News & Events

December 17, 2007

Foundation Announces First Grantees in Health Literacy & Supportive Housing

The Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland has awarded its initial set of grants in its new initiatives targeting Health Literacy and Supportive Housing. These initiatives represent the first wave of grantmaking in the four focus areas – Health Disparities, Supportive Housing, Education Disparities and Catholic Women Religious – highlighted in the Foundation’s strategic plan, Hope in Action. Several of these grants also strengthen partnerships serving Cleveland’s Central Neighborhood where disparities in health and education are among the city’s highest and the Foundation has a special emphasis.

In its Fourth Quarter grantmaking, the Foundation awarded a total of $896,361.00 to nonprofit organizations that support these priorities, including efforts to enhance health and housing public policy and community collaborations.

According to Sisters of Charity Foundation President Susanna Krey, the development of strong partnerships, solid planning and interventions to improve health literacy will ultimately help the Foundation achieve its goal to reduce health disparities across the Greater Cleveland area.

Though relatively new, efforts to improve a person’s ability to obtain, process and understand basic health information and services are viewed nationally as being critical to improving health access and health status, especially for individuals living in poverty. In recognition of the importance of health literacy to the development of healthy communities, The Cleveland Foundation has joined with the Sisters of Charity Foundation to act as a co-funder of the Health Literacy initiative.

Kym Hemley, Sisters of Charity Foundation Program Officer for Health, shaped the pioneering program with input from regional and national experts, including Rutgers University Associate Professor Andrew Pleasant, Ph.D. Ms. Hemley is also involved in planning a U.S. Department of Health & Human Services forum on health literacy to be held in St. Louis next spring.

The initial grantees involved in health literacy planning and demonstration efforts include the MomsFirst program of the Cleveland Department of Public Health, the Free Medical Clinic of Greater Cleveland, the Diabetes Association of Greater Cleveland and Environmental Health Watch. In addition, two grants were awarded to support health care policy projects, including work by Voices for Ohio’s Children to increase the number of Ohio children receiving Medicaid coverage for early and periodic screening, diagnosis and treatment of health conditions.

The Supportive Housing Initiative supports programs that apply the principles of permanent supportive housing to families at-risk for homelessness and youth aging out of foster care. Permanent supportive housing, or Housing First, is recognized by the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development as a best-practice for reducing chronic homelessness.

Leslie Strnisha, Sisters of Charity Foundation Director of Program & Evaluation, worked with the National Center on Family Homelessness to evaluate planning proposals for supportive housing by the YWCA of Greater Cleveland, Famicos Foundation, the Council for Economic Opportunities and Beech Brook. Grants to the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland and the Council for Economic Opportunities in Greater Cleveland address two key supports for housing stability: legal services and financial assistance.

The Sisters of Charity Foundation is also funding research by Policy Matters on the impact of the foreclosure crisis on renters and an advocacy agenda of Voices for Ohio’s Children for youth transitioning from foster care. In addition, the Foundation announced plans to commission a comprehensive study on family homelessness in the greater Cleveland area. Since 1998, the Sisters of Charity Foundation has invested more than $7 million to enhance the availability of affordable housing for low-income adults and families.

Four grants totaling $40,000 were also made to help build awareness of the many contributions of Catholic women religious and to support their vital health and human service ministries. These include a grant of $15,000 to Ursuline College to launch a certificate program in the Religious Studies department that connects students with local women religious leaders to better understand their work and mission. The Sisters of Charity Foundation also continued its support to the Senior Transportation Connection of Cuyahoga County with a grant of $50,000.00 to expand operation of a regional, centralized call center to coordinate transportation services for older adults.

View List of 2007 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.

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