Kaiser Permanente has awarded $655,000 in grants to 13 community organizations and nonprofits throughout the Washington, D.C. region, Northern Virginia and Baltimore to improve community health. The recent grants address access to healthcare as well as social factors that can impact a person’s total health, such as access to safe housing, thriving schools, and economic opportunity. Evidence shows that social determinants of health account for approximately 70% of health outcomes and are also contributing factors of health inequities
The funds will help provide staffing for critical community organizations and social services, as well as facilitate uninterrupted operations during these challenging times when so many safety net organizations are struggling. Additionally, these commitments dovetail with Kaiser Permanente’s recent $5 million investment and creation of a loan fund to support preservation and production of affordable housing along the Purple Line corridor in Prince George’s County and Montgomery County, Maryland. Housing Initiative Partnership, National Housing Trust, and Enterprise Community Partners will direct their grants to affordable housing initiatives.
“Kaiser Permanente is honored to support these impactful community organizations that provide vital services to community members throughout the region,” said Ruth Williams-Brinkley, regional president of Kaiser Permanente, Mid-Atlantic. “Working together, we can address homelessness, we can make our school environments stronger, and we can create economic opportunity that paves the way for thriving communities.”
The grants will support the following organizations and initiatives throughout the Mid-Atlantic region:
- Chase Brexton (Greater Baltimore): Connect low-income pregnant women and new mothers to social health supports.
- Regional Primary Care Coalition (Metropolitan Washington, D.C.): Expand Kaiser Permanente’s understanding of the School-Based Health Centers and ‘telehealth in schools’ landscapes to inform future strategy.
- Culmore Clinic (Fairfax County, VA): Leverage Kaiser Permanente’s expertise in diabetes and lifestyle management to support community clinic interventions.
- Housing Initiative Partnership, Inc. (Prince George’s County, MD): Educate tenants, promote affordable housing, and prevent displacement of residents in low-income and immigrant neighborhoods along the Purple Line in Montgomery County and Prince George’s County.
- National Housing Trust, Inc. (Washington, D.C.): Supports the building of affordable housing units along the Purple Line Corridor.
- Enterprise Community Partners (Montgomery County & Prince George’s County, MD): Equitable support of Faith-Based Development Initiative Purple Line Corridor houses of worship; help create affordable housing for low- to moderate-income families.
- Community Foundation for Northern Virginia (Northern Virginia): Support community-based organizations in providing social health resources to clients through the Mid-Atlantic Community Network.
- Medical Care for Children Partnership Foundation (Fairfax County, MD): Improve access to health care and coverage associated with dental, medical, mental health services, nutrition access/food security, and other needs (vision screening and medication adherence, etc.)
- The Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness (Washington, D.C.): Provide access to housing resources for single adults across Washington, D.C., Montgomery County, Md., and Prince George’s County, MD.
- Pathway Homes, Inc. (Fairfax County, VA): Move homeless individuals struggling with mental illness into affordable permanent supported housing in Fairfax County, Va. and Washington, D.C.
- Future Baltimore Schools Cohort – via Bon Secours Foundation (Baltimore, MD): Implement recommendations from Thriving Schools Integration Assessment.
- Baltimore City Public Schools – via Fund For Educational Excellence (Baltimore, MD): Support mental health and wellbeing initiatives in Baltimore City Public Schools.
- Baltimore Community Lending (Baltimore, MD): Reduce barriers to lending by providing business training in lieu of collateral and high credit scores; generate an estimated 60 new jobs by reducing debt for 24 businesses.
“Addressing our metropolitan area’s homelessness crisis will require regional collaboration. Individuals experiencing homelessness may sleep in one city or county, but work in another, or seek services in yet another. That’s why Washington, D.C. wants to improve our partnership with neighboring cities and counties to exchange data and prioritize housing placement for those most in need,” said Elisabeth Young, senior analyst at The Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness. “We are so appreciative of the grant from Kaiser Permanente, which will help improve coordination between organizations in Washington, D.C., Montgomery County and Prince George’s County to expedite housing placement for single individuals and veterans experiencing homelessness in these areas.”
“Partnering with Kaiser Permanente is such a pleasure – the organization’s excitement and commitment to helping small business in Baltimore is clearly intentional and sincere,” said Bonnie Crockett, director, Small Business Lending at Baltimore Community Lending, Inc. “Our Small Business Loan program is designed to break down barriers to credit and bring equity to small business lending, especially for people of color and women entrepreneurs. Kaiser Permanente’s generosity has made that capital more affordable and more accessible.”
The recent grants are one way that Kaiser Permanente is working to address important factors that impact health across the region. In 2020, the region’s leading health system launched the Mid-Atlantic Community Network, which uses a technology platform to connect social service providers with community members, who may need services such as housing, food or mental health assistance, across the region. To date, the network has 867 community partners and has provided more than 1,671 referrals to services across the region. In addition to the network, in 2021, Kaiser Permanente provided a total of $169.7 million in grants and community benefit programs across the Mid-Atlantic region to support various social health initiatives.
About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America’s leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, Kaiser Permanente has a mission to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve almost 12.5 million members in 8 states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal Permanente Medical Group physicians, specialists, and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery, and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education, and the support of community health. For more information, go to about.kp.org.
