Healthcare Foundation and North Sonoma County Healthcare District Mark a New Five-Year Partnership with $200,000 in Crucial Grants

Healthcare Foundation and North Sonoma County Healthcare District mark a new five-year partnership with $200,000 in grants to two local nonprofits providing crucial services in northern
Sonoma County

Healdsburg, CA, April 15, 2024 – The Healthcare Foundation Northern Sonoma County and the North Sonoma County Healthcare District (NSCHD) today announced a new five-year partnership in grantmaking to amplify their impact in supporting health and health equity across the region. They marked the announcement with a coordinated release of grants totaling $200,000 to two local nonprofit organizations providing critical health services to the region’s low-income Latine residents experiencing disproportionate health and mental health impacts of recent natural disasters and economic hardship.

The Healthcare Foundation and NSCHD share similar missions and the same geographical services area, from Windsor to Cloverdale. In this new arrangement, the granting organizations will confer, strategize and coordinate together on where and how to direct their annual granting in order to maximize their collective impact.

The recipients of the funds being disbursed are Alexander Valley Healthcare ($100K) and SOS Community Counseling ($100K). Both nonprofits are in the process of strengthening  their services to meet a growing need in the communities they serve.

Alexander Valley Healthcare (AVH) will receive a $50,000 grant from the Healthcare Foundation and a matching $50,000 grant from NSCHD. AVH is the only medical provider in operation between Healdsburg and Ukiah and the only dental or mental health practice in the area accepting Medi-Cal or uninsured patients. The grant from the Healthcare Foundation provides unrestricted funding, allowing for flexibility on the part of the grantee in determining where to direct the monies to best support AVH’s vital services in Cloverdale. The grant from NSCHD, meanwhile, goes toward supporting AVH’s planned new Health & Wellness Center, which will expand AVH’s range of existing healthcare services to potentially include Urgent Care, a pharmacy, laboratory services, physical therapy, nutrition education and a teen clinic. The new building will also have space for Sonoma County Health and Human Services and community partners.

SOS Community Counseling, which has been providing on-site mental health counseling services to students throughout Sonoma County since 2005, will also receive a $50,000 grant from the Healthcare Foundation and a matching $50,000 grant from NSCHD. The coordinated grants from Healthcare Foundation and NSCHD provide unrestricted funding that will support SOS in continuing to provide therapy services in Sonoma County schools through the end of this school year. Its Team Success and Juvenile Diversion Programs operate in the districts of Windsor, Healdsburg and Cloverdale as well as Cotati and Rohnert Park.

The funding to SOS comes as it coordinates a merger with CPI (Child Parent Institute), a parent education and children’s mental health agency serving families throughout Sonoma County, as both nonprofits look to maintain and strengthen the safety net of services for families in the region.

“As merchants of empathy and hope, SOS Community Counseling provides much needed services to middle and high school students that are experiencing a wide range of challenges these days,” said SOS Executive Director Becky Ennis “This includes depression and anxiety; exhaustion in older students tasked with caring for siblings due to parents having to hold down multiple jobs; and challenges at home, whether that be a lack of nutritious food or stable housing, or the presence of substance abuse. The children in our community are benefiting from the counseling services made available in their schools, a benefit that can extend to family members in the form of mental health education to parents and guardians. This grant will assure that this counseling service will continue to be financially supported to the benefit of all.”

“We are keenly aware that students in Sonoma County have been deeply affected by natural disasters, the pandemic, and our current economic conditions,” said Hector Galvan, Director of NSCHD. “These timely grants will help ensure we continue to provide essential services to our community schools.”

“The combined support of the Healthcare Foundation and the North Sonoma County Healthcare District represents a significant investment in the work AVH does to ensure everyone in Cloverdale has access to exceptional personalized care and is treated with dignity and respect,” said CEO Deborah Howell. “Our new facility will expand access and provide a broader range of integrated services at reduced costs to promote the wellbeing of our community.”

“We are thrilled to be joining forces with North Sonoma County Healthcare District to make an even more powerful impact at this time of great need,” said Healthcare Foundation Executive Director Kim Bender. “Combining our resources and coordinating our efforts made perfect sense to us. We recognize that the two organizations receiving our first coordinated grants not only need and deserve the support but are absolutely critical to addressing the mental health crisis among our region’s most vulnerable residents.”

About the Healthcare Foundation

The Healthcare Foundation Northern Sonoma County connects people and resources to promote wellness in underserved communities. We do this by supporting nonprofits in the areas of access to healthcare and mental healthcare, with a vision of eliminating health inequities in our region. The organization’s values center on community, compassion, and equity. All our strategies support equitable access to culturally sensitive healthcare and mental health services and promote overall community wellness. Founded in 2001, the Healthcare Foundation has invested more than $24 million to build a healthier region for all who live, work and play in northern Sonoma County. For more information, visit healthcarefoundation.net.

About North Sonoma County Healthcare District

North Sonoma County Healthcare District was formed in 2001, covering approximately 60,000 residents across Windsor, Healdsburg, Geyserville, Cloverdale and surrounding areas. North Sonoma County Healthcare District has built a strong, vital healthcare community which earned the District the Association of California Healthcare Districts (ACHD) Award in recognition of outstanding contributions to community health and wellbeing. Learn more at https://nschd.com.

Media Contact

Mary Ott, Development Director, Healthcare Foundation, mott@healthcarefoundation.net, (717) 542-4625