Poetry for Personal Power (P3) recently received a grant for $100,000 from the Health Forward Foundation Mental Health Fund to support the Stars Among Us program. The Stars Among Us program will match 30-60 peers with a behavioral health peer support specialist for peer support and mentoring in the community. Each peer will receive 25 hours of one-on-one peer support from a trained peer; unlimited access to P3 peer workshops and groups; and access to P3’s trainings, resources, and events such as advocacy events, webinars, the peer information campus (PIC), and connection to community resources. Peer support, including connection and referrals to other community service providers that are part of the peers’ recovery plan, will aid in solving social determinants and will increase the likelihood of success in achieving mental health and substance use recovery milestones.

Thrive Allen County (TAC) recently received a grant for $2,970,164 from the CMS Cooperative Agreement to Support Navigators to Federally-Facilitated Exchanges (FFE) to support the recruitment, training, and activities of 18 Navigators who will provide services in 42 counties throughout the state of Kansas over three years. Through the Kansas CARES (Coordinating and Assisting Reliable Enrollment Services) Program, TAC proposes to serve as lead applicant for a consortium of 10 subawardee entities that will hire, train, and oversee Navigators in their region. Navigators provide individuals with information about health insurance options and eligibility and help them enroll in a qualified health plan.

Wichita Children’s Home recently received a grant for $25,000 from the Kansas Human Trafficking Victim Assistance Fund to expand and enhance depth and breadth of WCH’s survivor aftercare services for victims of human trafficking. Wichita Children’s Home (WCH) Anti-Human Trafficking Initiative incudes outreach and prevention; and emergency shelter, transitional living, and aftercare services are outcome based, trauma-informed and victim-centered. Our primary goal is to empower these young women to heal and reclaim their lives.

Powell Gardens was recently awarded a $230,254 grant from IMLS MFA Museums Empowered Initiative to support the Supporting Professionally Relevant Opportunities for Understanding and Training (SPROUT) project. SPROUT will make critical investments in the Gardens’ operational infrastructure. These investments will improve the Gardens’ ability to provide visitors with meaningful encounters with plants within the Midwest ecosystem. Specifically, the project will address the Gardens’ staff needs through enhanced human resources support and expanded team and individual talent development opportunities for staff. Professional development offerings will include technical trainings and safety demonstrations for horticulture and administrative staff as well as leadership training for managers and directors.

Integrated Behavioral Technologies, Inc. was recently awarded a $25,000 grant from the Kansas Health Foundation to support improved capacity for IBT through critical, sustainable training, allowing IBT to fulfill its mission of training providers to implement evidence-based behavioral services for underserved Kansas families. IBT staff will attend Safety-Care Behavioral “Train-the-Trainer” Initial Training to reduce the likelihood and the intensity of behavioral crises for individuals with autism across 23 rural Kansas counties.

Integrated Behavioral Services, Inc. (IBT) was recently awarded a $40,047 grant from Kansas Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund – All In for Kansas Kids to increase the number of childcare professionals trained effective social-emotional interventions (Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports (PBIS)) for children with autism or other intellectual, developmental, physical, behavioral, and/or emotional needs. This project is the second part of a three-year plan to develop a replicable PBIS model that incorporates advanced social-emotional skills programming, puts into place appropriate structure, stability, and healthy behaviors to reduce problem behaviors among children at The K.I.D.S. Place.