The Ascension Foundation for Health Equity has awarded more than $1 million to 14 nonprofits in 10 states to address the socioeconomic needs of mothers and their families, with a special focus on moms who are postpartum.
This is the second round of grant-giving for the foundation that Ascension launched in 2021 to address the root causes of health disparities across the nation. The foundation is focused on two major philanthropic areas: helping organizations that work with postpartum mothers and building a future health care workforce that is diverse. The foundation's 2023 grants benefited three academic institutions serving students from middle school through medical school.
The new grant round seeks to help address the maternal mortality crisis in the U.S. by supporting organizations that are addressing nonclinical needs of postpartum mothers and families, especially those experiencing poverty. Ways the organizations are doing this include addressing the social determinants of health for families by providing housing, parenting education and other support services. The goals include disrupting generational poverty and caring for moms so they can care for their babies.
According to an Ascension press release, more than half of maternal deaths in the U.S. occur during the postpartum year. That release says this year is referred to as "maternity's most dangerous time." A goal of the grant initiative is to address the social determinants in a way that can lead to better health outcomes for moms and their families.
The organizations that will receive funding through this grant round are:
- The Alabama Prison Birth Project, Auburn, Alabama
- The Arkansas Birthing Project, Little Rock, Arkansas
- The Center for Urban Families, Baltimore
- Detroit Health Department SisterFriends
- Edmundite Missions, Selma, Alabama
- Emergency Infant Services, Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Hotel Hope, New Orleans
- J.A.M.E.S. Inc., Tulsa
- La Posada Home, El Paso, Texas
- Milwaukee Diaper Mission
- The O'Connor House, Carmel, Indiana
- Renewal House, Nashville, Tennessee
- TrainingGrounds, New Orleans
- Women & Children First, The Center Against Family Violence, Little Rock