AmeriHealth Caritas Foundation Tackles Childhood Trauma in Ohio With Grants to Three Community Organizations

- Newtown Square, Pa.

Three Ohio organizations will enhance their work to mitigate and prevent adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) through grants from the AmeriHealth Caritas Foundation. The grants, totaling $150,000, will fund programs at Lima's Bradfield Community Center as well as southeast Ohio's Appalachian Children Coalition and Passion Works Studio.

ACEs are potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood, such as violence, abuse, and growing up with family members struggling with substance use disorder or mental illness. ACEs are linked to chronic health problems, mental illness, and substance misuse in adulthood.

"Preventing and responding to ACEs is a powerful way to help children have the best chance at lifelong health and well-being," said Mark Grippi, CEO and market president of AmeriHealth Caritas Ohio, a managed care organization serving Ohio Medicaid enrollees. "We appreciate the AmeriHealth Caritas Foundation's support of these organizations' efforts to create communities in which every child and adult can thrive."

Boys & Girls Club programming in Lima

AmeriHealth Caritas Foundation presented a grant to Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Indiana to expand programming at the Bradfield Community Center in Lima, Ohio. Pictured, from left to right, are AmeriHealth Caritas Foundation Director Lauren Maloney, Bradfield Community Center Executive Director Chris Jackson, Boys and Girls Club of Northeast Indiana President and CEO Joe Jordan, and AmeriHealth Caritas Ohio Market President Mark Grippi.

 

AmeriHealth Caritas Foundation awarded a grant to Boys & Girls Club of Northeast Indiana to fund the creation of a Boys & Girls Club chapter at Lima's Bradfield Community Center. More than 23% of Lima's population lives in poverty, and research shows that kids who grow up in poverty are at higher risk of experiencing an ACE.

"Boys & Girls Clubs do very important work to support children, particularly those who face the challenges of poverty," said Joe Jordan, president and CEO of Boys & Girls Club of Northeast Indiana. "Many Lima residents depend on the Bradfield Community Center and its programs. We applaud AmeriHealth Caritas Foundation's effort to help Bradfield Community Center enhance and expand its programs."

School and community activities to address childhood trauma in Appalachian Ohio

AmeriHealth Caritas Foundation presented a grant to Appalachian Children Coalition to further its efforts to address adverse childhood experiences in southeast Ohio. Pictured, from left to right, are Appalachian Children Coalition Executive Director Randy Leite, AmeriHealth Caritas Ohio CEO and Market President Mark Grippi, AmeriHealth Caritas Foundation Director Lauren Maloney, and State Rep. Jay Edwards (R-Nelsonville).

 

Appalachian Children Coalition will use its grant to fund programming by its member organizations addressing child exposure to trauma and building resilience among youth in Ohio's Appalachia region, where one in three children under the age of six live in poverty. The region also has the state's highest rates of babies born with neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome and a shortage of child behavioral health specialists.

"We greatly appreciate the support shown by the AmeriHealth Caritas Foundation," said Randy Leite, executive director of the Appalachian Children's Coalition. "Its commitment to the health and wellbeing of children, especially those who experience trauma in their lives, matches ours. We appreciate its partnership."

Expanding artist opportunities for those with IDD and women recovering from substance use disorder

AmeriHealth Caritas Ohio CEO and Market President Mark Grippi, AmeriHealth Caritas Foundation Director Lauren Maloney, State Rep. Jay Edwards (R-Nelsonville), and Passion Works Studio Founder Patty Mitchell gather with artists and staff in Passion Works' Athens, Ohio studio. AmeriHealth Caritas Foundation presented a grant to Passion Works to further its efforts to address adverse childhood experiences in southeast Ohio.

 

The money awarded to Passion Works Studio will allow for more people to participate in its art development programs.

Passion Works Studio's artists include Ohioans with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and women recovering from substance use disorder. Those with IDDs are four to 10 times more likely to experience abuse than their non-disabled peers, according to Disability Justice. These risks are even higher in low-income communities, like Passion Works Studio's southeast Ohio service area.

"Passion Works Studio thrives through collaboration and sharing. This grant from the AmeriHealth Caritas Foundation will strengthen our support of our artists' talents and help expand our work to more members of our community," said Patty Mitchell, founder of Passion Works Studio.