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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSJRE Resolution fy 19Social Justice and Racial Equity Grant Iowa Harm Reduction Iowa Harm Reduction Coalition (IHRC) addresses health inequities with a program that focuses on vulnerable and minoritized communities that are disproportionally affected by HIV and hepatitis C HCV). The program improves accessibility to prevention services for HIV and HCV, increases testing services for individuals at the highest risk for infection, and improves treatment engagement. IHRC will purchase 200 rapid test kits for HIV and HCV and provide confirmatory testing, counseling, and treatment referral for any individual with a reactive result. IHRC provides peer -led services that are offered from 5 P.M. — 5 A.M. in a community setting to help lower some of the barriers to accessing health care that exist for individuals who are at higher risk for contracting HIV/HCV. The goals of the program are to expand community-based HIV/HCV testing and risk reduction education by providing test services and risk reduction to 200 Iowa City residents and engage 100% of identified individuals with HIV/HCV into treatment using patient navigator. The program will administer 50 HIV and HCV tests each quarter. These goals will be measured through data that will be collected at every mobile outreach event, risk questionnaires filled out by each program participant, data that will be collected to determine each participant's progress through the program, and a post -engagement survey. Access 2 Independence of the Eastern Iowa Corridor Access 2 Independence (A2I) will use a program called Vis -Ability where participants take photographs that illustrate their disability experience in Iowa City. It creates information sessions and a photography class that give individuals the skills necessary to participate in the project. They will use the photographs to create a traveling exhibit that will facilitate discussions on the project. Using the discussions, A2I will create policy recommendations that concern health equity in Iowa City. This project empowers individuals with disabilities to develop and use advocacy skills and bring awareness to local disability issues. The program provides education on advocacy and photography skills to participants, education and community building during discussion sessions, and facilitates discussions on accessible housing, healthcare, and employment for individuals with disabilities. A2I will provide a program that could assist the 4.7% of Johnson County residents that have disabilities. The program will measure community interest through attendance numbers. They will use surveys at the end of the program, after the first meeting, and at all the exhibits to measure awareness and determine ways to improve the program. University of Iowa Labor Center The University of Iowa Labor Center will create a program called The Corridor Apprenticeship Opportunity Network that will link unemployed or underemployed Iowa City residents from underrepresented groups to assist them in enrollment in Iowa's Registered Apprentice Programs. They will achieve this by organizing outreach events and workshops to recruit participants, create a well- publicized kick-off, provide free skills -based pre -apprentice education for participants, connect participants to training coordinators, and provide a leadership development programming to support the women and people of color in the registered apprentice programs. The program advances social justice by supporting the entry of women and people of color into high-quality apprenticeship opportunities where they have been traditionally underrepresented. The goal of the program is to reach 120 local workers through outreach efforts, enroll 20 participants in the pre -apprentice program, and include at least 28 participants in leadership development programming. To measure their goals, they set benchmarks based on an initial survey. They will partner with local non-profit, labor, and faith -based organizations and with the IowaWORKS office to achieve their goals. Refugee and Immigrant Association The Refugee and Immigrant Association will establish a program called The Awareness and Prevention of Social Conflict Initiative to address cultural challenges facing refugees and immigrants living in Iowa City. They will achieve this by establishing Together We Groups, Learning and Growing Presentations, and Community Collaborators. Together We Groups include the Parenting Group, Women's Group, Men's Group and a Youth Group. These are groups of individuals experiencing unique challenges that will be addressed through mentorships and training and education. Learning and Growing Presentations will be given by experts in their field on topics that are critical for refugees and immigrants. Lastly, Community Collaborations will be established to facilitate discussions between immigrants and refugees and members of the Iowa City Community to help program participants understand community institutions and expectations. The program will serve an essential role in assisting immigrants and refugees and will help facilitate integration. The program will reach over 1,000 refugee and immigrant community members. The program aims to hold monthly group meetings with attendance increasing over the grant year, hold monthly presentations with attendance increasing over the grant year, and show an increase in collaborative partners. They will measure the success of the program by recording attendance at meetings and presentations, provide pre- and post -surveys to participants at presentations, create a list of collaborative partners, and work with law enforcement to track calls for refugees and immigrants. Shelter House Community Shelter and Transition Services Shelter House wants to update the clinic space located at the 429 Southgate emergency shelter which serves individuals experiencing homelessness or at risk of becoming homeless. The clinic is an on-site nurse -managed health clinic that provides general health care to residents and drop -ins. The funds will be used to revitalize the clinic and replenish needed supplies. The program addresses education by educating participants on a range of health topics. The program builds community by fostering partnerships with strategic health providers. It also addresses housing and employment because poor health can often be a barrier to securing housing or employment. Last year, Shelter House served 887 individuals by providing emergency shelter and assisted 385 individuals through the drop-in center. Any individuals staying at the shelter or using the drop-in center are eligible to receive care at the clinic. To help serve these individuals, Shelter House partners with University of Iowa nursing students, volunteers from Johnson County Public Health, and professors from the University of Iowa College of Nursing and University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. To measure the success of the program, Shelter House records the number of clinic visits. Inside Out Reentry Community Inside Out (10) will create a 2 -day summit and quarterly forum series about reentry and cultivating a supportive community for returning citizens. The project will include a keynote speaker, a panel of returning citizens, a workshop to organize around voting rights for formerly incarcerated people, a parole/reentry simulation and discussion, a workshop for landlords and employers to combat discrimination in housing and employment, a discussion on mental health needs and special needs of people of color and women returning, and a workshop for returning citizens focused on leadership and empowerment. The program fosters community building by creating a supportive community through education and criminal justice. The program also brings attention to the barriers faced by returning citizens when looking for housing or employment. Inside Out hopes to serve at least 300 people across 5 days of events but it could indirectly serve and influence the 52,000 Iowans who are disenfranchised returning citizens. They will measure the success of their programs by the number of attendees and by getting feedback from a survey taken by attendees. They also hope to gain 10 new volunteers because of the program. University of Iowa Mood Disorders Center The Mood Disorders Center proposes an initiative that provides psychoeducation to individuals with mental illness and develops a standardized curriculum that can be disseminated to Iowa's Judicial Districts. The psychoeducation program would be for parolees and probationers in Iowa's Sixth Judicial District who live with a mental illness. The program will either be a 6 -week intervention with 90 -minute sessions or a 1 day, 8 -hour intervention. The intervention would utilize Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. The standardized curriculum would include scripted talking experiences, instructions for group activities and individual assignments, videos that demonstrate concepts, and necessary handouts. The curriculum would be developed with the help of six focus groups. The program addresses areas of criminal justice and health. The proposed outcomes of the program include a decrease in mood disorder symptoms and increase in psychological flexibility in parolees and probationers in Iowa's 6t" Judicial District. Performance of the facilitators and satisfaction of the with content of the curriculum will be measured using the Group Satisfaction Scale (GSS). They will measure the success of the program with quantitative data analysis obtained from the Groups Satisfaction Survey that will be reviewed after each of the 4 delivered programs. Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County, South District Neighborhood Association The Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County (NCJC) and the South District Neighborhood Association SDNA) will coordinate three large events: National Night Out, Thanksgiving Feast, and Taste of Broadway. National Night Out aims to strengthen the relationship between law enforcement and communities. Attendees will also be encouraged to participate in a school supply drive at this event. Thanksgiving Feast is an opportunity for South District residents and other community members to come together. This event also establishes a "Giving Tree" where attendees can choose to "Adopt a Leaf" which has a specific need or desire of South District members. Taste of Broadway helps link local resident chefs with groceries and restaurants to prepare dishes that reflect cultural diversity in the district. The program advances social justice and racial equity by making the South District a destination for Iowa City residents live, work, and play. They strive to increase the social capital of the South District and build relationships to increase employment opportunities, improve health outcomes, and decrease involvement in the criminal justice system. The program hopes to reach approximately 300 community members in the first year with the goal of nurturing relationships with the South District, residents, local businesses, South District service agencies, and local government and law enforcement. To measure the success of their program, they will collect attendance at events, collect information of South District businesses' direct and indirect participation in the events, South District service agencies' direct and indirect participation in the events, and attendees' volunteer commitments as a result of the events.