Michigan Health Endowment Fund

In response to a cancer diagnosis, Detroit resident Heidi Penix's tended her home-based garden and developed a healing connection with food and soil that impacted her well-being. Hear Heidi’s story as part of the?Outlier Media series The Healing Soil: Detroit’s Urban Farms (https://lnkd.in/g-mwVHaa), produced with support from the Health Fund.

On Thursday, we were thrilled to host an amazing group of Community Health Workers, organizations that support and deploy CHWs, and MDHHS representatives for a focus group at the Health Fund?office in Lansing.? ? CHWs are a powerful force for improving community health, increasing access to care, and addressing health related social needs. The focus group helped our staff learn more about challenges organizations face in sustaining CHW services, along with opportunities for the Health Fund to work with partners to address those challenges. Huge thanks to our guests for sharing their experiences and wisdom with our team! Michigan Department of Health & Human Services, Michigan Primary Care Association, Henry Ford Health, Access of West Michigan, (MiCHWA) Michigan Community Health Worker Alliance, Michigan Health & Hospital Association

People with lived experience of food insecurity have unique and valuable expertise about solutions to support the nutritional needs of families like theirs. That’s what made the University of Michigan School of Public Health's Community Food Advocacy Fellowship (CFAF) so impactful?and why the Health Fund supported its mission. The six-month fellowship brought together 19 Michigan parents to learn together and apply their experiences to influence food access policies, practices, and programs within their communities. Read about their fellowship experience:

People with at least one grandchild are more likely than those without grandchildren to say they hardly ever feel isolated. That’s just one finding in the?latest poll extra from the National Poll on Healthy Aging, which looks at the experiences of grandparents and their families, including the connections between grandparenting and mental health. The poll also utilizes Health Fund support to spotlight state-level data about grandparents in Michigan. Check out the full findings:?

Our 2025 Maternal & Infant Health Initiative is open! We're seeking proposals for community-driven and locally focused projects that reduce disparities, increase access to care, and improve outcomes for pregnant individuals and their infants. Check out our website for RFP details and additional information:

Announcing 65 new grants! Today, the Health Fund approved $13.7+ million in grants largely supporting projects through our Healthy Aging, Community Health & Capacity Building, and Special Projects & Emerging Ideas programs. Check out our latest blog post for a full list of funded projects that aim to improve the health of older adults and children across Michigan:

The Health Fund provided support to Outlier Media to produce a series of articles and short videos about urban gardening in Detroit and its connection to health and community. In this story, Amanda Brezzell, co-founder of Fennigan’s Farms in the city’s Dexter-Linwood neighborhood, is on a mission to be a resource for fresh, nutritious food in the community, helping residents improve their health and achieve food sovereignty.?

People with lived experience of health-related issues bring unique and valuable expertise that can inform solutions to address their needs.?The Health Fund believes community members should be supported and compensated appropriately to make it easier to share their insights. One Michigan organization — Grand Rapids-based?KConnect?— offers frameworks for youth and community member compensation that other organizations can adopt in their work with the communities they serve. Learn more in our latest blog post:

With support from a Health Fund grant, the Detroit Parks Coalition is recruiting youth ambassadors to help increase the presence of young people in local parks. Ambassadors will aim to boost use of these vital community outdoor spaces by engaging peers through social media, local schools, youth organizations, and community groups. The program provides compensation to youth park ambassadors for their contributions, while helping them build skills to become leaders in their communities. Learn more:

Michigan Department of Health & Human Services is seeking proposals for efforts that will expand recovery support services?for individuals seeking long-term recovery from substance use disorders. Up to 20 grants of up to $150,000 each will be awarded to organizations that are?certified or conditionally certified as a recovery community organization, or that meet the definition of a recovery community center. Applications are due Thursday, Nov. 21. Learn more or apply: