The funding to 16 community-led nonprofits will help address adverse childhood experiences
Newtown Square, Pennsylvania--(Newsfile Corp. - November 18, 2025) - The AmeriHealth Caritas Foundation awarded grants totaling $1.9 million to nonprofits delivering housing stability, health care access, and parenting support to reduce the impact of adverse childhood experiences.
The funding supports 16 organizations across eight states and the District of Columbia with initiatives aiming to strengthen families, increase childhood health outcomes, and create multigenerational benefits.
"Preventing childhood adversity is a powerful way to improve health for generations to come," said Rhonda Mims, Board Chair of the AmeriHealth Caritas Foundation and Executive Vice President of Public Affairs and Risk at AmeriHealth Caritas. "We are proud to stand alongside these organizations to create lasting change in the communities we serve."
The grant recipients are all community-led and provide asset-based supports. Their projects span diverse regions and focus areas, including:
Housing and family preservation initiatives in Delaware and Louisiana.
Youth mental health and workforce development programs in Michigan and North Carolina.
School-based health services in Ohio's Appalachian region.
Positive parenting practices and kinship care support in South Carolina.
Enrichment programs for youth in Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.
"We applaud the dedication of every organization that applied and commend the diverse, evidence-based approaches to building resilience represented in this year's recipients," said Lauren Maloney, Director of the AmeriHealth Caritas Foundation. "These innovative projects turn our pillars into action by empowering families, fostering healing behaviors, and improving access to health care."
Grants and Projects by State
Delaware
NeighborGood Partners strengthens communities through housing, lending, and education with its focus on youth development and family support.
The Foundation is granting NeighborGood Partners $111,826 to expand its Central Delaware Thrives program in Dover which offers kids and teens academic tutoring and college tours, trauma-informed wellness workshops, youth leadership and mentorship programs, youth workforce development, peer mediation training, along with having financial literacy workshops and healing circles for families.
Louisiana
The New Orleans Women and Children Shelter (NOWCS) provides homeless families with comprehensive support and care, including shelter, safety, and food, combined with wraparound services.
A $125,000 grant from the Foundation will allow NOWCS to expand its work providing protective and compensatory experiences to counter the effects of trauma for children and families who have experienced homelessness.
Reconcile New Orleans (RNO) delivers innovative workforce training to teens and young adults (ages 16 to 24) from low-income families, who are seeking connection to employment and education.
RNO will use its $125,000 grant to expand that programming and its ability to provide continued post-program case management. The organization also offers work readiness training, career exploration, and on-the-job training via externships in addition to mental health and social needs services for program participants and alumni.
Through housing, healthcare, and advocacy, Baton Rouge-based Youth Oasis supports children and young adults recovering from the trauma of homelessness and family separation.
The Foundation is awarding Youth Oasis a grant of $125,000 to expand its ACEs Prevention Continuum project. The project provides housing assistance, basic needs, and behavioral health services to 100 young people (ages 11 to 24) to help prevent family separation while promoting healing and resilience in East Baton Rouge and nearby rural parishes.
Michigan
Grand Rapids-based AYA Youth Collective helps West Michigan kids and young adults (ages 14 to 24) experiencing homelessness with urgent challenges.
A $125,000 grant from the Foundation will go to AYA's Access as You Are project, which provides access to assistance payments, referrals to mental health support, connections to long-term housing, and a supportive community of youth advocates, case managers, and representatives from the Department of Health and Human Services.
Generations Ahead, based in Traverse City, provides comprehensive social services to empower young parents by building positive relationships, strengthening family stability, and raising healthy children.
The Foundation is granting Generations Ahead $100,000 to support services targeting teen and young adult parents in the surrounding rural areas. Families will receive case management, educational and employment support, mental health resources, parenting, and life skills development, as well as assistance with housing, transportation, and other basic needs.
New Hampshire
The Coös Coalition for Young Children and Families, based in Berlin, seeks to promote optimal development for children from birth to age eight by supporting the families and systems that care for them in rural northern New Hampshire.
The Coös Coalition is using its $125,000 grant from the Foundation to develop community-driven behavioral health strategies beyond the clinical system. The grant will also help with the expansion of Coös' Raising Strong Families initiative, which includes connections to parenting classes, support groups, and essential resources, like food and transportation.
North Carolina
The Winston-Salem based Shalom Project provides support to women living with income insufficiency in the Triad Region.
The Foundation's $100,000 grant to Shalom Project will expand The Flourish Program. The program aims to improve the financial and mental health of mothers with children under the age of one and expectant mothers, who are under the age of 20.
StepUp Ministry, which is based in Raleigh, helps low-income families experiencing housing insecurity find pathways to overcoming barriers and transforming their lives.
StepUp Ministry's $100,000 grant from the Foundation will support two programs: Empower 48 teaches adult financial literacy, goal setting, and relationship building over 48 weeks. The StepUp Children's Program is split into Baby Steps (ages 0-5), which teaches school readiness and early literacy, and Middle Ground (ages 5-15), which provides school advocacy and at least 48 hours of tutoring per child.
The Urban League of Central Carolinas in Charlotte advocates for and equips the African American community, and all under-served communities, with the tools to achieve social and economic equality.
The Foundation is granting the Urban League of Central Carolinas $125,000 to expand its father-focused reunification services. The program includes child support modification, mediation with co-parents or guardians, employment and housing stabilization, and legal navigation ensuring that fathers are engaged in the family reunification process when their children are at risk of or currently involved with the child welfare system.
Ohio
The Athens-based Appalachian Children Coalition focuses on improving the health and well-being of children and their families in the Appalachian region of Ohio.
For a second time, the Foundation is awarding the organization a grant. This year's grant of $150,000 will help build its School Health and Appalachian Partnership for Equity (SHAPE) Network. The SHAPE Network's objective is to increase the capacity of existing school-based health service locations and establish new ones across nearly two dozen counties.
Pennsylvania
Philadelphia-based Beyond the Bars is dedicated to interrupting the cycles of violence and incarceration, while helping students recognize their immense potential and bright futures.
The Foundation is granting Beyond the Bars $100,000 for its Ecosystem of Support program that delivers student-driven music education, holistic resource connection, and paid leadership pathways across schools, shelters, foster care sites, trauma clinics, and recreation centers.
Lutheran Settlement House, also based in Philadelphia, empowers people, families, and communities to achieve and maintain self-sufficiency with a focus on housing assistance, economic mobility, and mental health.
With the $100,000 Foundation grant, the Lutheran Settlement House will expand its program to improve financial literacy, enhance child well-being with access to primary care and mental health services, and ensure access to basic care resources as families prepare to move out of the Jane Addams Place family shelter.
Sojourner House MOMS in Pittsburgh offers housing assistance and comprehensive case management to mothers recovering from substance use disorder and experiencing homelessness.
The Foundation grant to Sojourner House MOMS of $100,000 will help the organization increase the number of families supported with wraparound services including permanent supportive housing, case management, access to mental health services, parenting classes, job readiness, education, and basic needs assistance.
South Carolina
Helping and Lending Outreach and Support (HALOS), based in Charleston, provides systems navigation, connection to public benefits, legal assistance, and peer and economic support to kinship caregivers.
The Foundation is granting HALOS $141,035 to expand high-quality, no-cost legal services - in partnership with Charleston Legal Access - for kinship families across all 10 Lowcountry counties.
Washington, D.C.
Fihankra Akoma Ntoaso (FAN-DC) supports foster children and others who have had contact with the child welfare system in Ward 8, which is the District's lowest-income ward. Its programs aim to break the cycles of poverty and inequality for participants and their families.
The Foundation's $125,000 grant will help FAN-DC with building capacity for its after school and summer program that encompasses mental health, financial literacy, case management, and drop-in services for students.
About AmeriHealth Caritas Foundation
The AmeriHealth Caritas Foundation ("the Foundation") is a national philanthropy dedicated to preventing and mitigating Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). The Foundation is the independent philanthropic arm of AmeriHealth Caritas, advancing the company's holistic approach by empowering children and families to achieve resilience and reach their fullest potential. The Foundation website is www.amerihealthcaritasfoundation.org.
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Contact:
Michael Chesney
484-423-3119
mchesney@amerihealthcaritas.com
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