Allegheny County Health Department awards $113K in grants

Teghan Simonton | Tuesday, December 10, 2019 2:29 p.m.

The Allegheny County Health Department

The Allegheny County Health Department awarded 13 mini-grants totaling $113,552 to local organizations for projects aimed at addressing racial equality in chronic disease factors.

The projects will increase access to healthy food, physical activity and connect residents to clinical care, the health department said.

Social factors like employment, education and access to health services can affect a person’s ability to prevent chronic diseases — including diabetes, heart disease and cancer, according to the health department. The mini-grants are meant to address these factors, specifically in black communities.

The 13 organizations receiving mini-grants are Macedonia FACE, Obama PTSA, Homewood Children’s Village, Civically, Youth Opportunities Development/Grind Hard Training, Olivia E. Doswell, Pittsburgh Major Taylor Cycling Club, Pittsburgh Black Pride, Allen Place, Homewood Concerned Citizens, Ebenezer Baptist Church, Women Empowered for Entrepreneurial Excellence and Kenny’s Homewood.

Homewood Children’s Village received a mini-grant of $9,275, which will be put toward the organization’s Powerpack program, said Walter Lewis, president and CEO of the organization. Lewis said Powerpack supports children at local Homewood communities, as well as families who are experiencing food insecurity by providing nutritious food items.

Lewis sees Powerpack as a small step in addressing broader issues like education and mobility.

“It doesn’t address the root causes of food insecurity, but I think it’s a start,” he said. “And it can address an immediate need. You’ve got to meet people where they are.”

Allegheny County received the REACH grant from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in September 2018, an amount of nearly $735,000. The funding involved multiple community partners, and provided allocations for the mini-grants to “strengthen the grassroots infrastructure for community health,” according to a 2018 news release.

According to a county Health Equity Brief from 2018, a higher percentage of black residents smoke — 30%, compared to 19% of white individuals. Black residents in Allegheny County also have slightly higher rates of developing chronic lung disease and diabetes.

“Thanks to funding through our Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) grant, and with additional funding provided by the Highmark Foundation, we are very pleased to announce these awards to local organizations that are tackling health equity and chronic disease risk factors in their communities,” said Dr. Roderick Harris, deputy director of Community Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. “We look forward to continuing to work with these groups so that we can better understand and address critical issues in these high-risk, priority areas.”

Yvonne Cook, president of the Highmark Foundation, said in a news release that the foundation has often supported the health department’s efforts to promote healthier lifestyles.

“By working together to expand the health department’s capacity to address health equity we will continue to break down barriers to healthy living and work to create healthy communities,” said Cook.