bi3 Updates
83 Greater Cincinnati high schools participate in World Teen Mental Wellness Day
The bi3 Fund, Hopeful Empowered Youth (HEY!), Interact for Heath and The Joe Burrow Foundation recently partnered to engage junior high and high school students in developing and participating in activities commemorating World Teen Mental Wellness Day.
This is the third year local students have had the opportunity to receive funding to support activities, and the number of schools continues to grow. In total, 83 area schools applied and received up to $1,000 each for activities such as wellness fairs, speakers, and the promotion of resources like the National 988 Suicide and Crisis Hotline.
Black Maternal Health Week events planned for April
The bi3 Fund recently awarded $78,000 to 16 local organizations to support Black Maternal Health Week (BMHW) events. Several organizations are partnering to host and plan activities.
Held annually from April 11–17, BMHW events focus on amplifying Black women’s voices, perspectives, and lived experiences on the path toward improving and advancing Black maternal health.
This is the second year bi3 has provided grants to fuel local events.
Jill Miller delivers keynote address at Groundwork Ohio Advocacy Day
bi3 partner Groundwork Ohio held its annual Advocacy Day, with a full crowd of more than 400 attendees. This year’s theme, “Foundations for Ohio’s Future: Investing in Young Children Today,” highlighted the urgency of ensuring equitable access to quality early education and healthy beginnings for every child throughout the state.
The bi3 Fund’s Jill Miller shared lessons and insights from our community’s journey to lower infant mortality, which is also detailed in her new book, Infant Mortality and Other Wicked Problems, co-authored with Cradle Cincinnati Executive Director Dr. Meredith Smith.
Engaging in policy advocacy is vital to breaking down system barriers and achieving long-term change. Thank you to ALL who continue to lift up the voices of Ohio families.
Grantee Spotlight
Women Helping Women
Fueled by a three-year $1.5 million bi3 Fund grant, Women Helping Women continues to expand support for domestic violence survivors and their families through its Domestic Violence Enhanced Response Team (DVERT™) program. Through DVERT, survivors are met on the scene, in the moment of danger, with a trauma-informed crisis intervention response from a trained advocate. The team can provide immediate connections to shelters, food cards/financial assistance, therapy, and victim services.
The DVERT program now operates in 35 Greater Cincinnati jurisdictions, having trained nearly 500 officers.
The bi3 grant also supported the expansion of Women Helping Women prevention services. Prevent and Empowering programming has been delivered to more than 13,000 area students, primarily in Cincinnati Public Schools, with encouraging outcomes. Following the program, more than 94 % can identify the signs of a healthy relationship, and 98 % feel confident in understanding violence and abuse involve one person having more power and control over another.
For more updates on the work of bi3 and our funded partners, be sure to follow us on social media!
