James T. Bowse Health Trust Announces 2023 Grant Awards
RUTLAND, VT – Rutland Regional Medical Center’s Bowse Health Trust (BHT) committee is pleased to announce that three important projects have been awarded funding for the next three years. Castleton University, The Housing Trust of Rutland County, and Social Tinkering have been awarded these funds for projects that address the priority needs identified in the 2021 Community Health Needs Assessment for the greater Rutland community. These priorities are to improve health equity in the areas of Housing, Childcare/Parenting, Mental Health, and Supporting the Aging Community.
Castleton University – Center for Social Justice and Trauma-Informed Care
The Center for Social Justice and Trauma Informed Care will provide services throughout Rutland County to fill training and workshop gaps for schools, social service agencies, and criminal justice agencies in the areas of social justice and trauma-informed care. Critical topics will include trauma, self-care, the link between structural inequality and trauma, as well as trauma-informed responses.
Cornerstone Housing Partners – Resident Services Program
Cornerstone Housing Partners currently has approximately 380 homes serving over 500 residents. The majority are low to moderate income residents facing home insecurity, and 26% were homeless or facing homelessness before finding a home with Cornerstone Housing Partners. Recognizing that housing and access to services is vital to the health of our residents and the community, this program will help bridge that gap by helping residents connect to the programs and services they need.
Social Tinkering – Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Experts and Education Project
Social Tinkering will build a strong framework for the JEDI Movement collaborative by partnering with local experts with lived experience in issues around JEDI. This framework will provide a well-informed foundation to manage future work with all Rutland County communities, including partnerships with social change experts, data experts, local businesses and organizations, and strategies for educational programming to increase equity, diversity, inclusion to help our region thrive.
For more than 25 years the BHT has awarded grant funds to collaborative community programs which measurably improve the health of Rutland County residents. The selection process engages a wide variety of community leaders to choose new innovative programs that help improve the health of our community. Ongoing reflection and collaboration with the BHT Committee helps agencies to secure year two and year three funding, as it is based on the grantee’s attainment of goals and outcomes.
Our three new grantees and current grant recipients, along with 60+ programs funded in the past, touch and improve many lives. The opening of the next grant cycle will be announced in April 2023, as grants are awarded on an annual basis. The Annual Report and the application information is available online here: www.rrmc.org/about/bowse-trust. Contact Jamie Bentley at 802-282-9585 or email healthtrust@rrmc.org.
Members of the Health Trust Committee include: Joan Gamble, Chair; Mary Beerworth, MD, Kate Bosnich, Renee Bousquet, Ashley Bride, Nanci Gordon, Doug Norford, and Lisa Ryan.
About the James T. Bowse Health Trust was established in 1996 by Rutland Regional Medical Center to fund collaborative, community-based programs aimed at creating a healthier community. A resolution by the Rutland Regional Health Services (RRHS) Board of Directors renamed this initiative in memory of James T. Bowse, President/CEO of Rutland Regional and RRHS. Jim died unexpectedly on June 17, 1997. He came to Rutland Regional in 1989 and, during his tenure, maintained an active interest in the health and wellness of the community. Jim was instrumental establishing the Trust in the fall of 1996. In naming the trust after Jim, we recognize the contributions he made to our community. Since then, the Bowse Health Trust has funded $4.5M to 64 programs in the Rutland Region.
