Allegany Franciscan Ministries’ 2007 Major Grant Program awarded a total of $406,000 in Miami-Dade County to support programs and initiatives that increase access to healthcare services and improve the overall health status of underserved populations through advocacy, capacity building, and community health education.

Catholic Charities - Archdiocese of Miami, Miami Shores, FL                    
Health Information for Haitian Immigrants $42,000           
Pierre Toussaint Haitian Catholic Center will conduct a Health Information for Haitian Immigrants program.  The program will provide health prevention and sanitation workshops to residents of the Haitian community in Miami-Dade County so that they can be more knowledgeable of asymptomatic illness and better informed of health services and benefits both to which they are entitled.  The Center will help residents complete applications for services both online and onsite, provide translation of documents and interpreters during intake and appointments, and conduct follow-up activities to ensure the individuals receive the services and benefits for which they applied.

Farmworker Association of Florida, Inc., Apopka, FL                                
Pesticide Safety and Environmental Health Project $50,000           
The Pesticide Safety and Environmental Health Project will address farmworkers' pesticide exposure, lack of safety in the workplace, and the inadequacy of pesticide safety monitoring and enforcement.  The program will provide pesticide safety training for at least 100 farmworkers.  It will monitor employer compliance with health and safety laws, train at least 30 health care providers on pesticide exposure in farmworkers, and endeavor to enact policy change to improve enforcement of farmworker protections.   

Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, Miami, Florida                                                    
Immigrant Health Access Project $50,000
The Immigrant Health Access Project promotes advocacy through the legal representation of underprivileged immigrants who require assistance in securing health and other public benefits in Miami-Dade. Many of the clients served are disabled and elderly individuals, some of whom are chronically homeless and have repeated difficulty in establishing eligibility for safety-net programs. The project advocates for the effective implementation of federal, state, and county government program policies which exist to help qualified immigrants; seeks to remove systemic problems in accessing federal programs; and supports national efforts to protect, restore, and expand immigrant access to healthcare and other benefits.

Guardianship Program of Dade County, Inc., Miami, FL                            
Emergency Temporary Guardianship $60,000          
The program will provide a number of critical services to individuals in emergency or in temporary guardianship status including: applying for, obtaining and overseeing any benefits that the ward is entitled to receive; legal representation;  securing and oversight of medical and nursing services; evaluating the personal, familial, medical and personal care needs of the ward; maintaining communication with the ward's family; evaluation and placement in appropriate setting; and authorization of medical treatment after medical consultation.

Human Services Coalition of Dade County, Miami, FL                               
Neighborhood Health Leadership Project  $70,000
This initiative will engage and help connect residents facing life's struggles, including the poor and marginalized, elderly, and uninsured, to culturally competent health and wellness activities, developed in their own neighborhoods or available through referral agreements with other health and human services organizations.  The initiative will serve Little Havana, Little Haiti, and Overtown.  Each of these neighborhoods will have a project that is resident-driven and supervised by a highly motivated and skilled volunteer (a public ally) recruited by Public Allies, Inc.  This project is part of a larger program addressing community wellness efforts throughout Miami-Dade County.   

Kristi House, Inc., Miami, FL    
Mental Health Expansion $60,000     
As Miami-Dade's Children's Advocacy Center, Kristi House provides critical mental health services for child-victims of sexual abuse following best practices models.  Kristi House will expand its mental health therapy program in order to serve more child-victims and their families.   Physical expansion will add another satellite location, in north Miami-Dade, to provide more convenient access for families participating in weekly therapy sessions.

Mercy Hospital Foundation, Miami, FL                                                       
St. John Bosco Clinic $50,000
Mercy Hospital operates the St. John Bosco Clinic located in Corpus Christi Parish, established to assess the primary care needs of and provide cancer screenings to patients from the Little Havana and Allapattah communities.  Grant funding will make it possible for St. John Bosco Clinic to serve approximately 1000 patients with primary care consultations with an advanced nurse practioner or physician and make referrals to other providers for additional services and/or treatment.   

Miami-Dade Grantee Collaborative, Miami, FL
Operating Support $24,000
AFM created this organization to serve nonprofit organizations in Miami-Dade. The Collaborative develops collaborative leadership among non profit health and human services in Miami-Dade County; develops the capacity of non-profits to be competitive in acquiring and sustaining resources; and positively impacts health care access and health status health policy, advocacy, and community education within a collaborative framework. Peace Education Foundation serves as the fiscal agent for this organization.