St. Joseph Health, Humboldt County (SJH-HC) announced today that it will award $300,000 to 30 local non-profit organizations as part of its Care for the Poor Community Grant program. The funds – dispersed to agencies throughout the entire county – meet a variety of community needs such as hunger, housing, senior support, addiction, and health and wellness promotion.
“St. Joseph Health has a long tradition in Humboldt County of giving back to support the most vulnerable in our community,” said Martha Shanahan, manager of Community Health Investment, SJH-HC. “We’ve been in this community for 100 years and every investment we make is part of the fabric that makes Humboldt a great place to live.”
SJH-HC, which operates St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka and Redwood Memorial Hospital in Fortuna, has long offered programs and services to the underserved in the county. Since 2012, SJH-HC has invested $1.7M in the local community through its Care for the Poor Community Grant program.
Overall, the Community Benefit impact on community programs and services from SJH-HC was $11.9M for 2019.
Noted Ms. Shanahan, “We recognize we can’t do this alone, by supporting local non-profit partners, we are saying, ‘you do great work, and we want you to do even more’”
For non-profits like Food for People, grants received from St. Joseph Health supports their mission to expand access to food countywide to the most poor and vulnerable.
“Our community is incredibly fortunate that St. Joseph Health understands that food security is an important determinant of health,” said Carly Robbins, Development Director for Food for People. “Food insecurity is associated with a higher risk of diet-related chronic diseases and is associated with greater healthcare costs, including avoidable emergency department visits. Providing access to nutritious food for vulnerable people locally helps create a healthy community for us all.”
“On behalf of our 1,200 caregivers that serve this community, St. Joseph Health, Humboldt County is proud to continue support of our community partnerships,” said Roberta Luskin-Hawk, M.D., Chief Executive, SJH-HC. “We are honored to carry on the legacy of our founding Sisters by remaining steadfast to elevating the quality of life of those in the communities we serve.”
The media is invited to the grant award ceremony on January 17, 2019 at 8:30 a.m. at the St. Joseph Hospital Conference Center located in the southwest corner of the main hospital.
St. Joseph Health, Humboldt County grantees in 2020 include the following agencies:
Westside Community Improvement Association
Willow Creek Youth Partnership dba Dream Quest
Mattole Restoration Council
Orick Elementary School
Humboldt Area Center for Harm Reduction (HACHR)
North Coast Growers' Association
Locally Delicious
Big Brothers Big Sisters of the North Coast
Area 1 Agency on Aging
Mercy’s Haven, Inc.
Eureka Rescue Mission
Affordable Homeless Housing Alternatives
Wild Souls Ranch
Klamath Trinity Resource Conservation District
Arcata House Partnership
Betty Kwan Chin Homeless Foundation
Boys and Girls Club of the Redwoods
CASA of Humboldt
English Express
Food for People
Fortuna Adventist Community Services
Healy Senior Center of So. Humboldt Inc.
Hospice of Humboldt
Humboldt Network of Family Resource Centers
Humboldt Senior Resource Center
DHHS Public Health Branch, North Coast AIDS Project
North Coast Substance Abuse Council, Inc.
Redwood Community Action Agency, Family Services Division
St. Vincent de Paul
Wiyot Tribe
For more information about the Care for the Poor Community Grantmaking program, please contact Martha Shanahan at martha.shanahan@stjoe.org.
For more information about St. Joseph Health, Humboldt County Community Benefit please visit this link: https://www.stjoehumboldt.org/for-community/community-benefit/.
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