief","12":"category-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19260"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19260\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19262,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19260\/revisions\/19262"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}