HIGHLIGHT FROM OUR FIRST QUARTER
Charting New Horizons: A Period of Transformation
The first three months of Michael Reese’s fiscal year have included leadership changes, welcoming new Program Directors and impactful community initiatives.
Ameya Pawar Appointed President & CEO
On September 9, 2024, Ameya Pawar started as the new President and CEO of Michael Reese Health Trust. In his first several weeks, he saw how the Jewish tradition of Tikkun Olam, which means “repair the world,” is woven into the fabric of our mission, showing up in all areas of our work. Tikkun Olam was especially apparent in his first month as we approached the one-year anniversary of Hamas’ attack on Israel, and we paid special attention to supporting our partners in the Honor Our Jewish Legacy priority.
Ameya highlighted three initiatives demonstrating Michael Reese’s commitment to its principles:
- Honoring Our Jewish Legacy Respite Grants: Michael Reese provided $5,000 grants to seven Jewish partner organizations to support wellness, rest, and healing activities. This was a way to recognize their leadership in navigating the past year as antisemitism and threats against Jewish institutions increased.
- October 7 Day of Service: The Michael Reese team participated in a Day of Service marking the solemn anniversary of the attack. They worked on projects such as stocking The Ark’s food pantry and contributing to an art installation at the Chicago Jewish Day School.
- The Herb Wander Emergency Fund: Herb Wander was a long-time board member of Michael Reese Hospital and Michael Reese Health Trust. In his memory, his family established the “Herb Wander Emergency Fund” to aid the Jewish community in responding to emergencies or crisis events. Herb always rose to the occasion throughout his life, and the fund’s tagline, “Never Fear, Herb is Here,” pays tribute and carries this legacy forward.
Expanding Our Team of Program Directors
On August 26, 2024, we welcomed two key leaders to our team. Dr. Rashonda L. Johnson joins as the Program Director of Strategic Initiatives, and Gina Massuda Barnett as the Program Director of Health Workforce. Their expertise will be instrumental in guiding our efforts to innovate and meet the evolving needs of our communities.
Empowering Survivors: The Network’s ‘Affording Survival’ Initiative
Grantee partner, The Network: Advocating Against Domestic Violence, is transforming how we support survivors through its groundbreaking “Affording Survival” pilot project. This initiative will provide guaranteed income to up to 90 survivors of domestic violence for one year, offering them $1,000 per month to meet their basic needs, such as housing, food, and transportation.
By providing unrestricted financial support, the project challenges the overwhelming barriers that survivors face to escape dangerous situations. Instead, it recognizes that stable, flexible income is crucial for their safety and long-term security. The program also offers wrap-around services like case management, financial coaching, and credit repair, ensuring survivors have the tools for sustained independence.
The pilot builds on similar initiatives worldwide that show cash assistance empowers survivors and reduces their dependence on abusive partners. We believe this is a powerful step toward preventing cycles of homelessness and violence, addressing two of Michael Reese’s priority areas. With evaluation by the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Guaranteed Income, this project is designed to drive lasting change for survivors, proving that economic stability is essential for true safety.
Guaranteed basic income allows survivors to move away from emergency responses to long-term solutions that foster resilience, independence, and safety.
Out & About: Celebrating Community Engagement and Recognition
This quarter, we were honored to receive the Abraham Joshua Heschel Philanthropic Award at Celebrate CJE: Celebrating the Fabric of Our Community, recognizing our enduring commitment to social impact. (1st picture)
We were also named JCC Chicago’s inaugural Organizational Partner of the Year, an acknowledgment of our meaningful collaboration and shared values. (2nd picture)
At the 2024 National Conference on Domestic Violence, Jennifer Rosenkranz, Program Director of Domestic Violence, presented alongside community partners on the innovative Intersections project, addressing the critical links between domestic and community violence, and sharing successes and lessons learned in implementing this program on a national scale. (3rd picture)
Q1 Partners
Honor Our
Jewish Legacy
We build the capacity of our city’s strong network of Jewish-led health providers, advocates and services so their resources are more easily within reach to all Chicagoans who need them.We ground our work in the Jewish tradition of Tikkun Olam – to repair the world – by promoting health opportunities and access for all. We do this by building deep partnerships with those in the community providing direct services. Together, we identify strategies that will build and sustain agency infrastructure with strong leadership, responsive services and knowledgeable staff.
Norton & Elaine Sarnoff Center for Jewish Genetics – General Operating Support ($100,000)
This grant supports the Sarnoff Center, a leader in education and outreach related to recessive disorders and hereditary cancers that disproportionately affect individuals of Jewish descent.
Prevent
Domestic Violence
We prevent and address the impact of domestic violence by supporting both survivors and those who cause harm to break the cycle of violence.We focus our resources on three specific areas: Increasing and strengthening services for People Who Cause Harm (PWCH); creating a service-delivery system that ensures survivors of domestic violence-related head injury are identified, screened and treated; and supporting select innovative models that expand existing domestic violence services.
City of Chicago/The Network: Advocating Against Domestic Violence – Survivor-led Working Group Stipends ($40,100)
This grant supports one year of stipends for 13 members of the City of Chicago’s Survivor-led Working Group. The grant will be paid to The Network.
Pennsylvania State University and University of Michigan – Improving Outcomes for Batterer Intervention Programs (BIP) ($106,000)
This project will address the lack of tools and measures for evaluating the efficacy of programs for people who cause harm (PWCH) in their intimate relationships. The primary goal is to develop a framework for evaluating programs for PWCH using measures that can be employed across key stakeholder groups (perpetrators, victims and facilitators) and is rooted in the learning objectives of these programs.
Strengthen the
Health Workforce
We strive to integrate community health workers permanently into the health workforce, leveraging their trusted expertise and lived experiences to enhance the health and well-being of Chicagoland communities.
John Howard Association of Illinois (JHA) – Developing a Community Health Worker (CHW) Model for Individuals Who Are Incarcerated ($94,809)
This grant will support research and planning to identify alternative ways to improve the health outcomes of people experiencing incarceration.
Incubation As A Tool for Change
Michael Reese uses three tools to invest in Chicago’s communities – Advocacy, Grantmaking and Incubation. Our incubation tool makes investments in new, experimental, or proven projects with the potential to make systemic, positive change in the health of Chicagoans. Through partnering with visionary leaders, we support the fundraising and administrative needs of a start-up and leverage public and private partnerships to scale their efforts.
- Through our incubation tool, we serve as the administrative and operational home for giving grantmaking dollars to community partners from these pooled funds. Grants are selected and approved by the projects’ steering committees, which include representatives from stakeholder organizations. Fiduciary oversight is provided by Michael Reese Health Trust’s Board of Directors.
Health First Collaborative (HFC)
HFC is an incubator and amplifier of community-driven ideas that have the potential to transform health. This funder and community collaborative aims to strengthen public health infrastructure for long-term recovery and resilience. To date, collective investments from funds pooled at Michael Reese have been focused on improving access to care through technological interventions, supporting hyperlocal approaches to improving health outcomes, and centering lived expertise as a way of moving toward racial equity.
Sinai Urban Health Institute (SUHI) – Health First Collaborative Evaluation – Year 5 ($86,687.10)
This grant will support a broader evaluation of the Health First Collaborative (HFC) and focus on the systems of HFC, rather than pilot sites. SUHI will evaluate HFC’s collective impact approach and support the development of the Community Advisory Council (CAC) co-governance.