By Carrie Madden
As I reflect on the cold month of January, it reminds me of a quote that I came across recently from the Barbadian statesman, Owen Arthur, “For he who has health has hope; and he who has hope, has everything. At Julian Grace Foundation, one of our core values is Hope & Transformation, particularly in relation to socio-economic mobility.
This specific idea was the catalyst for me deciding to work at Julian Grace Foundation (JGF) and continues to be an inspiration for my work for this organization every day.
Our health focus area at JGF grants funds to organizations who strive to meet the social determinants of health as established by the US Department of Health and Human Services. Social determinants of health (SDOH) have a profound impact on the health, welfare, and the quality of community members:
- Economic stability
- Education access and quality
- Health Care access and quality
- Neighborhood and Built Environment
- Social and Community context
These domains strongly advise the Health focus area at JGF and affords me the utmost honor to be able to steward and support programs that are providing health and hope to communities that are typically unable to access health services, specifically in primary care and specialty services, working on persistent disparities in health outcomes, and ensuring that healthcare providers have the cultural competence to provide appropriate care to all.
Ensuring adherence to these domains in their everyday work, Rosalind Franklin Community Care Connection provides hope and transformation in access to services with their mobile health clinic that serves the Lake County community with free health care, health literacy, and health navigation services. Their services target high need communities including nine zip codes that are federally designated as high economic hardship communities. This program connects with over 35 community partners that help them to reach target populations and build trust in these services in the communities being served. On our annual site visit, the collaboration between these organizations was evident: multiple organizations were providing access to food, medical services, and social services in tandem with the necessary medical services. I was extremely inspired by seeing all these services work together to provide a holistic healthcare space for the community. These services provide equitable access to healthcare and give multiple communities in Lake County the ability to access care for wellness and well-being.
Across our health portfolio, addressing the persistent disparities in health outcomes is a common theme. Another long-standing grantee partner, Fenix Family Health Center is thoughtfully addressing these fundamental issues within the Lake County community. With a quickly growing population in Lake County, many men, women, and children are not receiving access to quality, culturally competent medical care. Fenix has continuously expanded throughout its time in the Julian Grace portfolio, thinking forward to provide necessary expanded services to this community, specifically providing maternal care, expanded dentistry services, and routine vaccination services for families. As their space expands to include these services, it provides more access to healthcare services as well as education in the healthcare space.
Being proximate to the work of social justice being carried out by our grantee partners is something both our staff and board members take seriously. Our grantee partner organizations have various events and ongoing activities where volunteers are needed. Whether it be translators, organizing medical inventory, or community outreach, we encourage you to consider where you can utilize your talents to support carrying out their missions. And if time isn’t something you can spare, your donations would be valued and put to good use.
The two aforementioned organizations in our portfolio truly do embody hope and transformation within the communities that are being served as do the rest of the organizations funded in the health portfolio. By their service, stewardship, and leadership, these impactful organizations are providing people with hope, and by that means, everything for those that they serve.