Photo from Eastern Star Church, ROCK Initiative, the engine and umbrella for community development to improve the quality of life for the Arlington Woods community. 38.2% of residents in the area live at or below the poverty line; household incomes average $25,292 and unemployment is well above 4.6% due to COVID-19.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Christian Theological Seminary’s Faith & Action Project is providing $75,000 in emergency relief grants to seven organizations whose poverty mitigation work includes mental health services and family stability measures.
Working with community networks, past Faith & Action grant recipients and others, CTS identified seven organizations who received these emergency relief grants prior to April 30:
- Eastern Star Church ROCK Intitiative, $10,000
- Edna Martin Christian Center, $10,000
- Julian Center, $10,000
- MLK Center, $10,000
- Sandra Eskenazi Mental Health Center at Eskenazi Health, $15,000
- Shepherd Community Center, $10,000
- Volunteers of America, $10,000
“As we address the crisis in front of us, we still focus on the long-term goal of eradicating poverty,” said Lindsey Nell Rabinowitch, Faith & Action Project Director. “We believe that mental health is as important as food and shelter in overcoming current challenges, and we’re pleased to partner with organizations doing this work.”
The grant money is helping these organizations to provide their critical community services at a difficult time, and many are using it for the technology needed to meet the challenges of social distancing.
For example, Volunteers of America is using the support to ensure employees have the resources for essential case management and counseling services to clients in residential care through telemedicine and other virtual means. They’re also using the funding to ensure all employees have hotspot devices, laptops, teleconferencing equipment, and platform licenses.
The Sandra Eskenazi Mental Health Center at Eskenazi Health is using the support to standardize their technology so that staff can work more efficiently with their clients. Most immediately, that means providing cellphones and iPads for those employees who work in the community. The money is also helping to fund data plans and hardware for teletherapy services.
Rabinowitch explained, “Those in poverty are already struggling with access challenges and the pandemic has increased those challenges by geography, loss of employment and health risks. CTS’s Faith & Action Project is doubling down on our efforts to push back poverty.”
About the Faith & Action Project
The Faith & Action Project at Christian Theological Seminary is dedicated to helping to spark a revolution of hope by leveraging resources of communities of faith to connect, inspire and empower lasting solutions for people confronting poverty. Through annual public events and grants, the Faith & Action Project seeks to ignite a solution-oriented movement for inclusive well-being in our community. The Faith & Action Project is supported by the Mike and Sue Smith Family Fund and Lumina Foundation. For more, visit www.cts.edu/faith-action-project/.
