Several Arkansas nonprofits are receiving grants from Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s Blue & You Foundation for a Healthier Arkansas to expand services and launch new programs across the state.
The foundation announced the awards May 29. The grants support projects focused on housing, food access, education and other factors that can influence health outcomes. The foundation has not released how much money each organization will receive.
“The Blue & You Foundation was created to help improve the health of Arkansans, and to do that, we need to ensure people have a safe place to sleep, access to healthy food, benefit from a quality learning environment, and have the resources they need,” Foundation President Rebecca Pittillo said in the May 29 press release.
One grant will support a partnership between the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Our House to provide medical respite care for people experiencing homelessness.
The pilot program will serve patients who are medically cleared to leave the hospital but are not well enough to safely return to their previous living situation.
Dr. Stephanie Gardner, UAMS provost and chief strategy officer, said the program is intended to bridge the gap between hospital care and long-term recovery.
“What we know is that often once these patients are admitted and our providers get them to the point where they could be medically discharged, they can’t in fact discharge them easily because without supportive care they will just end up back in the emergency room,” Gardner told Little Rock Public Radio.
The funding will cover housing, food, transportation, medical supplies and other assistance when needed.
UAMS expects the pilot program to serve between 40 and 60 patients during its initial phase.
Gardner said the partnership could improve recovery outcomes while helping participants connect with housing and employment resources.
“We know that the social determinants of health are more important in terms of determining a patient’s long-term outcomes and really anything we do from a medical care standpoint,” Gardner said.
Another grant will go to Women & Children First and its Forest of Hope Family Peace Center in Little Rock. The funding will expand services for survivors of domestic and sexual violence who have developmental or cognitive abilities.
The grant will fund accessible equipment, adaptive resources and a disability access consultant, according to project specialist Kiah Hall, who helped develop the project with Women & Children First. Hall said survivors with disabilities often face additional barriers when seeking services.
“We know [people] with disabilities are usually targeted at a rate of four times higher than [people] without disabilities,” Hall said in an interview with Little Rock Public Radio.
The disability access consultant will help survivors connect with disability-related resources and navigate available services.
Hall said the organization hopes the program will encourage more survivors to seek help.
The Arkansas Foodbank is receiving funding to expand its Community Resource Center model in six communities. The centers will be located in Prairie, Drew, Grant, Washington, Garland and Independence counties.
The funding will support facility improvements, additional storage capacity and a new social worker position, according to Kate Jenkins, the Arkansas Foodbank’s Director of Marketing and Communications.
Jenkins told Little Rock Public Radio the centers are designed to connect residents with multiple forms of assistance in one location.
“We know that food insecurity is linked to chronic illness, and we know that people have better health outcomes when they’re given nutritious food,” Jenkins said.
The centers will continue providing food assistance while connecting residents with healthcare providers, financial literacy programs and other support services.
Other grant recipients include:
- Arkansas Community Foundation, which hopes to increase participation in the 2030 Census by addressing barriers such as trust in institutions and access to digital services.
- Arkansas State Council on Economic Education, which will provide educator training on workforce needs and connect teachers with employers through workshops focused on regional job opportunities.
- Well Fed Community Development Corporation, which will partner with Jefferson Regional Medical Center, the Jones-Dunklin Cancer Center and the Arkansas Rural Health Partnership to offer nutrition education, dietary support and expanded access to care for cancer patients with diet-related health conditions.
- Arkansas Imagination Library, which will expand its early childhood literacy program through a partnership with UAMS.
- Canopy Northwest Arkansas, which will launch a program to help refugees navigate the healthcare system, including assistance with insurance enrollment and maintaining continuity of care.
A press release said the Blue & You Foundation has awarded more than $70 million to health improvement programs across Arkansas during its 25 years of operation.
