Indiana University Health has awarded $6.1 million to 12 community organizations working to improve the health of Hoosiers spanning affordable housing, employment training, mental health services, infant mortality and other initiatives, including a Boone County organization.
Since the inception of its Community Impact Investment Fund in 2018, IU Health has awarded more than $38 million in grants and obtained an additional $3.6 million in donations. IU Health President and CEO Denis Murphy elaborated on the causes that have been supported.
“At IU Health, our commitment goes beyond delivering world-class healthcare to our patients–we understand that overall health is shaped by more than medical care,” Murphy said in a release. “Evidence-based research and our own experiences demonstrate that economic and social challenges, such as poverty, limited access to healthy food, inadequate housing and a lack of education options all play a significant role in the long-term health and well-being of local residents.”
One of the grant recipients this year was Watch Us Farms, a Boone County organization that received $500,000 over three years to support job and vocational training for people with intellectual disabilities in the Boone County area.
Other Grantees:
- Beacon Inc: $650,000 over two years for building renovations, including permanent supportive housing, an emergency overnight shelter and a resource center for Monroe County residents with substance use disorder or severe mental illness.
- Boys & Girls Club of Tipton County: $250,000 over three years to develop a program for high school seniors that uses mentorship from businesses and virtual reality to foster career training.
- Edna Martin Christian Center: $750,000 over three years to renovate 37 Place, a community hub that provides services to residents of the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood in Indianapolis.
- Englewood Community Development Corp.: $375,000 over three years to collaborate with the Southside US Colored Troop Coalition and lend support to historic Black congregations in the 46203 ZIP code.
- Healthier Moms & Babies Inc.: $630,000 over three years to address infant and maternal mortality in southeast Fort Wayne.
- Indy Public Safety Foundation: $630,000 over two years to launch the Indy Peace Mobile Coordinated Neighborhood Stabilization Response team, which will bring resources and support to communities affected by gun violence.
- Mental Health America – Wabash Valley Region: $250,000 over two years to buy a bus for mobile mental health screenings, a working space for youth therapists and counselors, and mental health wellness programming at schools in Tippecanoe and the surrounding counties.
- Nextech Org Inc: $365,417 over three years, in partnership with TeenWorks, to provide technology internships to underserved teens in the Muncie area.
- Pantry 279: $250,000 over three years to buy equipment to improve food delivery and pickup in Monroe and nearby counties.
- Peace Learning Center: $700,000 over three years to create diversion programs in Marion County community centers and schools to lead youth away from the traditional juvenile justice system and instead into case management, mental health care and other services.
- Phalen Leadership Academy: $750,000 over two years to build the Cowdrey Community Center, a space for recreational activities and community gatherings at 42nd Street and Mitthoeffer Road in Indianapolis.
