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Healthy, Caring Communities

Our goal: Provide access to health and vital basic services. To help meet this goal, Capital Area United Way awarded $450,000 in funds to 16 programs.

What we fund: Emergency assistance, prescription assistance, mental health and substance abuse assistance and community development.

Funded Programs:

Care Free Medical/Dental Clinic, Inc.: Primary Care

This clinic offers a medical home for community members without health insurance and/or adequate access to health care.  Volunteer health care professionals deliver comprehensive, preventive medical care and promote healthy lifestyles.  Services include annual physicals, well-child exams, routine health management, chronic condition management, acute care, and more.  Both dental and vision services are also provided on site.

Child and Family Services – Capital Area: Family Counseling Program

Tri-county, low-income families experiencing a mental health or substance abuse crisis are helped to achieve stable, healthy living conditions for their children through the Family Services Program.  Goals include strengthening family relationships, building parenting skills, and developing pro-social skills and attitudes.  Screenings and referrals, counseling for adolescents age 10-20 and their families, case management and other helps are contribute to the betterment of individual families. 

 Cristo Rey Community Center: Direct Assistance

One of the community’s largest food pantries is operated through this service, one which especially welcomes Spanish-speakers.  It provides food, clothing, household and personal items with an emphasis on food, receiving over 350,000 pounds of food from area food banks, farmers and local businesses.  In cooperation with the Nutrition Program, the food pantry also offers nutritional food samples to show client ways to stretch their food dollars.  Over 500 individuals received support through this direct assistance last year.

 Cristo Rey Community Center: Family Health Clinic

The clinic offers affordable comprehensive adult and pediatric primary care to the medically underserved population of this community.  Bilingual, Spanish-speaking clinic staff ensure that Hispanic clients’ medical needs are met.  A summer mobile clinic provides health services to rural and hard-to-reach groups also.  The clinic has same day access for appointments and a 24-hour system for after-hours emergencies.

 Cristo Rey Community Center: Prescription Assistance

Low-income individuals without prescription insurance are assisted in receiving medications.  Pharmaceutical companies’ patient assistance programs are utilized to obtain medications, free of charge, for clients.  Vouchers are also issued to cover the one-time cost for emergency prescriptions and over-the-counter medicine is available through an agreement with the Food Bank Distribution Center.  Seniors can receive counseling on making appropriate choices with their Medicare prescription drug plan to help reduce future demands. Last year this program leveraged well over $1,000,000 worth of free medications for our community’s residents.

 Haven House: Temporary Housing to Homeless Families

This shelter program differs from some others as it provides emergency housing for families with children – it is the only shelter in Ingham that accommodates single fathers, two-parent families, male children up to age 17, along with single mothers.  Haven House provides three meals each day, referrals and advocacy for the entire family, and brings representatives from other agencies to the House to provide other help on-site.  Such a safe environment is all part of helping families move from emergency to permanent housing.

 Legal Services of South Central Michigan:  Legal Services in Civil Cases to Achieve Housing Stability and Maintain Self Sufficiency

This program provides civil legal services, including legal advice and attorney representation, for low-income individuals residing in Ingham, Eaton, and Clinton Counties. LSSCM provides services to prevent evictions, utility termination, and foreclosures, and provides assistance with public benefits and income maintenance issues.   These services help vulnerable individuals and families to maintain stable housing and have income to provide for basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter and health care.

Mid Michigan District Health Department: Community Based Dental Clinic – St. Johns

Medicaid-enrolled and low-income uninsured adults in Clinton County with no other access to dental care benefit from this clinic located in St. Johns.  Both restorative and preventive dental treatment is offered by a dentist, dental hygienist, and dental assistant at the clinic housed in the health department facility.  Prior to 2007 when the clinic was established, those receiving Medicaid benefits had no access to dental services since local dentists were not accepting new Medicaid patients.

National Council on Alcoholism/Lansing Regional Area, Inc.: Addiction Treatment Services for Low Income/Indigent adults

NCA/LRA provides alcohol and other drug education, assessment, outpatient individual and group therapy, and long term, gender-specific residential treatment. NCA/LRA targets indigent and low-income adults with priority given to persons who are pregnant, IV drug users, homeless, and/or at-risk of having their children removed.  This program provides access to appropriate, quality health care and treatment for individuals who do not have health insurance and have limited financial resources.

 NorthWest Lansing Healthy Communities Initiative: Ex-Offender Assistance Program

Tri-county offenders returning to their home community receive help in finding and maintaining employment following release from a correctional facility.  Direct supportive assistance includes bus passes, help in obtaining birth certificates, work boots and other work clothes, and more.  Providing this help to an already high risk population moves these individuals toward reclamation of their positions as productive citizens.

 Siren/Eaton Shelter, Inc.: Eaton Emergency Shelter Program

Siren provides the only shelter for homeless families and disabled single adults in Eaton County.  Their services include not only emergency shelter and food, but also case management and other support services to assist in making progress toward stability.  Each client is helped to develop and implement a plan to find and maintain safe, stable housing which includes employment or accessing public benefits, addressing health problems, referrals to help with mental health or substance abuse problems, and more.  Case management services assist in balancing the many layers of issues these individuals may be struggling with.

 St. Vincent Catholic Charities: Counseling Services

The Center works to improve the mental health of low-income, vulnerable individuals, working with couples, families, children, and individuals.  Access to mental health services is very limited for low-income people and the Center is available for walk-in referrals during crisis or emergency situations with therapists who are on-call 24/7.  This is one of only a few programs offering therapy on a sliding fee scale for people who are uninsured or under-insured; they receive referrals from the community as fewer agencies offer affordable assistance of this kind. 

 The Salvation Army – Capital Area:  Emergency and Extended Services Program

Short-term emergency help is provided to low-income individuals living in poverty in the tri-county.  The Army provides food, personal needs items, Holiday assistance, and help with rent and utilities.  In past years, these services have kept families from being evicted, kept the lights on and the water running, provided Christmases for children, as well as offering food in desperate situations.

 Volunteers of America Michigan: Emergency Overnight Shelter

This 66 bed shelter provides a safe place to sleep, nutritious meals, access to showers, clothing, and personal needs items.  A secondary goal beyond safe shelter for the homeless of the Lansing area is referral for services in the VOA New Hope Day Center which provides case management and a link between clients and eight collaborating community service agencies right at the Center.  The VOA shelter is at or over capacity even on warm nights; they provide shelter regardless of sobriety, psychiatric condition or religious conviction. In 2010 the shelter provided services to 900 individuals.

 Volunteers of America Michigan: Emergency Shelter Partnership Program (ESPP)

Short-term shelter through area hotels is provided, primarily for homeless families, when the community’s emergency system has reached capacity.  Families also receive non-perishable food, access to personal hygiene items, referrals, crisis intervention, and short-term case management.  Each family is evaluated to determine needs, resources, and strengths in order to develop a comprehensive action plan – the goal for each client is to help them obtain permanent housing or access to safe and appropriate shelter. 

 Volunteers of America Michigan: New Hope Day Center

The Day Center offers the only systematic week day outreach and service to the homeless in our community as a “one stop” location to link to eight other collaborating services.  The Center is the hub of homeless support for the most basic of assistance serving as a place to escape the weather, maintain a mailing address, have telephone and bathroom access, and clothing and daytime meals.  Over 100 individuals are served every week day.

* Grant totals may include donor designations 

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