News & Events

April 9, 2008

Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland Funds Efforts to Address Troubling Community-Wide Concerns: Foreclosures, Human Trafficking & the Uninsured

Human trafficking, the foreclosure crisis and the increasing number of people without health insurance are the issues addressed by the Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland in its First Quarter grant docket for 2008. Grants totaling $69,550.00 were made to nonprofit organizations that support the Foundation’s key focus areas: Health Disparities, Supportive Housing, Religious Communities and Education Disparities.

In its role as a resource for Catholic women religious and their vital health and human service ministries, the Foundation invested $24,500 to help a collaboration of seven religious congregations and lay professionals build awareness of human trafficking in Ohio. Participating congregations include Sisters of the Humility of Mary, Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine, Ursuline Sisters of Cleveland, Sisters of the Incarnate Word, Sisters of St. Dominic of Akron, Sisters of St. Joseph and Sisters of Notre Dame. The funding will strengthen the delivery of educational and advocacy programs at existing sites in Cleveland and Canton and facilitate expansion to Youngstown and western Ohio. According to the U.S. Department of State, 14,500 to 17,500 people, primarily women and children, are trafficked to the U.S. annually to be indentured servants, farm laborers or sex workers.

For the Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland, current efforts to reduce chronic homelessness through Supportive Housing is a natural outgrowth of nearly a decade of work to increase affordable housing options in Cuyahoga and Lorain counties. An award of $25,000 to Neighborhood Progress, Inc. will assist lobbying efforts to pass state legislation allowing the Cuyahoga County Treasurer’s Office to create a land bank of foreclosed and vacant properties. According to Foundation President Susanna Krey, the Foundation Board approved the grant with the stipulation that a portion of properties will be designated to become affordable housing — ownership and/or rental — for low-income families, with other properties available for permanent supportive housing for single adults.

The Foundation also provided $20,000 in funding to continue the “We Are the Uninsured” project of Neighborhood Family Practice, a health center serving Cleveland’s near West Side. The Foundation provided start-up funding for the effort in 2006 which empowers uninsured and underinsured community members to advocate for themselves, and collectively, for improved health access. The Sisters of Charity Foundation views health as vital to supporting families, building stable neighborhoods, and reducing poverty.

View List of 2008 Grants Awarded

About The Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland

The Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland serves as a grantmaker, collaborator and advocate for non-profit organizations primarily focused on addressing causes and consequences of poverty. In 2006, the Sisters of Charity Foundation joined with the Saint Ann Foundation - America’s first “healthcare conversion” foundation - to form a single organization. The combined Foundation has awarded more than $52 million in grants through 2006.

Current funding priorities for the Sisters of Charity Foundation across Cuyahoga County include initiatives to reduce chronic homelessness through permanent supportive housing and reduce health disparities by improving health literacy. Special emphasis is given to Cleveland’s Central neighborhood where disparities in health and education are among the city’s highest.

The Foundation also works to build awareness of the many contributions of Catholic women religious and to support their vital health and human service ministries supports congregations of Catholic women religious (primarily in Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and South Carolina). In addition, local efforts responding to basic human needs such as food or clothing are eligible for the annual Good Samaritan grant program.

The Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland was established by the Sisters of Charity Health System in 1996 through sale proceeds involving St. Vincent Charity Hospital, which has been located in the Central Neighborhood for more than 145 years.

The Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine established the Saint Ann Foundation in 1973 with funds from the sale of Saint Ann Hospital which served Cleveland women and children for 100 years.

Return to Top