Grants support efforts to promote health-care access, strengthen New Mexico’s pipeline of health professionals, advocate for policies that bolster healthy communities, and provide education and care for populations that need extra support, including people with disabilities, uninsured patients, caregivers and at-risk youth.

Nonprofits receiving grants serve people statewide and specifically in Bernalillo, Chaves, Cibola, Colfax, Doña Ana, Grant, Los Alamos, Luna, McKinley, Mora, Otero, Quay, Rio Arriba, San Juan, San Miguel, Sandoval, Santa Fe, Taos, Torrance and Valencia counties.

Con Alma awarded New Mexico Coalition Against Domestic Violence a $10,000 technical-assistance grant to address a gap in training for health professionals responding to non-fatal strangulation in domestic violence cases, a common occurrence that has long-term health consequences.

“This grant from the Con Alma Health Foundation will support the statewide training of New Mexico doctors, medical students, first responders and nurses and is a critical piece of an overall multidisciplinary approach to identifying the health risks of strangulation incidents, documenting the injuries, prosecuting the offenders, and connecting the victims to effective services,” said Lisa Weisenfeld, policy coordinator for the New Mexico Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

Con Alma awarded New Mexico Voices for Children one of the multi-year grants to address a critical health issue statewide. “With Medicaid facing serious threats at both the state and federal levels, this grant could not be more timely or important, said James Jimenez, executive director of New Mexico Voices for Children. “It will allow us to engage with communities by arming them with data and encouraging them to tell their own stories to policymakers about how those threats would impact the nearly 800,000 New Mexicans who rely on Medicaid for their health care. We view this grant as vital for protecting the health of New Mexico’s children and families.”

Con Alma honored its grant recipients at the health foundation’s annual grantee recognition event in November. “We are honored to award grants to nonprofits that work hard to address the challenges people face in living healthy lives, especially in rural, underserved areas,” said Dolores E. Roybal, Con Alma’s executive director.

The grants include $150,000 to 14 nonprofits that serve people in Los Alamos, Rio Arriba and northern Santa Fe counties through a partnership between Con Alma and the Hospital Auxiliary for the Los Alamos Medical Center, called the Northern New Mexico Health Grants Group.

Multi-Year Grants,

building alliances and capacity to address access and policies that advance health equity and impact underserved populations (4 grants, totaling $200,000)

• Generation Justice ($50,000) for innovative approaches that harness the power of media using inter-generational positive youth development in creating media campaigns that give rise to narratives based on truth, analysis and hope, and shift prominent media narratives to one of health equity and systems change
• New Energy Economy ($50,000) to build the capacity of Four-corner residents to conduct a health impact assessment as a tool to advocate for a community-driven transition planning processes to raise the voices of workers and residents in northwestern New Mexico impacted by the San Juan Generating Station and mine’s imminent closure
• New Mexico Voices for Children ($50,000) to inform the public about proposed changes to, and impacts of, Medicaid on the health and economic security of New Mexicans by building community partnerships, conducting research and analysis, showcasing project findings and leveraging media to raise visibility
• Santa Fe Community College ($50,000) towards developing the Licensed Practical Nurse Career Pathway, a nursing program at Capitol High School in Santa Fe that would lead to employment and/or transfer to a pre-licensure nursing program as well as establish a core curriculum and sustainable model for other high schools in New Mexico

Small Grants, supporting health systems strategies to address the needs of our diverse communities (15 grants, totaling $175,000)

• Chainbreaker Collective ($9,000) in support of building leadership among low-income community members in Santa Fe to create and be involved in “Development Without Displacement Overlay,” a strength-based community-led development model
• Compostela Community and Family Cultural Institute ($10,000) for an innovative Community Health Worker/Navigator Training Project to build on the strengths of bilingual, bicultural Taos residents with disabilities seeking a path back to employment
• El Pueblo Health Services ($8,000) towards implementing an outreach campaign to ensure residents of rural and low-income communities in Sandoval County have the opportunity to access quality, integrated health and behavioral care services
• Healthy Native Communities Partnership ($12,500) to engage community members and local advocates to connect data with collective wisdom and drive community solutions via Community Wellness Planning sessions in McKinley County
• Help Outreach Taos ($15,000) towards implementing a coordinated approach to improve community response around suicide, prevention and intervention, and reduce negative stigma around mental health and substance abuse issues
• National Latino Behavioral Health Association ($13,000) towards maximizing delivery and accessibility of the On-Line Behavioral Health Interpreter Training to increase availability for New Mexico based interpreters in the behavioral health system
• New Mexico Child Advocacy Network (NMCAN) ($14,000) in support of building the leadership and advocacy capacity of youth who spent time in foster care, as partners in developing policy and programming that prioritizes normalizing the foster care experience
• New Mexico Direct Caregivers Coalition ($12,500) to improve the quality of New Mexico’s frontline healthcare jobs by leading a process on implementation of the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act and codifying a toolkit of exemplary employment practices
• New Mexico Environmental Law Center ($15,000) in support of providing New Mexico’s community and environmental advocates the legal tools required to more deeply impact policies that affect safe, sustainable drinking water and environmental health
• New Mexico Resiliency Alliance ($13,000) for the Community Resilience Initiative which seeks to evaluate measures and methods of dialogue that builds on community strengths, a mentality of opportunity, and increases public investment in local communities
• Prosperity Works ($8,000) towards expanding Prosperity Kids, a project that leverages resources and invests in families by opening pathways through a child’s savings account, in partnership with low-income communities in Mora County and Albuquerque
• Quay County Health Council ($8,000) in support of developing a model for access to healthcare through piloting a telehealth for system-wide provision through partnerships with community organizations and Presbyterian Healthcare Services
• Southwest Organizing Project ($8,000) in support of expanding the University Sin Fronteras program focused on leadership, policy, and civic engagement that builds upon participants’ talents, wisdom, and intergenerational skills-sharing
• University of New Mexico – KUNM FM 89.9 ($15,000) in support of KUNM’s Public Health New Mexico reporting project to increase awareness and knowledge about public health and poverty issues in New Mexico with special attention to rural communities
• Zuni Youth Enrichment Project ($14,000) towards Promoting Youth Resilience through Camp Counselor Training program aimed at gaining understanding of Native American histories of perseverance and incorporating principles of trauma-informed care

 Technical Assistance Grants, strengthening the capacity of New Mexico’s nonprofit sector (13 grants, totaling $100,000)

• Abrazos Family Support Services ($7,000) towards improving the quality of services in Bernalillo, Sandoval, Torrance, and Valencia counties via training and by increasing family involvement in the design and implementation of early intervention programs
• Breath of My Heart Birthplace ($7,000) to support the Care Coalition for Northern Families’ capacity to better serve pregnant women, infants, and children in Rio Arriba and northern Santa Fe counties and the Eight Northern Pueblos
• Community Partnership for Children ($10,000) to support quality educational and health programming of young children through the next phase of shared-function training and technical assistance of a Grant County early childcare collaborative network
• The Counseling Center ($8,000) towards strengthening the capacity and partnership between the Otero County Juvenile Justice Board, The Counseling Center, and Alamogordo Public Schools to address behavioral health needs of at-risk youth
• East Central Ministries, Inc. ($7,500) to engage consulting services to assist with building a stronger administrative foundation through improved internal protocols and systems leading to deeper community impact in Albuquerque’s International District
• Enlace Comunitario ($7,000) to build the capacity of New Mexico domestic violence shelters and outreach programs to replicate Enlace’s culturally and linguistically appropriate, survivor-led program and incorporate guidance from Alumni Promotoras
• Las Clinicas del Norte ($8,500) in support of Bridges Out of Poverty, a staff training program designed to examine and eliminate barriers to health care through changing program designs, policies and procedures in order to lead to improved outcomes
• Las Cumbres Community Services ($10,000) to pilot the CASITAs program to develop a unique specialization for CASA volunteers working with children ages birth through five, in partnership with the Court Appointed Special Advocates
• Mesilla Valley CASA, Inc. ($8,000) to increase volunteer recruitment, comprehensive training and on-going supervision of advocates to ensure foster children have a dedicated advocate who can help ensure positive outcomes in Doña Ana County
• New Mexico Coalition Against Domestic Violence ($10,000) for the Medical Response to Domestic Violence-Related Strangulation training that teaches how to identify health risks, document injuries, prosecute offenders and connect survivors to advocacy services
• One Door Campus ($5,000) in support of developing an evaluation framework to establish an integrated coordinated referral system for individuals and families experiencing homelessness in Santa Fe and surrounding counties
• Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico ($7,000) towards training healthcare and behavior health providers to ensure access and safety for transgender New Mexicans in healthcare settings including identifying and recruiting providers in underserved areas
• University of New Mexico Evaluation Lab ($5,000) in support of building the Lab’s reach and capacity to help nonprofit staff develop ongoing and sustainable evaluation processes for decision making using Evaluation Lab’s proven curriculum

Northern New Mexico Health Grants Group, a partnership of Con Alma Health Foundation and the Hospital Auxiliary for the Los Alamos Medical Center (14 grants totaling $150,000)

• American Heart Association ($7,000) for the CPR in Schools: Creating the Next Generation of Lifesavers program, which makes CPR kits and trainings available to teachers and students in Rio Arriba and Los Alamos high schools
• Angioma Alliance, New Mexico Branch ($10,000) for the Baca Family Historical Project to decrease barriers for those affected by a genetic form of cerebral cavernous malformations, a blood vessel illness affecting residents of northern New Mexico
• Cancer Services of New Mexico ($5,000) to enable families from Los Alamos, Española and Northern Santa Fe county to participate in 2018 family retreats to strengthen emotional support systems and increase understanding of the patient experience
• Compassionate Touch Network ($12,500) for Breaking the Silence: Changing the Conversation Around Mental Illness, which engages teenagers in Española, Los Alamos and Pojoaque in classroom lessons, public forums and monologues by family members
• ECHO ($9,000) for the Food For Kids Backpack Program in rural Rio Arriba County schools, including Chama, Dulce and Tierra Amarilla, with kid-friendly, nutritious food to support good health and improve educational success
• Family Learning Center ($13,500) for the Wrap-Around Program for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, which provides assistance to families living in Española and surrounding communities in Rio Arriba County
• The Family YMCA ($14,000) for the Española YMCA Teen Center’s Youth Outreach and Service-Learning programs that connect youth to their communities in positive ways that support healthy choices, skills building and tutoring to improve grades
• Las Clinicas del Norte ($15,000) to expand access to affordable high quality dental care services through a dental mobile unit visiting rural senior centers and schools in the Abiquiu and Ojo Caliente areas where care is limited or non-existent
• Los Alamos Family Council ($15,000) to support access to community mental health services in Los Alamos and surrounding areas for everyone who needs support services related to suicide, substance abuse or domestic violence, regardless of an ability to pay
• Los Alamos Juvenile Justice Advisory Board ($13,000) to further expand the Youth Mental Health First Aid Trainings for Los Alamos Public School employees who interact with youth to recognize symptoms and refer adolescents in crisis to supportive services
• McCurdy Schools of Northern New Mexico ($13,500) for Project Cariño, which provides mental health counseling to all ages of students and their families to help promote self-esteem, emotional well-being, social, and educational outcomes
• Northern Youth Project ($9,000) for Improving Health Outcomes of Rural Teens in northern New Mexico through mentoring and internship programs where teens learn from mentors and work to design and implement arts, agriculture and leadership projects
• Ronald McDonald House Charities of New Mexico ($6,000) for the House Lodging Program, which provides a home away from home for families of pediatric patients from Rio Arriba County while they are accessing needed medical care in Albuquerque
• Somos Amigos of Northern New Mexico ($7,500) for the Homes Repair for Better Health program, which allows low-income residents to remain safe, secure and healthy in their own homes in Española, Chimayo, Los Alamos and surrounding rural communities