How Community Linkages Funding Supported Nine Organizations Across Eastern Washington
/In 2023, BHT had the honor of awarding $3.6 million to nine organizations across eastern Washington with our Community Linkages funding.
The funding goals included:
Strengthen infrastructure in community-based organizations that provide care coordination and health-related social needs.
Encourage connectivity across sectors in the care system, improving client access to care.
Shift power by supporting organizations that represent the communities they serve.
We aimed to find organizations that demonstrate a strong commitment to caring for the whole person through care coordination and social determinants of health services, such as resources for housing, food, culturally responsive care, transportation, employment, and support for justice-involved populations.
We are excited to share how the nine organizations used the funding and its impact on their communities.
Impact of Community Linkages Funding
The collective impact of these nine organizations demonstrates their influence across the eastern Washington region. Together, they are making a significant difference that resonates throughout the community!
With this funding, partners served approximately 8,000 people, with over half identifying as BIPOC. Individuals include people on Medicaid, youth and young adults, adults 65+, and people with disabilities.
In addition to providing direct services, partners referred to many external supports, including housing, food, education/employment, transportation, legal aid, primary care, and behavioral health services.
Some of the identified barriers to accessing services include immigration status, language access, transportation, safe and affirming care, lack of housing vouchers, and staff capacity.
Partners also used funding to grow their staff by adding case managers, care coordinators, community comadres, peers, and community health workers.
How Organizations Used The Community Linkages Funding
Compassionate Addiction Treatment (CAT)
The OAN IT program—Outreach, Advocacy, and Navigation Ignites Transformation—was established to support individuals exiting the county jail in their transition to stability. By connecting them with essential services, the program aims to reduce recidivism, successfully reaching over 75% of referrals from the jail. CAT peers have gained recognition from several judges and members of the prosecutor’s office as valuable resources for system-involved individuals, demonstrating their effectiveness and positive outcomes. However, the program faces significant challenges, including a housing supply shortage and the criminalization of homelessness, which complicate efforts to provide adequate support.
Community Linkages funding has enabled Latinos en Spokane to grow its staff and expand its efforts in providing comprehensive wraparound services to community members, including housing assistance, health insurance navigation, and preventive health care. A feasibility study has been conducted to explore the possibility of securing a larger space in the future. Additionally, the organization is engaged in policy work and direct enrollment initiatives aimed at increasing Medicaid access for immigrants. However, they face challenges with the recent Apple Health expansion, which has resulted in a limited number of available slots. The organization is actively advocating for further expansions to address these issues.
Northeast Community Center/ The Zone
Community Linkages funding has been utilized to provide targeted housing services for families with children in Northeast Spokane. This includes connecting families to essential social determinants of health services, such as transportation, employment, and childcare. Participants have successfully used tools for budgeting and benefits calculations, reporting a 50% increase in housing stability at the program's midpoint, with 100% creating a household budget. The organization is also exploring collaborations to enhance language support for English language learners. However, a significant challenge remains in the form of limited housing availability.
Community Linkages funding has been used to develop a new program aimed at supporting caregivers of individuals with medically complex needs (more details can be found at https://www.hbpaofspokane.org/medicallycomplex). This initiative focuses on coalition-building, statewide advocacy, and peer support (parent-to-parent). Additionally, the program offers case management and social determinants of health services to 146 families in Adams and Spokane counties. However, they are facing increased challenges, as the demand for housing support has risen significantly compared to previous years.
The Peers in Libraries program was established with Community Linkages funding to provide on-site peer support at the Central Library downtown. Peer supporters offer emotional assistance, distribute food, connect individuals to services, and build trusting relationships within the community. Impressively, the peer team made referrals to resources or services in 95% of their engagements. They collaborate with social work interns, creating a strong combination of peer support and professional guidance. However, the high volume of demand presents challenges, highlighting the need for additional staff. Having peers with specialized expertise, such as in housing, would be particularly beneficial, as housing is a critical need for many community members utilizing these services.
Pacific Islander Community Association of Washington (PICA-WA)
Community Linkages was PICA Spokane’s first significant grant since its start in 2019, helping to build the infrastructure necessary for expanding their work and outreach. This funding supported wellness navigation, providing case management to help families address social determinants of health, and developed a food network that served 406 families during the one-year reporting period. Additionally, a newly established youth council was created to engage young people in their initiatives. However, the organization faces challenges related to language access, housing needs, and the allocation of limited resources.
Rural Resources Community Action
Community Linkages funding is supporting initiatives from their new Deer Park office, which has broadened the organization's geographical reach and improved accessibility for more individuals. With these funds, they offer hypertension self-management support, medication care coordination, and screenings for social determinants of health—conducting nearly 1,200 screenings between October 2023 and May 2024, with every participant offered a screening. These screenings revealed a need for domestic violence support, prompting the organization to develop appropriate responses. Additionally, they are working to integrate community health workers (CHWs) and scale up their services.
With Community Linkages funding, they established support groups for parents of gender-expansive youth, 2SLGBTQIA+ youth, 2SLGBTQIA+ adults, and QTBIPOC adults. These support groups are thriving, thanks in part to a care coordinator who conducts basic screenings for social determinants of health and provides additional support to attendees as needed. While there were initial challenges in finding a skilled clinician to facilitate the groups, they have successfully connected with excellent professionals, and the groups are now progressing well.
West Spokane Wellness Partnership (part of the Northeast Washington ESD 101)
Community Linkages funding was utilized to develop a project focused on youth interventions for substance use prevention. This initiative includes outreach efforts and youth support groups addressing topics such as anxiety, vaping, and tobacco use prevention. The program distributes medication lock boxes, family board games, hygiene items, and other resources that promote holistic health for youth. Additionally, it offers screenings, brief interventions, and referrals to treatment for students participating in the support groups. Feedback from students indicates that their knowledge of available resources has increased significantly through these support sessions.