Wyandot Inc. receives $250,000 Wyandotte Health Foundation grant to address trauma and promote community healing; hires director to lead effort

(May 2019) Wyandot Inc. is excited to announce that it has received a $250,000 grant from the Wyandotte Health Foundation to address trauma and promote community healing.

The one-year grant, awarded in May, marks the first time that Wyandotte Health Foundation has sought proposals for a “Cross-Sector Collaboration to Address Trauma.”

“We are incredibly honored to receive this grant and to have Wyandotte Health Foundation’s trust and support to mitigate the impact that trauma has on our community’s health,” said Wyandot President and CEO, Randy Callstrom.

Cathy Harding, Wyandotte Health Foundation President and CEO, said the Foundation’s 2017 – 2019 Strategic Plan included, for the first time, a goal to reduce the incidence and/or minimize the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs).  “The work that Wyandot, Inc. will do through Alive & Thrive is the single largest initiative we’ve supported to date in this area,” Harding said, “and we’re extremely grateful for their commitment to this work.”

Wyandot will use the grant in conjunction with a $30,000 grant from the REACH Healthcare Foundation, awarded earlier this year, to staff and lead a community-driven program called Alive & Thrive Wyandotte County.  Alive& Thrive was founded by the Unified Government Public Health Department in 2017. Leadership of the program passed to Wyandot Inc. in December 2018. A network of nonprofit, governmental, educational, health, and justice organizations and systems supports Alive & Thrive’s work to prevent trauma and ACEs in Wyandotte County and to adopt community-wide strategies to promote healing and resilience.

Wyandot recently hired a full-time Alive & Thrive Director, Chandra Green. Born and raised in Wyandotte County, Chandra continues to live here. She has more than 15 years of experience in the social services with agencies such as the KCK Housing Authority, Department of Children and Family Services, Friends of Yates, Inc., and Young Women on the Move.

“I’m very excited and eager to help lead this work,” Green said. “In the weeks and months to come we will be reaching out to Wyandotte County’s grassroots community so we can engage as many people as possible in a conversation about what we can all do, together, to help Wyandotte County heal.”

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