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Applicants are welcome to partner with ANY agency of their choosing when designing a project for the ASF application. If you’re short on ideas of where to start, the following Houston-area agencies have expressed high interest in working with a fellow next year. If you are interested in any of the opportunities in this list, please reach out using the information below for more information. If no contact information is listed, then contact Carol Jacob at the Contact Us section and she can get you connected with the most appropriate person. To see current projects that can be carried on by new Fellows, please look at the Current Projects
We encourage applicants to begin contacting agencies or Carol this Fall (carol.jacob@asfhg.org) so that you can have a strong project plan for your application that will be due February 4th, 2024.
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If you are a site that is interested in having Fellows, please email Carol Jacob at carol.jacob@asfhg.org.
Last updated: 01/22/24
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SPOTLIGHT PROJECT SITE IDEAS - THESE AGENCIES ARE LOOKING FOR FELLOWS TO COMPLETE PROJECTS
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New Hope Housing's New Hope Housing’s core purpose is to provide life-stabilizing, affordable, permanent housing with support services for people who live on very limited incomes. Our vision is to be an enduring institution serving Houston’s most vulnerable citizens. New Hope has opportunities in several different programs every year focusing on health education, children's programming and nutrition education
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One of the projects we are very excited about starting is a Patient Navigation project at our Reed location. This project would be a Baxter project, in which the Fellow would create a connection with 2-3 families throughout the year and refer and connect them to appropriate resources that they need at the time, with the help of experienced social workers and training given by ASF. If interested in this project, please contact Sandra Martinez (sandra.m@newhopehousing.com) and Cesar Ramirez (Cesar.R@newhopehousing.com) and CC Carol Jacob (carol.jacob@asfhg.org) with the subject "ASF Baxter Fellowship Interest".
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Restarting the weekly beading sessions at the Perry site that allow them to alleviate stress and improve mental health while expressing their creativity, improving focus and dexterity. Please contact Cesar Ramirez, Director of Resident Programs at Cesar.R@newhopehousing.com.
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Fellowship projects are conducted at Angela House each year. If you are interested in designing an educational project with the female residents of Angela House, please discuss your ideas with the Executive Director, Valencia Lewis. Angela House is a sixteen-bed residential facility helping women re-enter society after incarceration. Angela House is a sober living facility - that guides the women on how to live sober lives after incarceration. Angela House offers approximately 30 hours a week of programming to help address the many areas of need for our women. Here are some ideas for Fellow Projects:
1. Talk to the women about their overall health (their body, nutrition, exercise, sexual health etc).
2. The importance of eating healthily and it directly affects them and their quality of life
3. Vaping and smoking
4. A step or an aerobics class
Please email vlewis@angelahouse.org if interested.
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With over 18,000 college-bound students across 20+ campuses, we are a system of high-performing public charter schools proving that students from underserved communities can achieve at the highest academic levels. Our exceptional results demonstrate that better outcomes are not only possible, but also probable, when school systems build a culture of high expectations, and create effective support systems to ensure that student achievement is at the forefront of every decision made. YES Prep Public Schools empowers all Houston students to succeed in college and to pursue lives of opportunity. We commit to providing supports and services that meet the holistic needs of all students. Proposed Social Emotional Learning (SEL) projects include:
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Provide comprehensive, developmentally sound SEL instruction in grades 4-5 that helps students to understand and discuss their emotions and thoughts, strengthen their ability to regulate emotions, and grow their capacity to show empathy for others.
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Provide supplemental Character Strong (approved SEL secondary curriculum) lessons to select tier 3 students in group format. Students would be selected based on data review between Fellow(s) and campus culture administrators.
To further discuss project ideas and learn more, please email Kawana Coulon at Kawana.Coulon@yesprep.org.
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Living Hope Wheelchair Association
Our Mission is to affirm the dignity and improve the quality of life of people with mobility disabilities and their families; particularly those who use a wheelchair due to a spinal cord injury or disease, as well as immigrants and refugees. We work at the intersection of the rights of people with disabilities, health justice, and the rights of vulnerable people and workers, providing medical supplies and equipment, as well as spaces for leadership development and a community where everyone can feel included, respected, and loved. To discuss project ideas and learn more, please contact the Executive Director, Osvaldo Capmany, at ocapmany@lhwassociation.org.
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Star of Hope is a Christ centered community dedicated to meeting the needs of homeless men, women, and their children. Positive life changes are encouraged through structured programs which focus on spiritual growth, education, employment, life management, and recovery from substance abuse. We are funded through public and private donations, churches, civic/community groups, corporations, grants, and foundations. In addition, we are assisted by more than 7,300 volunteers.
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Star of Hope Programs is seeking an ASF fellow(s) to:
1. Develop a workshop curriculum that would bring awareness to those affected by chronic health conditions.
2. Conduct an evaluation to identify the top 5 chronic health conditions affecting those we serve within our programs.
3. Plan, coordinate, and implement quarterly health fairs at each of Star of Hope facilities which include:
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Star of Hope Mission (Administration)
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Men Development Center (MDC)
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Women & Family Development Center (WFDC)
Dr. Michelle Alexander, VP of Programs, Site Mentor – malexander@sohmission.org. For all inquiries please contact: John Cooks, at (713) 440-5346; jcooks@sohmission.org
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The Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County acts as a catalyst, uniting partners and maximizing resources to move people experiencing homelessness into permanent housing with supportive services. Here is a project idea:​
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Under the leadership of the Communications team, work with multiple departments at the Coalition to develop public facing system performance dashboards that deliver meaningful information on our homeless response system’s success in a way that is easily understood by the average citizen. (contact: Catherine Villarreal/cvillarreal@homelesshouston.org)
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East Harris County Empowerment Council (EHCEC)
East Harris County Empowerment Council (EHCEC) is an organization that serves unincorporated communities in eastern Harris County. With a holistic approach, EHCEC focuses on economic development, educational enrichment, disaster recovery, resilience education, and health and wellness. In response to COVID-19, EHCEC trained over 425 residents in the Vaccine Awareness, Access, Acceptance Training program to establish local leaders who can address the disparity in vaccine uptake among Black and Hispanic communities in their service area. EHCEC continues to increase awareness and access to community health and safety programs through its Community Health Academy and other community resilience programs through community health fairs, health and wellness promotion campaigns, and training programs.
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For more information, please contact Christina Alley at calley@eastharriscounty.org.
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The American Indian Center of Houston
The American Indian Center of Houston is devoted to enhancing the Native American community in the Greater Houston area through personal, social, health and cultural development. Some project ideas include:​​
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The primary goal for 2024 is to increase community and civic engagement.
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Health awareness/health education workshops.
For more information, please contact Brooke Mulder at bmulder@tunica.org.​
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The Bridge Over Troubled Waters
The Bridge Over Troubled Waters is a comprehensive crisis intervention center serving all survivors of domestic and sexual violence and their families. We offer safety and support through numerous programs and engage in social norms change through community organizing
efforts to enhance safety and equity within our communities. We have emergency and permanent housing, a comprehensive children's program with peer mentors, advocates, and a childcare center, a counseling program, and an advocacy program for community members
who need safety planning, legal advocacy, community referrals, and crisis intervention assistance and support. The majority of our survivors identify as BIPOC individuals and our organization is in a largely Latine/Latinx and Spanish speaking community. A couple ideas for projects are listed below:
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Provide educational workshops and/or organize opportunities regarding culturally specific mental health and health practices to adult survivors of gender-based violence in our emergency shelter and permanent supportive housing programs.
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Provide art-based healing activities to our adult survivors of gender-based violence in all of our programs including emergency shelter, permanent supportive housing, and non-residential program. These healing activities could also be offered to our community through our prevention of violence program.
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A program focused on nutrition education and cooking classes for permanent supportive and non-residential survivors who need healthy meals on a budget.
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A mentorship program for teens within our shelter and permanent supportive housing programs centered around life skills and mental and sexual health education.
For more information, please contact Jessica Bellant at jbellant@tbotw.org.
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Tony’s Place supports and empowers LGBTQ+ youth under the age of 25. We focus on providing five core services:
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Basic Needs – services that address immediate essential needs to survive. These include meals, clothing, showers, hygiene supplies, laundry, and connection to housing services. Basic Needs Services are offered Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 12:00pm-1:30pm
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Case Management – a collaborative and planned approach to ensuring that a person gets the services and support they need to move forward with their lives. Case Management at Tony’s Place is provided on a 1-on-1 basis, through an LGBTQ+ lens. It includes the assessment of needs, the creation of individual goal plans, and active engagement between the client and case manager. Case Management appointments are scheduled at mutually agreed upon times between the client and case manager.
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Support Services – safe spaces, acceptance and resources through peer support groups, process groups, education, and partnership and collaboration with other service providers and community organizations. Support Services are offered following Basic Needs Services or as scheduled.
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Community Engagement - strategic interactions with the community and public to provide training and presentations about and for LGBTQ+ youth.
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Advocacy – public support or recommendations for legislation at state and federal levels. This includes educating legislators about LGBTQ+ issues/disparities, the public about the legislative process and the public about LGBTQ+ issues.
Some project ideas include:
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Developing engagement strategies and operationalizing a plan to engage LGBTQ+ youth who could benefit from Tony’s Place services but may are not connected to schools, institutions of higher learning, or current community services.
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Developing and implementing support groups specifically for trans youth of color, queer youth, and questioning youth.
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Creating and leading healthy eating and culinary skills development program for LGBTQ+ youth using Tony’s Place kitchen. Developing a social enterprise to benefit Tony’s Place clients while building skills and careers for LGBTQ+ youth.
For more information, please contact Alyssa Kelly at Alyssa.Kelly@tonysplace.org
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FAM Houston works for justice by building empowered community among refugees, immigrants, and local Houstonians through practices of hospitality, mutuality, storytelling & inclusivity. Some project ideas include:
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Shamba Ya Amani (The Farm of Peace): Attend Saturday Shamba Days at our farm in Alief to get to know the community and create a project that is responsive to the intersection of needs encountered there. This is perfect for a Fellow who is interested in holistic health for women and families of all physical abilities. The intersection of needs includes mental and emotional health, food access, and nutrition. For more information, please contact Dr. Kim Meyer, Shamba Ya Amani Manager at kim@famhoustontx.org.
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Pamoja: Create and maintain a health resource list for our Pamoja Program which will aid in case management for newly arrived refugee families as well as educate American companion families on how to navigate health care systems in Houston with their partner newcomer families. For more information, please contact N. Francine Murhebwa, Pamoja Program Director at francine@famhoustontx.org.
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Capacity building project to increase community engagement and participation of youth and young adults in FAM’s current programs of Shamba Ya Amani and Pamoja. For more information, please contact Rev. Hannah Terry, FAM Houston Executive Director at hannah@famhoustontx.org.
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Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston (IM)
“Care on Command” seeks to address the isolation of seniors by providing an in-home outlet to communicate with family, professional caregivers, and IM staff assigned to their Meals on Wheels delivery. This Care on Command Alexa device will promote social and health outcomes by providing various tools such as nutritional videos and information from community sources.
We look forward to prospective fellows advancing the Care on Command campaign by assisting in the following:
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Utilization of data and reports to identify seniors who are an ideal fit for the program.
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Review existing information on device and refine as needed to ensure optimal healthcare materials are provided.
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Understand basic function of device and be able to teach seniors during installation.
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Monitor usage via dashboard and assist in data/survey collection to determine project success.
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For more information, please contact Shalom Ogbonda sogbonda@imgh.org.
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The Beacon is a non-profit organization that serves individuals experiencing homelessness by providing daily services to meet basic needs, civil legal aid, and case management including housing services. Our mission is to provide essential and next-step services to restore hope and help end homelessness in Houston. Here are some project ideas:
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Lead and coordinate our Transition in Place (TIP) project. The TIP project is an educational component designed and recently implemented by a Occupational Therapy doctoral candidate. The eight to ten sessions provide guidance and practical information in person in a classroom setting for men and women living on the streets and how to prepare for a transition to housing. Beacon staff, social work, and associate level occupational therapy students are assisting with this project. We hope to continue this each semester and expand group offerings based on the individual’s needs. This project takes place primarily onsite at The Beacon's facility in downtown Houston. Assist The Beacon's Chief Program Officer and Program Directors/Managers to design and implement a programs and services dashboard. We currently use the regional Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) and a legal case management system called CLIO. A fellow could lead our efforts to consolidate the data and best represent our program outcomes and outputs. This could be a hybrid project, working onsite at The Beacon's downtown location and remotely part of the time.
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Assist The Beacon's Chief Program Officer and Program Directors/Managers to design and implement a programs and services dashboard. We currently use the regional Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) and a legal case management system called CLIO. A fellow could lead our efforts to consolidate the data and best represent our program outcomes and outputs. This could be a hybrid project, working onsite at The Beacon's downtown location and remotely part of the time.
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Design and implement socialization and community building activities for the individuals who come to The Beacon's Day Center for services. Adult men and women who are experiencing homelessness come to our facility for meals, laundry, access to showers and other services. Services are provided five days a week, from Thursday through Monday. While individuals are waiting for lunch or their laundry to be finished, there is often a two to three hour window of free time. It would be helpful to have some fun, community building activities to help these individuals feel connected and enjoy that time together with fellow clients, volunteers, and staff. This project takes place primarily on site and the goal would be to create sustainable programming that could be managed by staff and volunteers on an ongoing basis.
For more information, please contact Stephanie Truong at struong@beaconhomeless.org.
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The mission of Texas Jail Project is to organize with and advocate for people in county jails to build a world where healthy communities make jails obsolete. Texas Jail Project is looking for a Fellow to document stories of criminalization of people with mental illness and intellectual and/developmental disabilities (I/DD) for the purpose of policy and legislative advocacy and to update the organization's current mental health and I/DD resource guide/toolkit to make it user friendly for families reaching out to us when their loved ones are in crisis and community groups asking for guidance on how to navigate the mental health and criminal punishment system at the county level. For more information, please contact Krish Gundu at krish.gundu@texasjailproject.org.
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Pride Community Center (College Station)
Pride Community Center seeks to build community, provide resources and services, offer education and outreach, and more! We are a grassroots organization made up of dedicated community members devoting time, energy, and support. Our mission is to provide a safe place for all persons of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions, their families and friends to meet and socialize without having to worry about who they are. Here are some project ideas:
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Outreach project in the community, specifically directed towards queer people of colour.
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For those interested in policy, a policy analysis of recent legislation in Texas impacting our communities would be useful.
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For more information, please contact Katrina Stewart at katrina.stewart@pridecc.org.
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Scotty's House (College Station)
Scotty's House is a non-profit Child Advocacy Center (CAC) serving seven counties in the Brazos Valley: Brazos, Burleson, Grimes, Leon, Madison, Robertson, and Washington. The Scotty's House team collaborates with Child Protective Services (CPS) and law enforcement officials on every case, and our compassionate and collaborative approach is key to providing victims of child abuse and/or neglect with safety, healing, and justice. From the initial report to the recovery stage, and everything in between, Scotty's House facilitates all areas of the investigation process. We provide initial needs assessments, forensic interviews and medical evaluations, and child abuse counseling.
The Scotty's House team is an experienced group of professional counselors, forensic experts, and administrators who care deeply about helping you and your family. Our team is especially connected within Brazos Valley, pulling from the best resources to assist with your needs: Child Protective Services (CPS) investigators, law enforcement officials, child abuse and/or family advocacy counselors.
Scotty's House is a non-profit organization that provides a child-friendly environment for our young clients. Children are referred to Scotty's House by law enforcement officials and/or CPS investigators. Scotty's House is a neutral entity, making no recommendations in any case. We simply provide a supportive and nurturing environment in which a victim can interact with the necessary agencies. The child is the primary concern of the Scotty's House team.
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For more information, please contact April Theiss at atheiss@scottyshouse.org.
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Alexander Jewish Family Service
Alexander Jewish Family Service is a non-profit, human service agency who aids and provides professional resources to the greater Houston area. JFS serves people of all faiths and backgrounds. Our professionals provide Behavioral & Mental Health Services, Coaching & Case Management Services, Disability Services, Employment Services and Chaplaincy Services. All these projects are the traditional needs assessments followed by the creation of a service project unless otherwise noted. For more information on these projects, please contact Dr. Ada Cheung Chief Clinical Officer at acheung@alexanderjfs.org. Project sites ideas fall under these Health Tracks:
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Mental Health:
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Helping men’s and women’s support groups with formation and delivery of educational content related to health and mental health.
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Assisting in suicide risk assessment and prevention training. This could include finding resources, examining best practices, presenting the educational information and role play in the context of training.
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Assisting clients on the behavioral and mental health request wait list by providing support consultation around health topics and resources
Community Intervention:
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Assisting in providing behavioral and mental health related topics/workshop to community, and schools per request
LGBTQ:
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What barriers exist for this community in accessing mental health services. Needs assessment project.
Racism:
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What barriers exist for communities of color in accessing mental health services. Needs assessment project.
Elder Health:
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Assistance with grief support groups.
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For seniors, workshops on keeping mind and body healthy.
Children’s Health:
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Train parents in developmental education as well as methods including the PAX method which gives the tools to help prevent behavioral health concerns and promote positive relationships.
Women’s Health:
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Assist the Shalom Bayit Task Force to provide preventative domestic violence education, update resources, including links, information and referrals for individuals who are experiencing domestic abuse.
Individuals with intellectual disabilities:
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Creation of workshops on navigating the healthcare system:
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Create a collection of Lesson Plans or Curriculum based on the small groups
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Improve participant knowledge and comfort regarding visits to various types of doctors and exams
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Improve knowledge and comfort around using a pharmacy, how to get prescriptions filled, over the counter meds vs. Prescriptions, side effects (what they are, how to report them, etc.), what happens if you miss a dose, what if you are offered the wrong medicine to take at the wrong time, and so on.
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Create a simple visual document that can be used with health care professionals and patients who are nonverbal or communicate differently
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We encourage bringing in various medical professionals to speak to our participants and will help coordinate Community Based Instructions (CBI) if going to a pharmacy or doctor’s office would be helpful
Community Engagement:
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Marketing existing services/programs
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Identification of strategies in connecting potential clients to existing services
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Houston Outreach, Medicine, Education, and Social Services (HOMES) Clinic is the only student-managed free clinic in Houston and operates under the umbrella of Healthcare for the Homeless-Houston, a federally qualified health center. Our mission is to serve Houstonians who are experiencing homelessness with a broad and holistic approach to healthcare, integrating community outreach, medical and social services, and education for the next generation of empathetic providers and impactful advocates. Our primary operation is a student-managed, physician-staffed clinic open every Sunday in downtown Houston, jointly led by students from the Baylor College of Medicine, UT McGovern Medical School, and University of Houston Colleges of Pharmacy and Medicine. We encourage prospective fellows to approach us with project ideas that would utilize their unique skillset or perspective to advance the mission of HOMES Clinic. Examples:
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Previous project: A former fellow led focus groups to identify unique needs among people who are female and experiencing homelessness. After identifying high rates of assault and feelings of insecurity, the fellow brought in martial arts instructors to teach methods of self-defense.
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Previous project: Current Fellow are distributing naloxone pens, generating educational materials, and hosting sessions to explain the risks of opioid overdose, and fentanyl usage.
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You may also reach out to learn about our ongoing initiatives and where your interests and skillset may fit to provide new and innovative support within an existing effort.
Please visit our website or reach out to our Co-Directors (homesclinic.org) for more information.
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TIRR Memorial Hermann offers comprehensive inpatient and outpatient care that address the individual needs of each patient who has experienced a life altering injury or illness. The following are some suggestions from TIRR leadership.
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Determine barriers and facilitators to access of specialized healthcare services (ie, dental care) for patients with a disability (ie, SCI, brain injury, stroke, others) in a community setting. Settings could include community health care centers, pro bono clinics, outpatient medical clinic. Stakeholder input can include but not limited to patients, caregivers, therapists, physicians, advocacy groups, etc
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Develop a health promotion program (ie, dental hygiene program) at the community center/clinic and conduct a study to determine the feasibility and effectiveness of the program
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Collaborate with Memorial Hermann System community health/population health programs to explore how Fellows might partner with them to provide services for individuals with disabilities.
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Lead advocacy projects like Exercise is Medicine, advocacy for the arts and recreation, telemedicine
Please contact the Director of Clinical and Professional Development, Victoria M. Zegarrundo, PT, DPT, at victoria.zegarrundo@memorialhermann.org or the Occupational Therapy Site Coordinator of Clinical Education, Victor Gaytan III, OTR, ATP, at victor.gaytan@memorialhermann.org.
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​Our mission is to provide a safe, welcoming environment for vulnerable homeless youth of all sexualities and genders, providing nourishment, healthy relationships, and hope for the future. We do this by opening our doors to homeless youth of all sexual orientations and gender identities who are between the ages of 13 and 24 years old every Monday and Thursday at 6:00pm. Youth night is an evening of food, mentorship, and skills building. The youth and volunteers share a seated, family-style meal followed by an interactive lesson, craft, or other activity. We are looking for Fellows who are interested in leading some of these sessions focusing on mental health and supporting the youth. Please contact Courtney Sellars at courtney@montrosegraceplace.org.
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Through the Grace of God, The Brookwood Community provides an educational environment that creates meaningful work, builds a sense of belonging, and awakens genuine purpose in the lives of adults with disabilities. Currently we are making Integrative Nutrition a priority and have a vision of not only discovering and implementing ways that we can take our own Communities wellness to the next level, but also paving the way for others to do the same thing. Some ideas so for that are very exciting to us are as follows, however we would love to collaborate and are grateful and open to any thoughts that you have:
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Creating a Cookbook for Brookwood (in the early stages at the moment).
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Updating the Community Garden
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Creating a Wellness Program for the Community
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Please contact Heidi Farmer at heidif@brookwoodcommunity.org for more information!
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Located in Houston’s historic East End, Finca Tres Robles is a non-profit farm focused on nurturing a community of health and renewing the bond between people, place, and food. We develop farms in under-resourced areas to upend systemic inequalities at the neighborhood level. We invest in small solutions as the pathway to realizing larger structural change. The Albert Schweitzer Fellow will help our farm continue our work of enriching our community through developing programs that impact some of our most vulnerable neighbors.
Project 1: Seniors & Social Determinants of Health
For our first proposed project, we would like to develop and implement a program aimed towards seniors in the neighborhood that promotes socialization, health, and a sense of purpose and belonging in their community. Neighborhood and built environment is a social determinant of health that impacts seniors more and more as their mobility decreases with age. Social isolation and limited mobility may lead to higher risk of dementia and other cognitive diseases. Our project would leverage the farm space as a safe place for seniors to gather, learn and be valued members of our community. The farm has the potential to be a space where they will have the ability to safely walk in groups, socialize with their peers from the neighborhood, and do some light, manageable activities on the farm that will further our efforts to feed our neighborhood while simultaneously providing our senior friends with something meaningful and purposeful to participate in. We hope to continue this program well into the future in order to establish the farm as a long-term place for neighbors to gather and form lasting bonds and connections to each other and their home.
Project 2: Neighborhood Produce Program Impact Analysis
The Finca Tres Robles Neighborhood Produce Program, created during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, provides fresh, regionally sourced produce, eggs, meat, beans, and rice at no cost to neighborhood families who would otherwise have difficulty affording these items. We serve mostly elderly folks and families with small children. This project would involve an analysis on the health impact the program has had in the cohort of families receiving the biweekly farm fresh produce boxes. Having a tangible analysis of the impact the program has had in the neighborhood would be beneficial in highlighting long-term community based interventions like this as economically responsible and impactful solutions for impacting neighborhood health and allow us to expand the program and serve many more families in the East End. Further, it could be used as a model for other communities looking for community-based health solutions.
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For more information, please contact Ms. Tiffany Vale at tvalle@smallplaces.org.
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**Due to overwhelming responses, Peaceful Planet no longer has the bandwidth to communicate with newly interested applicants. If you are interested in nutrition and wellness, please look at Legacy projects under nutrition, New Hope Housing, and Angela House (wellness).
Peaceful Planet Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering peace, health and wellness in individuals and communities. We educate and empower underserved schools and communities in the Houston area by introducing tools such as plant-based nutrition for physical health and mindfulness practices for mental/emotional health. Certified yoga teachers deliver the 5M program(Mindful Breathing, Mindful Movement(yoga), Mindful Stillness, Mindful Eating, and Mindful Reflection) in underserved schools. Physicians and other health experts give nutrition lectures and food-for-life instructors conduct cooking demos which show individuals how to prepare healthy and nutritious meals. Structured programs, like the Healthy Together Initiative, over the course of 16 weeks, introduce individuals to the 6 pillars of holistic health as defined by Lifestyle Medicine.
1. Improve and reimagine the 5M Program currently being used at Blackshear Elementary and Hartsfield Elementary School. Perform surveys of students prior to implementation of the 5M program and at the conclusion to assess the effectiveness of the 5M program. Processing and then utilizing the available data and metrics to enhance the program.
2. Participate in shaping and delivering the Healthy Together Initiative to underserved communities. Implement use of pre and post surveys of participants and quantify the nutrition literacy and lifestyle changes that an individual is able to make after participation in a community based initiative built around the 6 pillars of Lifestyle Medicine.
3. Support the work of the Third Ward Community Health Collaborative(a recent coalition formed through a grant from the Episcopal Health Foundation) by participating in meeting any of the 4 challenges described below. The collaborative is made up of numerous non-profits, including Peaceful Planet, who are working in the third ward to 1) improve health and wellness, 2) address food insecurity, 3) tackle lack of access to healthy food, 4) inadequate communication and collaboration between the nonprofits.
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**Due to overwhelming responses, Lemonade Day no longer has the bandwidth to communicate with newly interested applicants. Please look through our other various spotlight sites that feature programs that are similar such as YES Prep or The Bridge or Youth based legacy projects.
Lemonade Day is a national nonprofit committed to preparing youth for life through a unique entrepreneurial and experiential program. The organization strategically targets children in grades K-8 with a fun and proactive program that marries STEM, SEL, and project-based education and infuses it with life skills, character development, financial and business literacy, career exploration, and mentorship.
Kids are introduced to entrepreneurship through real-world experiences of starting their own business – a lemonade stand – where they learn the skills to set a goal, make a plan, work the plan, and achieve their dreams. Evidence-based curriculum encourages kids to spend some on themselves for their hard work, save some and open a bank account, and share some with a charity or cause in their community.
With a national office based in Houston, in 16 years, Lemonade Day has grown to become licensed and independently operated in 100+ cities across North America, serving over 1.5 million children to date, with the support of 550+ program partners and 15k volunteer mentors. Through our strategic partnerships, we focus on communities of greatest need. Lemonade Day’s foremost objective is to help today’s youth become the entrepreneurs, business leaders, social advocates, community volunteers, and forward-thinking citizens of tomorrow. We want to build self-esteem and new mindsets that can propel youth to success they likely would not have pursued, or known about, otherwise.
We encourage prospective fellows to approach us with project ideas that would utilize their unique skillset or perspective to advance Lemonade Day’s mission. Here are examples of capacity building project ideas:
(1) Mentor a group of students, teaching them the Lemonade Day curriculum and supporting them along their journey to bringing their business to life. After experiencing the program in action, lead focus groups of various stakeholders to identify unique needs/challenges among students in grades K-8 and assess program impact (e.g. develop questionnaires/surveys, assess/measure soft skills development, asses/measure experience utilizing education technology). Stakeholders include youth, teachers, youth group program leaders/instructors, and parents.
(2) Devise an effective and efficient feedback loop system of measuring impact of all program stakeholders, one that maximizes potential, encourages completion, and increases response rate. This includes assessing how we can better support stakeholders during the registration process and submittal of business results to ensure optimal data/results collection.
(3) Attend workshops, classes, events, getting to know the community players; distribute educational materials to partnering organizations; and host learning sessions and/or entrepreneurship awareness/entrepreneurship education workshops to explain the benefits of youth entrepreneurship education and how Lemonade Day can help meet stakeholder needs. The goal to position Lemonade Day in the grander education and workforce development ecosystem by increasing community and civic engagement and participation in the program.
(4) Develop a framework for a longitudinal study that employs continuous and repeated measures to follow particular individuals over a prolonged period of time. This is an opportunity to sink one’s teeth into the program to assess/measure long-term impact, including interviews of former participants and designing a study or structure to follow participants post completion.