Neighborhood Wellness Foundation

$23,905 raised by 49 donors

10% complete

$250,000 Goal

About Us

Co-founded in 2015 by Gina Warren, Pharm.D., and Marilyn Woods, Neighborhood Wellness Foundation (NW) is a community-based organization with a mission to navigate and disrupt intergenerational trauma and poverty in Del Paso Heights (DPH) and surrounding neighborhoods. NW operates at the granular level with a multigenerational, interdisciplinary team from executive to grassroots to address the patterns of disparities which include poor health outcomes, substance use disorders, illiteracies, socioeconomic immobility, violence and incarceration.  Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and their correlation to these patterns of disparities is the cornerstone of our work and our need to disrupt the intergenerational transfer of adversity. NW integrates academic, clinical, business and lived experiences to guide strategic planning and implementation of pathways.  These pathways address the challenges that remain palpable in our community. NW’s authentic connectedness and four impact programs: Healing Circles, Restore Legacies, Higher Heights and Pacers Take Space empower our community with ACEs awareness, mental and physical wellness, educational attainment and economic stability.

Our Promise

NW is not providing charity. We have a commitment to invest all of our resources necessary to help empower and implement a belief of Neighbors lifting Neighbors that results in self-efficacy, healthier families, neighborhoods, schools and the city of Sacramento. 16 of our 19 paid staff have connection to DPH and 14 have either been formerly incarcerated, gang-involved, substance use disorder, or never been employed before NW. We are building from the inside out and bottom up. As we disrupt the transfer of intergenerational adversity, we empower our community with productive citizens, a normalization for mental wellness, academic achievements, long-term employment and stability. NW with resources and authentic collaborative partnerships, have the capacity to empower and uplift our own Del Paso Heights community with depth and sustainability. 

Mission

Our mission is to navigate and disrupt intergenerational poverty and trauma in Del Paso Heights (DPH) and surrounding Sacramento neighborhoods. NW operates with a multigenerational, interdisciplinary team approach to build self-efficacy, promote mental and physical wellness, improve educational/vocational attainment, economic stability and restore a culture of excellence.

Needs

NW needs resources to support three of our four impact programs: Restore Legacies, Higher Heights and Pacers Take Space. All programs intersect at Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and the correlation to patterns of disparities of poor health outcomes, substance use disorders, illiteracies, socioeconomic immobility, violence and incarceration. When our neighbors have the necessary awareness and resources to build capacity, improve health, relieve economic stress, engage in educational and employment opportunities, the results are healthier families, schools, neighborhoods and cities.

$100,000

Restore Legacies have been designed to disrupt the cradle to prison pipeline and the transfer of adversity for both youth, adults and families with legacies of incarceration. The program provided support for unhoused residents disproportionally impacted by ACEs.

Resources needed include sustainable support for:

1. A housing and drug support peer specialist to help both our unhoused and housed residents navigate resources. Blacks represent more than 30% of Sacramento's unhoused residents.

2. Resources to maintain economic stability for our grassroots neighborhood navigators for professional workforce development and other ongoing capacity building tools to help sustain a healthy way of life and their paid positions on our team. Neighborhood Wellness serves and has employed the highest need and most difficult to reach Black adults and youth in Del Paso Heights who are legacies of poverty, addiction, illiteracies, violence and incarceration. With both incremental and huge successes, NW is working to reestablish a social structure that creates and supports violence mitigation improvements in health outcomes, educational attainment and economic stability. We are building healthy living and learning environments that disrupt the intergenerational transfer of adversity and poverty.

3. Individual therapy from both licensed practitioners and mentorship.

4. Outdoor Educational Activities expose our youth and adults to positive experiences with exposure to healthier environments to begin and sustain a normalization towards achievement and improve home environments, schools and overall public safety.

$20,000

Higher Heights focus is on youth and adult college or vocational matriculation and sustainability. Resources will be used to help lower barriers by providing ongoing school support such as transportation and materials, clothing and school housing for our students in high school, college and vocational training to ensure successful engagement, completion, graduation and matriculation.

$30,000

Pacers Take Space is a School-Based Health Center on the campus of Grant High School. Resources needed include support for our essential pantry, youth internships, support for participation in mental health Healing Circles on campus that improve behavior, attendance and academic achievement.

Equity Statement

Neighborhood Wellness Foundation (NW) operates with an interdisciplinary team of nineteen. Sixteen of our paid staff are generationally rooted in Del Paso Heights and thirteen of whom are unemployable given history of illiteracy, substance use disorders, gang validation and incarceration. We built our team as we value their insight and perspective, and we stand on our mission to disrupt intergenerational poverty and trauma.

Our grassroots work focuses specifically on Del Paso Heights neighbors who have been impacted generationally and disproportionately by the inequities in education, healthcare, housing, law enforcement, criminal justice, financial institutions and employment. Focusing on these social determinants of health, NW has partnerships with all of these systems.

We are committed to relevant capacity building for our staff, Del Paso Heights neighbors and partners. The intended impact is to change the lens through which these systems see our community and how we see ourselves because how you see us determines how you treat us. Educational awareness helps improve the communication and interactions. Equity building must include optimal delivery of service that will maximize the opportunities for achievement. Our neighbors deserve to become educated, healthy, employed, stable and build wealth for the next generation.

Organization Data

Summary

Organization name

Neighborhood Wellness Foundation

Year Established

2015

Tax id (EIN)

47-4874487

Mission Category

Civil Rights, Social Action & Advocacy

Operating Budget

$1,000,001-$5 million

Organization Need

Funding: Program, Funding: Other, Funding: Unrestricted, In-Kind Donations, Volunteers

Demographics Served

Youth & Children, Low-income individuals/families, Black/African American

BIPOC Leadership

Both the Executive Director & Board Chair

Local Counties Served

Sacramento

Equity Statement

Equity Statement

Address

3805 Clay Street
Sacramento, CA 95838

Service areas

Sacramento, CA, US, 95838

Sacramento, CA, US, 95815

Phone

916-335-8818

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