2020

The Strategic Grants Committee Awarded a total of $414,800 to 19 organizations in 2020*

*Funding includes Trauma-Informed Care Learning collaborative, United Way Crisis response fund and Personal Protective Equipment funding for UR Medical Center.

• Bivona Child Advocacy Center – Bivona’s Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) | $30,000

  Full funding provided to Bivona's Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) is a multi-agency collaborative effort coordinated, integrated, and facilitated by Bivona and include the roles of family advocacy, forensic interviews, medical, mental health, law enforcement, prosecution, and social services. Without Bivona's MDT, we would not be able to assist over 2,000 children and their families each year. The collaborative exists to keep children safe and free from abuse and to reduce the impact of trauma for children and families who have experienced abuse. All the partner agencies in the collaborative are co-located in state-of-the-art child-friendly facility designed specifically to minimize trauma to children.

• Dimitri House, Inc. – Dimitri Spectrum of Care | $10,000

  Full funding provided to the Dimitri House is an established human services provider and critical part of Rochester’s Continuum of Care serving the homeless. Annually, we serve over 5,000 people who are experiencing poverty or homelessness, free of charge, at a location on North Union St. in downtown Rochester. Their greatest need in addressing the impacts of trauma and housing instability on access to basic needs is for general operating funds. For example, providing over 5,000 lunches annually to people who may not have another meal that day requires electric, gas, and water service to operate a kitchen as well as administrative time to recruit and coordinate volunteers. Achieving and maintaining a 56.7% housing retention rate among clients who secured housing through the Dimitri Affordable Safe Housing (DASH) program last year required providing a clean, safe facility for them to meet with a case manager.

• Education Success Foundation – EnCompass Navigation – Capacity Building & Prevention | $25,000*

  Full multi-year funding. EnCompass Navigation tackles barriers to academic success with vulnerable children and their families by providing personalized layers of academic, wraparound, and capacity-building support. Together students, families, educators, and Navigators address trauma, learning challenges, educational rights, unstable/chaotic households, and poverty-related factors (housing/food/job/financial insecurity; health disparities; transportation needs; unhealthy/generational cycles) and chart personalized paths to family stability, empowerment, school engagement, academic achievement, and college and career success. Their work to address barriers with students and families will not stop during COVID-19 school and program closures. They are in contact with every student and family they serve in EnCompass Navigation, assessing evolving needs, and delivering meals, essentials, learning and support resources daily to doorsteps, and virtually.

• Goodwill of the Finger Lakes – 211/LIFELINE | $25,000

  Full funding provided to 2-1-1/LIFE LINE, which is available as the point of entry for people who are in trauma and/or homeless in our community. People who contact 2-1-1/LIFE LINE, are engaged in a problem solving process with one of the agency’s skilled telecounselors. In a housing instability call, the telecounselor identifies their need for shelter, assesses for safety needs, provides any crisis intervention, and establishes if other housing is available using their circle of support. The goal of every contact is to stabilize the individual by helping them to understand their problems and to provide the necessary information to make informed decisions regarding possible solutions. For housing, after our telecounselors engage the caller in the problem solving process and complete the diversion and emergency housing screening, and if emergency shelter is their only option, we then connect with the Department of Human Services to identify available emergency shelter. In 2019, they answered the call of 235,000 people. Due to COVID19, from March 17, 2020 to April 22, 2020 they answered 14,167 calls from the region (193% increase) with 10,900 from Monroe County (267% increase).

• House of Mercy – HOM Strategic Planning & Organizational Review | $36,000

  Full funding provided to House of Mercy. The population we serve includes individuals and families experiencing severe poverty, homelessness and disenfranchisement. Most of the people they serve stay in their shelter or live in the neighboring communities. Many people who enter the doors of the HOM have a history of trauma, but often do not recognize the effects. They support folks with services, and housing. This grant could allows them to build a trauma-informed environment and strengthen the partnerships they have with organizations, treatment facilities and landlords in the community. One of their goals would be to prevent treatment practices that retraumatize their guests.

• Isaiah House, Inc. – Nursing for Patients during COVID-19 | $2,800

  Full funding provided to Isaiah House, which is the only comfort care home in the city of Rochester caring for those with the fewest options and greatest needs at the end of their lives. Those that may be homeless, those with addiction histories, or those that have no one or no means. They do not receive funding from the government or insurance and solely rely on the generosity of their community and volunteers. With the current outbreak of COVID-19, they have had to make changes due to Nursing homes and hospitals having limited capacity to take in more patients. The families of the patients are physically and financially unable to care for them, and the volunteers are all high risk for contracting the virus. The grant provided will assist in paying for private duty nursing to their patients.

• Judicial Process Commission – New Journey | $10,000

  Full funding provided to the JPC. This grant request is for the New Journey (NJ) program for mothers with children 12 and under. We will serve 50 women prelease and 35 postrelease (& about 70 children) yearly. NJ Mothers benefit from all JPC services with an increased emphasis on stable housing, reunification, and trauma informed care. NJ will provide govt. funded & private safe, affordable, permanent housing as quickly as possible. Some initially stay in shelters or with family/friends after their release. Several of the program’s mothers are entry level health care workers (e.g., Nurses Aides, Licensed practical nurse (LPN), Certified nursing assistant (CNA), Medical assistant) that could return to this health sector if legal barriers were removed-JPC does that through its Legal Action Project. This labor intensive project requires a team: Case Managers, Service Coordinators, Mentor Coordinator, and Mentors. Wrap around Services are provided as funding allows and include first month’s rent, security deposit, back rent, used clothing, identifications, transportation, driver’s license, childcare, baby items, used furniture, etc.

• Mary’s Place Refugee Outreach – Case Management Program | $10,000

  Partial funding provided to Mary’s Place. A non-profit center serving resettled refugee families living in Rochester’s Edgerton and Maplewood neighborhoods. We serve approximately 500 families per year from several countries of origin: Sudan, Bhutan, Burma, Nepal, Somalia and the Democratic Republic. In Rochester, Catholic Family Center (CFC) receives refugees and provides the initial 90 days of services (housing, case management, required medical appointments.) Unfortunately, most resettled refugees do not achieve stability or self-sufficiency in a 90-day period. The families we serve have almost universally experienced trauma in their country of origin, while on their journey towards safety and during their stay in refugee camps. Refugees families fled a variety of devastating economic and societal conditions that threaten their lives: famine and drought, unchecked/untreated diseases, violent civil wars, extreme poverty, persecution and sometimes torture due to race or ethnicity, religious or political beliefs. Travel to safer countries can be lengthy and dangerous, leading to long stays in refugee camps where food, shelter and sanitation are barely adequate.

• Planned Parenthood – Solution-Based Coaching – Staff Training Project | $6,000

  Full funding provided to Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood (PPCWNY) primarily helps reduce the impacts of trauma and thus secondarily affects the impacts of housing instability in our communities. In 2019, we provided health care to 24,994 unique patients at the agency’s 9 health centers and 1 mobile unit during 42,675 visits. This includes 4,241 (17%) patients aged 19 and under (195 aged 14 or less, 1,543 aged 15-17 and 2,503 aged 18-19). For most, the agency is their only source of health care and we are their introduction to building a habit of preventive care. Last year, we delivered health education and outreach to more than 24,000 people. Through our RESTORE Sexual Assault Services program we assisted more than 2,000 survivors and their loved ones and reached another 8,000 through sexual assault prevention education and outreach. Throughout our services and outreach, we try to use models of trauma-informed care for our patients, clients, and staff. The proposed Staff Training Project supports a trauma-informed approach to staff engagement, development and retention which in turn helps improve client experiences.

• RESOLVE of Greater Rochester – Survivor Transition: A Trauma-Informed Program for Women Healing from Domestic Violence | $25,000

  Partial Full funding provided to RESOLVE of Greater Rochester who have been serving the region for over 22 years. Their mission is to empower people and communities to break the cycle of domestic violence by developing and delivering innovative, accessible, victim/survivor-focused programs. The Wilson Foundation grant will help RESOLVE increase its current capacity to serving 70% more women (about 80% of whom have children) in 2020-21 and expand collaboration with Greater Rochester-area organizations involved in addressing IPV/domestic violence as described below.

• Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty – Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative (RMAPI) | $25,000*

  Partial multi-year funding provided to RMAPI, which is a multi-sector community collaborative whose aim is to improve quality of life by reducing poverty and increasing self-sufficiency. The initiative is a community-informed strategy developed to coordinate and align resources, policies, and practices with an aspirational community goal to reduce poverty by 50% in 15 years in Rochester and Monroe County. It is the result of collaboration from local leaders, government, the faith community, volunteers, and people impacted by poverty. RMAPI operates in accordance with five strategies: Enable sustainable employment, Connect and coordinate service provision, Design and advocate for effective benefits and policies, Ensure learning and data-driven action, Equip our community to address the guiding principles. *Grant award made of $25,000 per year for two years subject to a successful leadership transition.

• Spiritus Christi Prison Outreach – Spiritus Christi Prison New Beginnings Program | $20,000

  Partial funding provided. At Spiritus Christi Prison Outreach, the men and women served begin their journey with a safe home. The team go to great lengths to create a secure, warm haven for our residents. Together they cook the best meals, enjoy a family style atmosphere, relax, heal, laugh, cry, sing, dance and rebuild their lives in a welcoming place. There they are engaged securely in educational/vocational wraparound support, case management, counseling and mentoring. These resources assist them as they prepare to become reunited with their children and self-sufficient members of our community. In time, they also become leaders for others who are struggling along this difficult path. Here, their cycle of poverty, incarceration and homelessness ends, benefiting them, their families and ultimately, increasing community safety the New Beginnings Program that make possible permanent housing for graduates is the result of a corporate partnership combined with individual, government and foundation funding.

• St. Joseph’s Neighborhood Center – Comprehensive/Integrated Healthcare Program Expansion | $30,000*

  Partial multi-year funding to St. Joseph's Neighborhood Center (SJNC). SJNC was established to serve the uninsured with primary healthcare, mental health, dental and social services assistance. This broad, comprehensive approach to health reflects the belief that physical and mental health is impacted by an individual's total life experience and current circumstances. For those living in or near poverty, trauma and instability are constant. Their services span the range of the bio/psycho/social/spiritual spectrum. If one aspect of someone's life is not addressed, barriers impede the ability to heal and thrive. The aim of this grant is to strengthen the foundation of our model of service. We will be able to quantify outcomes in a sustained way to demonstrate that patient-centered care with comprehensive services along a bio/psycho/social/spiritual spectrum results in faster and better outcomes.

• The Center for Youth Services – The Arnett House – an LGBTQ and trafficked homeless youth residence | $40,000

  Full funding provided to the Center for Youth. This independent living residence on Arnett Boulevard will provide immediate response and respite care to young people, ages 12-18 who identify on the LGBTQIA spectrum and in need of shelter and supportive services. Program participants will receive case management support so that we can continue to follow and monitor and support of young people engaged in the program. And once placed in permanent housing, our Care Manager will follow up with 100% of the clients and provide more frequent and longer connections to those who present more needs.

• The Children’s Agenda – Making Systems Work for Children in the Context of COVID-19 | $30,000

  Partial funding provided to the Children’s Agenda. This grant will provide the foundational resources necessary to tackle advocacy for the systemic policy changes needed as we collaboratively create more stable systems of support for children and families. The Children’s Agenda is in a unique position to devote nimble, independent advocacy efforts, supported by Wilson Foundation funds, to achieve long-term gains for children in the Rochester area.

• University of Rochester/Mt. Hope Family Center – Passage: Developmental Continuity in Trauma Prevention | $50,000*

  Partial multi-year funding. Mt Hope Family center well expand and augment one of their most impactful programs to address complex trauma among vulnerable Rochester children and families. The 2-yr period will allow them build continuity between our Building Health Children and PATHS programs, significantly increasing their capacity to support younger children, retain/transition them across our key interventions, and improve their long-term social/emotional well-being.

• UR Medicine Home Care – Health Home Care support for client rent assistance | $10,000

  Full funding provided. UR Medicine Home Care is full service, not-for-profit home health agency. Our mission is to preserve and enhance to quality of life for the people and communities we serve by providing comprehensive, high quality health care at home delivered with compassion and integrity.

• Veterans Outreach Center – Peer Support, Morale and Wellness- Suicide Prevention Veterans Project | $10,000

  Partial funding provided. VOC have seen hundreds of at-risk veterans move their lives forward from homelessness to permanent housing, from unemployment to job stability, as well as the ability to embrace coping skills to address mental health issues. For many veterans, the first step is to work together toward stabilization by meeting basic needs. Their Quartermaster Club provides veterans with food (nonperishable AND fresh options available), personal care items, winter clothing, bus passes, and other essentials. They also offer legal assistance, financial planning services, veteran benefits counseling, employment and training services and housing assistance.

• YWCA of Rochester and Monroe County – YWCA Housing Instability Prevention Program | $20,000

  Partial funding provided. The YWCA family shelter is a trauma-responsive environment where women and families have choice and autonomy over their services, and where trained Prevention Specialists help to identify and work through trauma symptoms. Their project will contribute to reducing the impacts of trauma and housing instability for youth and families in several ways. First, when a family experiences homelessness they need a safe, warm, and welcoming place to temporarily reside while they remediate the crisis of not having a home. Secondly, they will reduce trauma by working closely with families to reduce the time they stay in a shelter by finding affordable, community-based, permanent housing.