• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Blue Cross Foundation Grants Promote Good Health Among New Minnesotans

Posted on: Tuesday, 28 August 2007, 15:14 CDT

EAGAN, Minn., Aug. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Seventeen organizations have received a grant under the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation "Healthy Together: Creating Community with New Americans" program. The grants, totaling $381,000, promote good health among Minnesota's growing immigrant populations -- and the communities they settle in -- by building understanding and appreciation for each other's cultures.

"Immigrants face many challenges when coming to a new land," said Joan Cleary, foundation vice president. "The process of adjusting is difficult and takes time. Many of these projects focus on culturally appropriate mental health screenings and services, such as Welcoming Circles, that help newcomers adjust. An equally important part of building healthy communities is connecting people with each other -- both immigrants and those who have lived here for many years. Healthier communities have stronger social networks and support systems that bond people together."

Under Healthy Together, launched in 2005, the foundation makes grants to projects that foster exchanges and interactions between immigrants and the broader community, promote the mental health and social adjustment of new Americans, and support the growth and development of immigrant-led, mutual assistance organizations.

Healthy Together builds on the foundation's previous grantmaking programs to help people with cultural differences learn about and use the health care system. Minnesota is home to a growing number of immigrants from Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe, in both metropolitan areas and smaller communities in Greater Minnesota. The state has the country's largest Somali and second-largest Hmong and Liberian populations.

The grants will be used to develop, support or extend an organization's program. They include:

American Oromo Community of Minnesota, St. Paul ($5,000) to support the growth and development of the organization through a formal mentoring relationship with the St. Paul YWCA

Business, Arts, and Recreation Center, Inc., Windom ($10,000) for the Intercultural Communities Uniting to plan exchange projects in six communities in southwest Minnesota

Bosnian Women's Network, Columbia Heights ($30,000) to strengthen the Health Education and Family Support Services Programming with educational workshops and programming in collaboration with the Center for Victims of Torture

City of Blackduck, Blackduck ($40,000) to develop three projects to build relationships between the growing Latino community and the established community of Blackduck

Confederation of Somali Community in Minnesota, Minneapolis ($40,000) to support the Somali Health Network, a collaborative of organizations that provide mental health resources for Somalis

Central Minnesota Community Foundation, St. Cloud ($10,000) for the Create Community Program to connect immigrants and the broader communities in the Central Minnesota region

Family and Children's Services, Minneapolis ($40,000) to collaborate with Casa de Esperanza on a screening, assessment and referral program for Latino children and families affected by trauma

Hmong Cultural Center, St. Paul ($10,000) to develop information on Hmong views of health and illness for health care workers and educators

Hmong United International of Minnesota, St. Paul ($5,000) to develop its key program of mediation and conflict resolution for the Hmong community

Intercultural Mutual Assistance Association, Rochester ($30,000) to expand the Community Health Worker (CHW) program to serve immigrants and refugees in the Rochester area

Lao Assistance Center of Minnesota, Minneapolis ($40,000) to support culturally appropriate mental health and social adjustment programs for Lao and Hmong residents in north Minneapolis

La Escuelita, Minneapolis ($10,000) for organizational development as the agency transitions to its next stage of growth in serving Latino youth in south Minneapolis

Lao Advancement Organization of America, Minneapolis ($10,000) to support the assessment of program capacity and to create strategic partnerships for providing education, employment and economic opportunities for Lao people at all stages of life

Minnesota African Women's Association, Minneapolis ($10,000) to improve governance and management to expand programmatic focus on immigrant health

Minnesota Council of Churches, Minneapolis ($50,000) for the expansion of its Extended Orientation project, which provides comprehensive community orientation for refugees and asylees as they adjust in their new community

Minnesota Immigrant Freedom Network, St. Paul ($31,000) to encourage civic engagement, leadership development and other community building activities between rural immigrants and rural native-born Minnesotans in Austin and Worthington

UNIITE, St. Cloud ($10,000) for its Healthcare and World Religions series regarding how religious and cultural traditions affect the health care decisions of immigrants

For more information on Healthy Together and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation, visit us on the Web at http://www.bcbsmnfoundation.org/, or call (651) 662-3950 or toll free 1-866-812-1593.

The Blue Cross Foundation's purpose is to look beyond health care today for ideas that create healthier communities tomorrow. By addressing key social, economic and environmental factors that determine health - beyond genes, lifestyle and access to health care - the foundation's work extends beyond the traditional reach of the health care system to improve community health long-term and close the health gap that affects many Minnesotans. Since it was established 20 years ago, the foundation has become the state's largest grantmaking foundation to exclusively dedicate its assets to improving health in Minnesota, awarding $20 million since 1986.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, with headquarters in the St. Paul suburb of Eagan, was chartered in 1933 as Minnesota's first health plan and continues to carry out its charter mission today: to promote a wider, more economical and timely availability of health services for the people of Minnesota. A nonprofit, taxable organization, Blue Cross is the largest health plan based in Minnesota, covering more than 2.9 million members in Minnesota and nationally through its health plans or plans administered by its affiliated companies. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, headquartered in Chicago. Visit Blue Cross on the Web at http://www.bluecrossmn.com/.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation

CONTACT: Julie Lee of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of MinnesotaFoundation, +1-651-662-6574

Web site: http://www.bluecrossmn.com/http://www.bcbsmnfoundation.org/

Source: PRNewswire

More News in this Category