Emergency Awardees.
Emergency Funding 2020.
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, our Board of Directors had the foresight to activate our emergency funding policy. This allowed us to give $250,000 to 19 organizations in 2020 to address the immediate needs of children and youth in our community. In 2021, we awarded an additional 17 local nonprofits with emergency funding, totaling $1.4 million, as a response to the ongoing COVID-19 public health crisis. Fifty-seven percent of the organizations that received emergency funding were not funded through our 2020-2022 Core Funding Opportunity. Meet our partners below.
- Alive and Well Communities: Alive and Well Communities provided online support through their Daily Dose of Support,; an online show produced by AWC featuring community experts sharing tips for managing the crisis to achieve emotional well-being.
- Better Family Life Inc.: For many families in the region, access to technology platforms, as well as Internet is an issue. Funding from CSF helped Better Family Life transition to the use of telehealth services and provide technological support in order to ensure children and families received the services they need.
- Bilingual International Assistance Services: Through Project Safe Space, the agency delivered care packages to clients, which included CSF-funded art supplies and emotion regulation tools such as fidget spinners and stress balls. CSF funding supported doxy.me, a HIPAA compliant platform, in order to continue service.
- Epworth Children & Family Services Inc.: CSF funding help to provide play therapy kits delivered to clients’ homes, which would allow therapists to virtually play with youth during telehealth sessions. Epworth Children & Family Services also received funding to support technology upgrades to assist with telehealth services and increased costs related to transitional living.
- Every Child’s Hope: CSF funding allowed Every Child’s Hope to enhance technology, including the purchase of laptops, contracts, and licenses for software and systems. This gave psychiatrists the ability to prescribe electronically and use online case management tools. ECH also purchased PPE (personal protective equipment) for the Steppingstone staff and other case managers for when they had to enter a youth’s apartment.
- Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition: CSF funding assisted support of vulnerable families through Zoom support groups, teaching families to use telehealth, helping parents access their child(ren)’s medication and connect them with pharmacies that deliver, check-ins, and walking parents through accessing other assistance programs to meet their basic needs.
- Gateway 180:Funding from CSF assisted in providing shelter services as well as funding for short-term hotel stays to meet the growing need for shelter during the pandemic.
- Great Circle:CSF funding provided Chrome books, licenses and iPhones to increase access to families who are most at risk in an effort to prevent child abuse and neglect and ensure mental health services were being provided.
- Loaves and Fishes for St. Louis: Individuals living on the street are at a greater risk of contracting the novel coronavirus. St. Louis County and City’s “shelter in place” orders placed added stress on agencies that seek to shelter individuals experiencing homelessness. Quarantine requirements also prove difficult for the homeless population. CSF emergency funding aided Loaves and Fishes for St. Louis in utilizing hotels to place families who may have been exposed to COVID-19, or who have family members that are presumed positive and need a place to “shelter in place.”
- Lydia’s House Inc.: Lydia’s House received emergency funding to assist in providing relief for families residing in traditional housing for 16 weeks. With layoffs and school closures affecting Lydia’s House clients, the agency experienced higher than budgeted costs for their transitional living program.
- LUME Institute: LUME partnered with Washington University and others to make emergency childcare available for workers in health care, first responders, and other essential personnel. The agency embedded its LUME Approach to Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Model in the Center to provide social and emotional support from pandemic induced trauma.
- Marygrove: Due to the pandemic, Marygrove saw increase daily volume of clients in its Crisis Care and Transitional Living programs. Funding awarded by CSF helped them meet the increased need during the public health crisis.
- Our Lady’s Inn: With school closures and the lack of volunteers due to the pandemic, Our Lady’s Inn saw an increase in overall costs. Coincidentally, at this time in-kind donations, such as food and consumables, had “come to a halt.” Funding from CSF helped support the shelter during the public health crisis.
- Preferred Family Healthcare Inc.: Due to the global pandemic, Preferred Family Healthcare was no longer able to conduct face-to-face mental health services and instead moved toward continuing services through telehealth. CSF funding helped expand telehealth and virtual services.
- Queen of Peace Center: Like many agencies, Queen of Peace needed to transition its in-person counseling to telehealth. However, they faced barriers as they had identified families without phones or Wi-Fi. CSF funding provided technology for low-income clients as well as alternative ways to reach children and youth with telehealth therapy. Funding also included therapy and sensory therapy supplies for children and youth to do at home.
- Room at the Inn: Due to the pandemic, the agency’s network of church providers for shelter and basic needs for the homeless clients they serve had been temporarily withdrawn, leaving Room at the Inn to either shelter at its Bridgeton location or motels. This caused additional costs, typically borne by the churches. CSF funding assisted Room at the Inn in sheltering the clients they serve.
- St. Louis Counseling Inc.: CSF emergency funding assisted St. Louis Counseling in transitioning to telehealth. The funding covered Zoom licenses and tablets with cameras to allow tele-therapy with children and youth of St. Louis County.
- The Women’s Safe House: The Women’s Safe House kept their shelter and 24/7 crisis line open throughout the public health crisis. With stress on families due to the pandemic and economic strains, they experienced increased incidents of domestic violence. CSF funding helped with the costs of sheltering five families in a motel/hotel environment.
- Youth In Need: Youth In Need saw increased operational costs for both its emergency shelter and transitional living program. They also chose to provide increased pay rate for front line staff. CSF’s emergency funding assisted with both programs.
Emergency Funding 2021.
- Child Advocacy Services of Greater St. Louis: Family Advocacy – Responding to a surge in abuse and neglect referrals
- Behavioral Health Network of Greater St. Louis: Youth emergency room enhancement
- Bilingual International Assistant Services: Project Safe Space – Mental health services for refugee and immigrant youth
- Cornerstones of Care: Trauma-informed multi-eisciplinary school-based and community supports to address complex pandemic-related mental health needs
- United 4 Children: Child and childcare provider social-emotional support through COVID-19 trauma
- Saint Louis Counseling Inc.: SLC Enhanced Virtual Engagement Project
- Parkway School District: Universal Student Wellness Screener
- Employment Connection: Expanded Back to Health Back to Work
- Megan Meier Foundation: Virtual therapy for youth
- Miriam Foundation: Summer social, emotional, academic, and nutritional support for children with special needs
- Mental Health America of Eastern Missouri: Health and wellness foundation for educators
- SSM Health Care St. Louis: Youth and family services
- University City Children’s Center: Emotional Lift for Faltering Families & Children
- Annie’s Hope: Community-based mental health supports for grieving kids and families
- The School District of University City: Addressing mental health in the School District of University City (SDUC) with dual pandemics of COVID and racism
- Washington University:The SYNCHRONY Project
- Valley Park School District: VPSD Children’s Service 2021