Grantor Name: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona Foundation for Community & Health Advancement
Program Name: Transportation Assistance Program
Grant Amount: $25,000 Health Equity Grant
Recipient Name: Elaine
Overview of Use of Funds: Good Works Grant Writing is excited to congratulate our client, Elaine, on being awarded a $25,000 Health Equity grant from the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona (BCBSAZ) Foundation for Community & Health Advancement for its Transportation Assistance Program! Elaine serves homeless and other extremely low-income and vulnerable people in need of transportation in Scottsdale and in Central Phoenix within a 15-mile radius of Maricopa County’s Human Services Campus. Elaine’s Transportation Assistance Program responds to this community’s urgent need for free transportation to locations essential to the Social Determinants of Health. Because the cost to Elaine for each one-way ride for an individual is $30, $25,000 in BCBSAZ funding will allow Elaine to serve an additional 833 individuals in 2023.
Overview of Grant Objective/Impact: Elaine’s Transportation Assistance Program covers a critical gap by taking people to services that promote community health equity, including: Healthcare, Food access, Employment opportunities/jobs, Housing Interviews and lease signings, Criminal Justice/case management appointments, Economic Opportunity/Department of Economic Security and bank visits, Educational Opportunities, Social and Cultural Cohesion/Community centers and support groups, and Critical errands/Laundry, mobile phone providers etc. The Transportation Assistance Program is unique in that it is not just a rideshare or curb-to-curb service, featuring an empathetic, culturally sensitive approach that is key to helping clients make meaningful strides in access to the Social Determinants of Health. Elaine’s skilled Community Health Drivers, trained to listen to clients to form bonds of trust, begin tracking TAP clients from the first ride forward, helping them learn they can trust Elaine for safe, reliable rides to additional SDOH locations. By building meaningful relationships with our clients that help them access services critical to ending their homelessness, Elaine strives to make lasting impacts in community health equity and give all Arizonans the resources they need to thrive.