Grants Give Recent Immigrants a Healthier Start

EAGAN, Minn. (July 12, 2006) — The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation (Blue Cross Foundation) has announced $651,800 in grants under its Healthy Together: Creating Community with New Americans initiative. The 26 grants aim to promote good health among Minnesota’s recent immigrant populations by building relationships between new Americans and their broader receiving communities — a key factor in the overall health and quality of life for new and established Americans, alike.

"To help Minnesota truly be the healthiest state in the nation, we need to understand and address the health needs of our changing population," said Daniel Johnson, executive director of the Blue Cross Foundation. "This work starts with helping recent immigrants make a solid adjustment to their new home. The funded projects serve new Minnesotans from all over the world. Helping them gain a foothold on good health has significant implications for the entire state."

Healthy Together grants focus on the intersection of health, immigrant integration, mental health and social adjustment. Research has shown that these factors play a significant role, especially long-term, in the overall health of a community. The grantmaking program builds on the Blue Cross Foundation’s previous experience helping people with unique cultural needs navigate the health care system.

Among the recent grants are:

• Community-University Health Care Center, Minneapolis, $70,000 over two years for culturally/ linguistically appropriate mental health services for Hmong, Laotian and Vietnamese immigrants
• Family & Children’s Service, Minneapolis, $10,000 to develop a model for culturally competent mental health services for Latino children
• Intercultural Mutual Assistance Association, Rochester, $45,000, for expanding its community health worker program for immigrants and refugees in the Rochester area
• Jewish Community Action, St. Paul, $37,500 to build partnerships between Twin Cities Jewish congregations and immigrant groups for stronger, more cohesive communities
• Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Minneapolis, Minneapolis, $90,000 over two years for coordinated health services for Russian-speaking immigrants
• Korean Service Center, Minneapolis, $50,000 to establish a culturally competent assisted living program for Somali elders in public housing in Minneapolis’ Cedar-Riverside community
• Minnesota Immigrant Freedom Network, St. Paul, $30,000 to raise issues facing immigrants and empower youth through its civic engagement program
• Pillsbury United Communities, Minneapolis, $40,000 for community health workers to address mental health issues through culturally/linguistically appropriate care for Somali and Oromo immigrants in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood
• Portico Healthnet, St. Paul, $28,300 for community health worker-supported care management for Twin Cities immigrants in need of mental health services
• St. David’s Child Development and Family Services, Minneapolis, $70,000 over two years for early childhood mental health services to ensure school readiness
• Understanding the Need for Interfaith Intercultural Togetherness and Education (UNIITE), St. Cloud, $46,000 for its Healthcare and World Religions Series in St. Cloud

An additional $135,000 was awarded to 15 organizations for organizational and program planning in three areas: promoting the mental health and social adjustment of new Americans; building the capacity and viability of immigrant-led organizations to improve the health of the communities they serve; and fostering facilitated exchanges between immigrants and the receiving community.

For more information on Healthy Together, the Blue Cross Foundation and a complete listing of all grantmaking to date in 2006, visit us on the Web at www.bluecrossmn.com/foundation or call (651) 662-3950 or toll free 1-866-812-1593.

Media contacts:
Julie Lee
Phone: (651) 662-6574

The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation looks beyond health care today for ideas that create healthier communities tomorrow. By addressing key social, economic and environmental factors that determine health — beyond genes, lifestyle and access to health care — the Foundation works to improve community health long-term and close the health gap that affects many Minnesotans. Since it was established 20 years ago, the Blue Cross Foundation has awarded $20 million to improve health in Minnesota. It is the state’s largest grantmaking foundation to exclusively dedicate its assets to that purpose.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, with headquarters in the St. Paul suburb of Eagan, was chartered in 1933 as Minnesota’s first health plan and continues to carry out its charter mission today: to promote a wider, more economical and timely availability of health services for the people of Minnesota. A not-for-profit, taxable organization, Blue Cross is the largest health plan based in Minnesota, covering 2.7 million members in Minnesota and nationally through its health plans or plans administered by its affiliated companies. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, headquartered in Chicago. Go to www.bluecrossmn.com to learn more about Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota.