Three Arches Foundation COVID-19 Response Grants Highlight Increased Focus On Looking After Our Mental Health: Grants Help Nonprofit Organizations Take Care Of Their Clients And Front-Line Caregivers

Recognizing the immediate need for support at the onset of the pandemic, Three Arches Foundation (TAF), a community-focused grant making foundation, established the COVID-19 Response Fund. To date, eight nonprofit organizations serving the people of Lakewood and surrounding communities have received funding for resources towards unanticipated needs and to ensure continued focus on access to care. Prevalent in nearly all grant requests was a common thread of proactively supporting mental health initiatives for the benefit of those served, as well as caregivers and staff.

The health and economic effects of the ongoing pandemic are creating and intensifying significant behavioral health challenges for many individuals and local communities. “The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and magnified the flaws in our mental health system and the true burden of mental illness in our country,” said AMA President Patrice A. Harris, MD, MA. “Behavioral health care integration can help save lives and is a proven model that has many advantages over a more divided one.”

Local organizations that received financial resources through the TAF COVID-19 Response Fund include:

Building Hope in the City
Funding to efficiently repurpose and expand capacity of the Refugee Ambassador Program towards serving and maintaining close contact with refugees and immigrants remotely or in-home within their culture and language comfort, as well as providing health and safety education, well checks and addressing mental health needs.

Carolyn L. Farrell Foundation for Brain Health
Funding to implement socially distanced and virtual delivery methods to allow for the continuation of vital music and arts enrichment programs and activity-based experiences for individuals affected by dementia and other brain health issues.

Cleveland Clinic
Funding towards the ongoing health, well-being and safety of front-line medical caregivers and first responders fighting COVID-19 in Lakewood and throughout the west side communities, including considerations to ease the burden of their critical roles within the family environment.

GiGi’s Playhouse Cleveland
Resources to help re-open its doors in a safe and sanitized environment to continue free, vital therapeutic-based programming for the benefit of the physical and mental health of those individuals with Down syndrome, as well as their families, enhancing the current virtual offering with structured access to care.

Lakewood Senior Citizens Inc.
Hiring of a dedicated COVID-19 Rapid Response Nurse to provide onsite Coronavirus screening and well-being services for residents at the senior-living housing complex, as well as assistance with the coordination of outside health care needs.

Recovery Resources
Funding to enhance necessary physical and behavioral health support services for clients, and balance the safety and well-being of front-line staff essential to providing ongoing care and support.

St. Vincent Charity Medical Center
To ramp up the work of Peer Recovery Supporters – certified specialists with shared lived experience that provide critical support to west-side inpatients in the early stages of seeking help or in active recovery and most vulnerable to relapse during trying and turbulent times.

The Gathering Place
Continued support of the cancer community in Lakewood and surrounding areas with coping programs adapted and enhanced for a virtual environment, as well as increased focus on the mental, physical and emotional health of participants and professional cancer caregivers.

“Early on we observed a shared concern among many nonprofit organizations as local communities faced the reality of disrupted care and the ceasing of relied on services, especially those addressing behavioral health,” said Kristin Broadbent, president and CEO of Three Arches Foundation. “It was inspiring to witness our grant recipients expeditiously identify unique ways to sustain much-needed programs and services within the communities they serve while thinking about the health, safety and welfare of their own people.”

According to Dr. Charlie Farrell, founder and president of the Carolyn L. Farrell Foundation for Brain Health, “Consistent socialization and interaction are key components of successful engagement and arts enrichment programming that are depended upon by families impacted by brain health issues, including Dementia and Alzheimer’s. Concerned with keeping up the momentum of the face-to-face treatments, our staff and arts professionals mobilized quickly to creatively adapt our community programs for a socially distanced environment.”

In addition to these grants, TAF joined with philanthropic funders across Northeast Ohio to provide emergency relief through the Greater Cleveland COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund. This contribution received geographic priority towards efforts that directly impact people in Lakewood and surrounding communities.

The TAF COVID-19 Response Fund will continue to provide support through the end of August concurrent with the opening of the 2020 Annual Grant cycle for qualified organizations on August 1st. For eligibility and guidelines, please visit threearchesfoundation.org.

About Three Arches Foundation (TAF) – Three Arches Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity that invests in advancing the health and well-being of the people of Lakewood and surrounding communities through grant making. By connecting people, ideas and resources, the Three Arches Foundation fosters a collaborative approach towards investing in organizations whose work directly addresses the continuum of physical and behavioral health issues. For more information, visit threearchesfoundation.org.

Kristin Broadbent is the president and CEO of Three Arches Foundation.

Kristin Broadbent

Kristin Broadbent, president and CEO, Three Arches Foundation

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Volume 16, Issue 16, Posted 3:41 PM, 08.19.2020