Final Pitches Made for i2 $1 Million Challenge Grant-Announcement Coming Soon!

 

Advancing Sustainable Innovation

Solving our most intractable health and wellness challenges 

Our Innovation Initiative (i2) $1 Million Challenge Grant is about applying high-risk, high-reward innovation to address our community’s health inequities. We seek solutions that can lead to increased improvements in one or more Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) conditions for priority populations in need.

Yesterday, after a 12-month long mentoring journey, the five i2 finalists gave their final presentations to an audience comprised of our Board of Trustees, committee members, Resident Leaders, staff, i2 advisors and Innovation Partner, Nex Cubed. “We are impressed with the work and progress each of the finalists has made. Along the way, some of them pivoted their business model for greater impact and success, and some discovered new ways to think bigger in terms of scale and sustainability. Regardless of which organization receives the grant, we are confident that all of these amazing groups will achieve their desired success,” says Sarah Lyman, Executive Director, Alliance Healthcare Foundation.

The 2022 Innovation Initiative (i2) $1 Million Challenge Grantee will be announced in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, here’s a summary of the solutions being developed by the i2 Finalists.

 

WORKS, an Alternative Staffing Enterprise: Fighting economic inequality

Unlike traditional staffing companies, Kitchens for Good WORKS’ primary goal is to increase workers’ income and wealth building opportunities. To that end, the enterprise is committed to providing living wages, health benefits, savings plans, and support services to job seekers who face barriers to employment.

 

Village Community Food Hub: Bringing food justice to southeastern San Diego

More than just a grocery store, The Project New Village community food hub will be a community food resource center connecting communities to healthy, locally-sourced food at accessible locations so they can use their purchasing power to change the food system and develop permanent community assets.

 

 

BIPOC to BIPOC Mental Health Services: Learning to break free of intergenerational traumas

Urban Restoration Counseling Center (URCC) is a non-profit organization that provides mental health services to people of color by people of color. Their services include case management; individual, couples/conjoint, and family therapy; as well as psychoeducation and psychotherapy groups.

 

Health Equity Platform: Bringing generational health to marginalized communities

Welfie is a health equity platform delivering health education and care coordination to families on Medicaid and underserved communities of color.

 

Trauma-Informed Care Code of Conduct (TICCC): Applying a lived-experience lens

Youth Empowerment is a trauma-informed organization that models their mentorship style and other transformational modules to train stakeholders in the methodology they have innately and naturally delivered as a “credible messenger” entity.