We are excited to announce our Spring 2024 2nd Chance Grant winners!

Thanks to our generous Legacy Giving Circle donor community, Artists Athletes Activists and Humane Prison Hospice Project are each receiving grants of varying amounts totaling $17,699.75 towards continuing their missions.

Artists Athletes Activists – $15,937.50

Initiative Location: New York, New York

Initiative Cause Areas: Crisis Support; Food Insecurity; Immigrant and Refugee Programs

UN Sustainable Development Goals: 02 Zero Hunger; 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities

Initiative Description: Since commencing our work with migrants and asylum-seekers, AAA and the ROCC initiative have assisted approximately 125,000 people in numerous life-supporting ways. It is important to keep in mind that when these migrants first arrive in New York City, they have little or no knowledge about the city and how its services work, little or no money to pay for essential needs for themselves and their families, and little or no fluency in the English language. They have few if any family or friends living in New York to receive them, few if any pre-existing contacts in government agencies or non-profit organizations that can help them, and few if any safe shelters immediately available to house them. AAA/ROCC volunteers are often the first New Yorkers to meet newly-arrived migrants and, over ensuing weeks and months, continue to help them navigate life in this complex, often confusing city.

Initiative Impact: The grant will fund significant growth in the hot lunch and nutritious snacks part of the ROCC initiative, permitting us to increase service frequency from two to three days per week and from 1,000 to 1,500 lunches served per month. The grant will also enable us to launch a new service to provide round-trip fares on public transportation for migrants to attend essential meetings with health care providers, lawyers, educators, and others at off-premise locations that we set up via our referral system. The New York City government does not currently provide free or reduced fare transportation options for these purposes; we propose to fill this gap. The grant money would enable AAA/ROCC to give NYC MetroCards for round-trip public transportation to 2,000 needy individuals who do not have the money to spare for subway or bus fares to attend these critical meetings. All funds will be used for out-of-pocket purchases of food products and MetroCard passes for transportation.

Humane Prison Hospice Project – $1,762.25

Initiative Location: Bolinas, California

Initiative Cause Areas: Education; Healthcare; Human Rights

UN Sustainable Development Goals: 03 Good Health & Well-Being; 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Initiative Description: Our Prison Palliative Care Program is a 15-module curriculum that prepares program participants to provide compassionate end-of-life care to their incarcerated peers who are aging and dying. The curriculum is based on the needs and insights of justice-involved individuals, as well as community-based hospice volunteer training. Our program educates participants on technical, hands-on skills, such as the use of medical equipment and knowledge of bloodborne pathogens, but also includes training and support in areas such as trauma-informed care, grief, communication and active listening, and community-building.

Initiative Impact: This grant would enable us to begin expansion nationally. Currently, we are in discussions with correctional healthcare leadership in several other states (namely Oregon, Washington, Michigan, and Hawaii) to begin the implementation of our program in their state prisons. In 2024, we expect to run our program at 3 California prisons, training a total of approximately 50 peer caregivers; in 2025, we expect to train at 2-3 more California facilities, and 1-2 facilities in outside states, supporting a total of 60 peer caregivers. Through these trainings, we expect to see improvements in the level of care given to those aging and dying in correctional facilities, improvements in the relationships between facility residents and staff, and an overall culture change that positively affects the lives of residents and staff alike.