Healthy Cents Fund Grant Recipients Announced

ST. JOHNSBURY, VT (August 3, 2023) – NEK Prosper!, the Caledonia and southern Essex accountable health community, has awarded Healthy Cents Fund grants to the NEK Council on Aging, Northeast Kingdom Community Action (NEKCA) and Umbrella.

The NEK Council on Aging received a partially funded grant of $12,000 to research the incorporation of medically-tailored meals into their nutrition program, which supports homebound seniors, in order to provide person-centered, nutritious meals.

“We plan to partner with existing meal sites to provide education and training to provide medically-tailored meals that will help those on special diets to obtain the best nutritional option. This is especially true for those that are diagnosed with blood sugar, heart, and kidney issues,” NEK Council on Aging Director of Nutrition Herb Will said. “In the future, we hope to secure funding that will help offset the increased cost of medically-tailored meals.”

NEKCA received $15,000 to empower local youth to develop and design a youth drop-in center in downtown St. Johnsbury. The space will be safe, fun and inclusive for all.

“We hope to collaborate with community partners in uplifting the ideas that youth have for this space,” NEKCA Director of Family, Youth and Early Education Elizabeth Emmett said. “We envision a space where all youth can gather, serve as leaders in their community, and also access programming and services that they need out of a shared, safe space.”

Umbrella received $23,000 to begin work on creating access to Ignite Change (IC) and The Spark (TS), which are two domestic violence intervention and prevention resources, to the Northeast Kingdom.

“Ignite Change and The Spark are unique in that they are non-criminalizing resources,” Umbrella’s Director of Innovation and Accountability Olivia Plunkett said. “Instead, they are focused on healing.”

Although IC and TS are programs that have already launched, cultural norm dictates that criminalization as the only expected and relied upon response when harm is caused or declared. IC and TS are novel approaches, as neither works to criminalize, trap or shame participants.

“TS & IC are not yet universally understood and trusted resources in our community,” Plunkett added. “It is our responsibility to educate our community about these new resources. If we expect rates of violence to decrease, it is also our responsibility to offer a different response.”

In 2020, NVRH awarded Umbrella a three year grant, totaling $174,000, to establish the St. Johnsbury Community HUB. The HUB was designed to connect community members to opportunities to build social and financial capital with the overall aim to increase financial security. The grant was used to engage the community to create a service hub and a pilot social enterprise.

The Healthy Cents Fund is funded by Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital (NVRH). NVRH receives a lump sum payment from OneCareVT, the statewide Accountable Care Organization (ACO), for delivering healthcare to Medicaid beneficiaries. NVRH has committed to investing 1% of those payments in the Healthy Cents Fund.

“NVRH remains committed to investing in upstream-opportunities and system changes to create thriving communities,” NVRH VP of Marketing and Community Health Improvement Diana Gibbs said. “In collaboration with our community and partners, we’ve selected these Healthy Cents Fund projects to advance efforts to achieve a vision of prosperity for all in Caledonia and southern Essex Counties.”

NEK Prosper! was formed in 2014. NEK Prosper uses the Accountable Health Community model, the collective impact framework, and the principles of Results Based Accountability to guide the work. NEK Prosper! now has participation from over twenty organizations, and five working groups – called Collaborative Action Networks – to champion five outcome areas: our community will be well-nourished, well-housed, physically healthy, mentally healthy, and financially secure. NVRH serves as the integrator organization for NEK Prosper!. To learn more visit www.nekprosper.org