Focusing on those most in need…
 

Poverty Today

More than 1 out of every 4 working-age adults in Ohio -- an estimated 2.9 million people -- went without health insurance in 2007 and 2008. That's 28.8% of residents under the age of 65. The majority went without insurance for 6 months or more.
 
Nationwide, 33% of all Americans in this age group were uninsured in 2007-2008.

Source:
Families USA, Americans at Risk: One in Three Uninsured, March 2009

HEALTH DISPARITIES

The Sisters of Charity Foundation views health as vital to supporting families, building stable neighborhoods, and reducing poverty. The Foundation seeks to improve our community’s capacity to eliminate health disparities, those health outcomes that are significantly worse for vulnerable populations.

Health disparities result from multiple socio-economic and environmental conditions, including housing, income and job stability, education, and personal behaviors. Aiming at a significant contributor to health disparities, the Foundation commenced an initiative in 2007 to improve health literacy in Cuyahoga County. 

Health literacy encompasses an individual’s ability to find, understand, evaluate, and use health information to engage the services needed to make appropriate health decisions and navigate the health care system.

The Foundation is also cultivating strategies designed to reduce health disparities in the Central Neighborhood of Cleveland, which is experiencing serious challenges such as a high number of uninsured and incidence of chronic disease.

In keeping with our guiding principles of advocacy and empowerment, the Foundation supports health policy organizations as they pursue objectives of promoting or improving government policies that may reduce health disparities.
 
NEWS
 
National Nutrition Month
National Nutrition Month® is a nutrition education and information campaign sponsored annually by the American Dietetic Association. The campaign is designed to focus attention on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits. Initiated in March 1973 as a week-long event, "National Nutrition Week" became a month-long observance in 1980 in response to growing public interest in nutrition. For more information, visit www.eatright.org/nnm
 
Building Healthy Communities and the Garden Boyz are featured in Next American City Magazine
The recent attention to urban-agriculture and food-desserts has become a topic of interest and great relevance to our communities. We invite you to read an interesting article entitled: Cleveland’s Comeback – Reimagining the City from the Ground Up. The article highlights one of the Foundation’s grantees under the H.E.A.L. initiative, Building Healthy Communities and its Garden Boyz program. See link for full article: http://americancity.org/magazine/article/clevelands-comeback

 
Health Literacy Missouri launches the health literacy website and libraryHealth Literacy Missouri (HLM) is a non-profit corporation based in St. Louis and serving the entire state of Missouri. The mission of MLM is to improve the health of all Missourians while becoming a national leader in health literacy. HLM strives to provide up-to-date information on health literacy. For valuable resources, updates on the latest activity in their demonstration projects, upcoming health literacy events, health news that is understandable by all, and other areas of interest, go to www.healthliteracymissouri.org

Health Disparities Grants (Awarded 2009)

HEALTH LITERACY
(INITIATIVE)
$326,788
Cleveland Department of Public Health – MomsFirst Cleveland Cleveland Baby Basics Initiative $86,513.00
Cleveland Department of Public Health, Division of Health – Steps to a Healthier Cleveland Cleveland Support for integration of health literacy strategies
* Funded by The Cleveland Foundation
$30,000.00
Diabetes Association of Greater Cleveland Cleveland Diabetes Health Literacy Initiative $18,750.00
Environmental Health Watch Cleveland Helping Families Manage Asthma-Pilot Project $40,000.00
The Free Medical Clinic of Greater Cleveland Cleveland Patient Advocate Program
* Funded by The Cleveland Foundation
$46,525.00
PM Foundation Inc.dba Urban Community School Cleveland UCS Health Emissaries-Children Leading the Way $15,000.00
Project:LEARN Cleveland Reading Health $40,000.00
Rainbow Pediatric Practice Clinic at Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital of University Hospitals of Cleveland Cleveland Rainbow Parent Network Program
* Funded by The Cleveland Foundation
$50,000.00
HEALTH CARE POLICY
$19,000
Neighborhood Health Care, Inc. dba Neighborhood Family Practice Cleveland We Are the Uninsured Project $19,000.00

Health Disparities Grants (Awarded 2008)

HEALTH DISPARITIES
(INITIATIVE)
$141,582
Applewood Centers, Inc. Cleveland Project Reconnect $36,800.00
Recovery Resources Cleveland Mommy & Me Program $23,512.00
St. Vincent Charity Hospital Cleveland Identifying & Tackling Disparities in Diabetes $ 81,270.00
HEALTH DISPARITIES (NON-INITIATIVE) $20,000
Neighborhood Health Care (dba Neighborhood Family Practice) Cleveland “We Are the Uninsured” Project $20,000.00
HEALTH LITERACY
(INITIATIVE)
$10,968
Cleveland Department of Public Health/Moms First Cleveland The Cleveland Baby Basics Initiative $10,968.00
HEALTH CARE POLICY
$30,000
The Center for Community Solutions Cleveland Improving Program Planning, Policy Development & Advocacy Efforts: 2008 Ohio Family Health Survey $15,000.00
ideastream Cleveland Planning for a Healthier Community $15,000.00