• Refugee Health Collaborative Awarded $1 Million from IU Health
• St. Joe Foundation Awards More Than $770,000 in Grants
• Health First Allen County Awards $30,000 to St. Joe Foundation for Nutrition and Cooking Education

Indiana University Health recently awarded $1 million over three years to the St. Joseph Community Health Foundation to develop the Refugee Health Collaborative, a partnership of the St. Joe Foundation, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Amani Family Services, International House, Double Up Indiana, the IU Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health and the IU Health primary care office of Dr. Cho Mar Aung. 

The collaboration of community leaders and partners will work together to help Burmese refugees meet their needs for physical and mental health services, case management, transportation, healthy food, job training and housing.

“We are grateful to receive this significant investment in improving the health and wellness of refugees in the greater Fort Wayne area,” said Meg Distler, executive director of the St. Joe Foundation. “We look forward to working with the talented staff of all our partners to overcome cultural and language barriers so we can welcome refugees and help them make our community home.”

Information from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) shows that as many as 80 percent of...

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“We continue to see food banks with increased numbers of people needing assistance to feed their families nutritious food.” says Meg Distler, St. Joe Foundation executive director. “Meanwhile, the number of immigrants and refugees coming to our community is increasing and so is the need for services to support them. Our staff, grants committee, and Board of Directors are grateful to be able to support our nonprofit partners as they work to address these critical issues.”

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Health First Allen County has awarded the St. Joe Foundation $30,000 for collaborating with the Fort Wayne Community Schools to provide 7th-grade nutrition and cooking education. Health First Allen is an initiative for the Allen County Department of Health to invest in public health through local and essential community partners.  The grant will strengthen the curriculum piloted in 2023 and explore opportunities to expand to other school systems so that all Allen County 7^th graders might benefit.  Other partners collaborating on this project include Parkview Health, McMillen Health, the University of Saint Francis, and Purdue Extension.