Verdant leverages public funds with other revenues to increase access to health education and services by partnering with local organizations. In 2020 alone we distributed $8.2 million in grants, serving 50,000 residents and bringing many resources, services, and programs to our community. This is the impact your public dollars helped create.
Verdant exists in this community because of and for our residents. The community includes almost 190,000 people who live in Brier, Edmonds, Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, Woodway, and portions of Bothell and unincorporated Snohomish County. In our role as Public Hospital District No. 2, Snohomish County (PHD2), we have been supporting this community since 1962. We are a community that is both aging and growing more diverse, and these needs and many others help drive our work and investments so we can provide the greatest impact.
“The whole experience was the highlight and joy of 2021. A very effective outreach; great program & great people, it doesn’t get better than that.”
– Marissa, Verdant-funded Senior Tech Connect Participant
Verdant funds organizations small and large, making a difference for our residents. This can include non-profits, for-profits, and government organizations if the program supports the social determinants of health through the priority areas established by our Board of Commissioners, serves the residents of PHD2, and meets our eligibility criteria. With more grant applicants than we can fund, it isn’t an easy job for our commissioners to decide which organizations to fund. That is why every time we see one of our grant recipients succeed, we can’t help but be excited for their contribution to the community.
Grantee: Millennia Ministries
The need:
The BIPOC communities face multiple issues such as poverty and hunger. Many individuals in the communities suffer issues such as job loss, affordable housing and transportation, valuable education, and access to healthcare, all of which were made more difficult by the pandemic.
Many individuals don’t know where to go to fulfill their needs of hunger, poverty, and other basic needs. Language barriers are another challenge that face some BIPOC.
Without strategies to assist these needs, food insecurity and poverty will continue to grow.
The solution:
Millennia Ministries oversee their clients on what basic needs they lack. Whether it be food insecurity, poverty, or housing stability; Millennia Ministries is able to provide services such as grocery delivery, financial assistance, and housing advising.
They also go beyond providing basic assistance by teaching about budgeting, employability, mental health, and much more.
Millennia Ministries have their clients come back and volunteer to assist new clients through the programs and services.
Grantee: Latino Educational Training Institute (LETI)
The need:
There are many first- and second-generation Latino families and individuals in South Snohomish County who face many barriers in daily life that inhibit them from addressing their needs, including those associated with health and well-being.
These underrepresented communities often don’t know how to approach health issues or who to reach out to about their concerns.
These communities will often neglect their physical health, mental health, nutritional needs, and social needs simply because they are not prepared for an infrastructure that was not created for them.
The solution:
LETI conducts basic need screening during intake with clients, which helps identify if an individual or family has needs related to healthcare, including behavioral health and dental care.
Through this screening they are able to provide referrals to community resources and help them get pass some of the barriers inhibiting them.
LETI is also able to refer people to some of their own educational programs that address prominent issues within these communities.
We look forward to assisting members of the public and news media outlets with inquiries and stories about the successes we are seeing in our community.
