Year: 2021

2021 Honorable Mention Recipient

North Market

Organization

Pillsbury United Communities

Minneapolis, MN

Program

North Market

Partners

North Memorial Health

2021 Honorable Mention Recipient

North Market

Organization

Pillsbury United Communities

Minneapolis, MN

Program

North Market

Partners

North Memorial Health

North MarketJulie Brauninger
Director of Institutional Giving

Pillsbury United Communities

3650 Fremont Avenue North
Minneapolis, MN 55412

612.302.3429
Email

Fruits, vegetables and other healthy foods shouldn’t be a luxury. However, for millions of American families living in so-called “food deserts,” with limited access to affordable nutritious food, they often are.

In 2017, Pillsbury United Communities, one of Minnesota’s most well-established nonprofit organizations, partnered with North Memorial Health (NMH) to create North Market—a nonprofit grocery and wellness center that is specifically designed to address the persistent food insecurity and health issues in the underserved community of North Minneapolis.

The symmetry of purpose these two organizations share has helped further North Market’s success. With more than 140 years of service to diverse communities across the Twin Cities and beyond, Pillsbury United’s mission is to co-create enduring change toward a just society where every person can thrive. This includes addressing the disparities in health and wealth that many communities face as a result of decades of disinvestment and systemic racism. NMH is a local network of 26 specialty and primary care clinics, urgent and emergency care offerings, medical transportation services, and two hospitals focused on providing friendly, knowledgeable healthcare to the people who live and work in the community.

What began as a community-centered conversation about food access in North Minneapolis—an urban neighborhood with just one supermarket to serve 67,000 residents—quickly became a larger plan to help its residents understand and address significant food-related health issues, such as obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure, that plague their community. A more holistic concept emerged, and North Market opened its doors as a community-based destination for health screening, culturally relevant health education and healthy food options.

“We’re now in our fourth year of operation, and North Market continues to nourish and heal the residents of North Minneapolis,” said Adair Mosley, President and CEO of Pillsbury United Communities. “Pillsbury United’s five outdoor urban farms and one solar-powered hydroponic farm, plus other North Minneapolis community farmers, help to ensure year-round access to healthy produce.”

One of the best things about North Market is that they made it their mission to employ residents of North Minneapolis. North Market is more than a grocery store; it’s a community resource for health and wellness. I’m there almost every day!”

Tavia from Minneapolis

2,000+

Pounds of produce grown by Pillsbury United Communities and sold at North Market in 2020.

50%

Produce at North Market is half-price on Wednesdays, thanks to public and private funding.

Partnering with North Market has been beneficial to my business and the community. They’ve enabled our company to provide affordable fitness, wellness and nutrition through grant programming, safe wellness space, and support through the pandemic. We are grateful for their partnership and continuous support.”

Chaz Sandifer

Founder, theNEWmpls

2021 Honorable Mention Recipient

HomeAid® WORKS

Organization

HomeAid® America

Irvine, CA

Program

HomeAid® WORKS

Partners

Colorado Homebuilding Academy

Constructing Hope

TEACH Construction

Six HomeAid affiliates from across the country

West Adams WorkSource Center

2021 Honorable Mention Recipient

HomeAid® WORKS

Organization

HomeAid® America

Irvine, CA

Program

HomeAid® WORKS

Partners

Colorado Homebuilding Academy

Constructing Hope

TEACH Construction

Six HomeAid affiliates from across the country

West Adams WorkSource Center

HomeAid® WORKSLaura McKenna
Development Director

HomeAid® America

PO Box 53156
Irvine, CA 92619

949.777.1660
Email

It is said that difficult situations inspire ingenious solutions. When it comes to HomeAid® America and the creation of their HomeAid® WORKS program, this phrase could not be more true.

For 32 years, HomeAid® has been an integral part of the fight to end homelessness in our country. A leading nonprofit developer of housing and programmatic facilities, it operates through a network of 19 affiliates in 13 states with the mission to help people experiencing or at risk of homelessness build new lives through construction, community engagement and education.

HomeAid® recognized that its construction partners were being slowed by a shortage of qualified workers. In 2019, it responded with HomeAid® WORKS (Workforce Opportunities for Rebuilding through Knowledge and Skills). This innovative workforce development program answers both the need for more housing solutions and for better-trained construction workers by linking job training and education with a pathway to secure, high-paying jobs in construction.

Students are recommended to the WORKS program through HomeAid®’s partnerships with nonprofit social services providers. HomeAid® then helps these individuals to overcome obstacles to their success with scholarships, transportation and childcare assistance, tools, training materials and access to computers. Leveraging partnerships with construction curriculum/education providers, training facilities and job placement specialists, HomeAid® then helps WORKS graduates to enter and advance in the construction industry.

At the same time, WORKS benefits its construction industry partners by creating a pipeline of well-trained and knowledgeable job seekers who can help employers improve the quality and diversity of their workforce, minimize worksite delays and enhance their competitive edge.

“HomeAid® WORKS offers a road map to a better future for some of our country’s most vulnerable individuals,” said Scott Larson, CEO of HomeAid® America. “This year, three more affiliates have joined us, replicating the program in Houston and in San Diego and Inland Empire, California. With potential expansion to Austin and Atlanta expected next year, HomeAid® WORKS is inspiring individuals from all walks of life to break the cycle of homelessness in America.”

HomeAid® has helped me really determine what career path I wanted. I came in here with zero knowledge and no idea what construction was. The one-on-one help they provide was something that really helped me a lot. They actually care about you and want you to succeed.”

Darwin from Denver

90%

Percentage of homebuilders who cite the labor shortage as an issue.

187

Number of students who have graduated since 2019;

(78% are minorities and 22% are women)

The WORKS program is a blessing to the West Adams WorkSource Center. Their construction program is a new paradigm, not only providing in-house training, but also placing students and helping them to get employment. The only way we’re able to do this is through our partnership with HomeAid®. Their wonderful WORKS program is helping us to change lives.”

Joel Jacinto

Business Service Representative, Asian American Drug and Alcohol Program,
West Adams WorkSource Center

2021 Honorable Mention Recipient

Clean Water for Carolina Kids

Organization

RTI International

Durham, NC

Program

Clean Water for Carolina Kids

Partners

North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services / Division of Public Health

Duke Environmental Law and Policy Center

NC Child

2021 Honorable Mention Recipient

Clean Water for Carolina Kids

Organization

RTI International

Durham, NC

Program

Clean Water for Carolina Kids

Partners

North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services / Division of Public Health

Duke Environmental Law and Policy Center

NC Child

Clean Water for Carolina KidsJennifer Hoponick Redmon
MSES, MPA, CHMM
Senior Environmental Health Scientist and Program Director

RTI International

3040 East Cornwallis Road
Durham, NC 27709

919.541.6000
Email

Infants and children need access to safe drinking water. Yet, the health of millions of our youngest citizens may be at risk because of toxic lead in the piping and plumbing in the childcare centers and schools where they play and learn.

Today, Clean Water for Carolina Kids is making critical advancements in protecting children from lead exposure. Launched in 2017 by RTI, an independent nonprofit research institute, Clean Water for Carolina Kids began as a community-based pilot study to engage and train school administrators in testing for and tracking lead contamination with a simple but groundbreaking mail-out test kit and a cloud-based enrollment and reporting portal. The study found that lead was present in water, above the American Academy of Pediatrics reference level, at 63% of the childcare centers and schools tested.

RTI is dedicated to improving the human condition through science-based solutions. Its team of nearly 6,000 experts works collaboratively with outside organizations to address complex social and scientific challenges on behalf of communities and businesses around the world.

Leveraging local connections, RTI partnered with various organizations to evaluate legal, regulatory and economic options for statewide lead testing. Together with input from outside stakeholders, RTI and its partners successfully updated North Carolina’s statewide childcare sanitation rule to require all licensed childcare centers to test for lead in water being used for drinking and food preparation.

“Clean Water for Carolina Kids is the first program to make available large-scale, yet scientifically robust, lead-in-water testing, while empowering school and childcare administrators as ‘citizen scientists,’” said Jennifer Hoponick Redmon, a senior environmental health scientist and program director at RTI International. “This year, we expanded the program throughout public schools in Georgia and with private well-owners across the U.S. We are elated that it has become a model for eliminating childhood exposure to lead and other contaminants. With federal funding, this testing is free to all participants.”

Our school was built in the 1940s, long before a federal rule came along in 1986 and banned lead use in pipes and fittings. Clean Water for Carolina Kids provided testing kits that were a great resource for us to make sure that the kids in our building were safe.”

Hannah Bradshaw Coordinator, Onslow County Elementary Schools Pre-K Child Care Centers

94%

Percent of 4,400 licensed childcare centers in North Carolina that have participated in the program.

230,000+

North Carolina children (ages 6 and younger) who now have access to safe drinking water.

As a result of Clean Water for Carolina Kids’ unique citizen scientist approach to collecting water samples, more than 94% of licensed childcare centers in North Carolina have already completed testing. No other state in the Southeast has reached this level of testing to assure safe drinking water for children.”

Ed Norman

MPH, Program Manager, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services,
Environmental Health Section

2021 Honorable Mention Recipient

Adopt-A-Neighborhood Project

Organization

Legal Aid of Western Missouri

Kansas City, MO

Program

Adopt-A-Neighborhood Project

Partners

Seven prominent law firms in Kansas City, MO

2021 Honorable Mention Recipient

Adopt-A-Neighborhood Project

Organization

Legal Aid of Western Missouri

Kansas City, MO

Program

Adopt-A-Neighborhood Project

Partners

Seven prominent law firms in Kansas City, MO

Adopt-A-Neighborhood ProjectKayla Hogan
Adopt-A-Neighborhood Project Director

Legal Aid of Western Missouri

4001 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, Suite 300
Kansas City, MO 64130

816.474.9868
Email

A roof sags over broken windows. Strips of wood are missing from the rotting front porch. The sign on the door warns: Danger! Keep Out. In cities across the U.S., urban neighborhoods are struggling with an epidemic of vacant and abandoned buildings along with economic disinvestment and the quality-of-life, health and safety concerns that often accompany urban blight.

In 2015, Legal Aid of Western Missouri created the Adopt-A-Neighborhood Project, a groundbreaking initiative helping to transform seven distressed neighborhoods within Kansas City’s urban core into vibrant, thriving communities. The first program of its kind in the country, Adopt-A-Neighborhood provides access to pro bono legal services to individuals, neighborhood associations and other nonprofit organizations through a unique collaboration with seven of the city’s top private law firms.

This initiative is in keeping with Legal Aid’s primary mission to improve the lives of those in need through quality legal assistance. Founded in 1964, Legal Aid provides a range of free, holistic, civil (noncriminal) legal services designed to help clients with low incomes to access healthcare and public benefits; escape abuse and human trafficking; resolve immigration issues; access safe, stable housing; and spur community and economic development.

Members of Legal Aid’s staff provide training to help attorneys who volunteer for the Adopt-A-Neighborhood Project to handle community economic development cases. At the same time, Legal Aid provides legal education to neighborhood associations and other community members.

“The goal of the Adopt-A-Neighborhood Project is to help stabilize housing, return vacant properties to productive use and improve the quality of life in low-income neighborhoods,” said Kayla Hogan, the Adopt-A-Neighborhood Project Director. “It provides a clear example of how Legal Aid can partner with private law firms to provide a pathway for residential development, community revitalization and economic security for underserved communities and their residents. Based on the success of this in Kansas City, the project has been replicated in St. Louis and is being considered by other cities across the U.S.”

The Adopt-A-Neighborhood Project has helped the Tri-Blenheim Neighborhood Association (TBNA) to reduce vacant and abandoned properties in our area and has provided TBNA with invaluable tools including housing court representation, knowledge of the complete housing rehab process and a better understanding of city codes and regulations. In just over a year, five properties have been rehabbed in the TBNA area.”

Charles Kennedy President, Tri-Blenheim Neighborhood Association

400+

Cases opened to date on behalf of neighborhood associations and individuals in Kansas City’s urban core.

11,000+

Pro bono hours of legal service committed to-date by program partners.

130+

Volunteer attorneys from seven of Kansas City’s top law firms.

The Adopt-A-Neighborhood Project has empowered various neighborhood associations to take an active role in neighborhood improvement efforts. The end result of the project has been to help restore neighborhoods, attract new residents to the neighborhoods and address various neighborhood legal needs.”

R.B. Miller, III

Senior Counsel, Lathrop GPM LLP

2021 National Award-Winning Program Thomas J. Moran Award Recipient

Nathaniel Project

Play Video

Organization

Center for Alternative Sentencing & Employment Services (CASES)

Brooklyn, NY

Program

Nathaniel Project

Partners

Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice

New York State Office of Mental Health

New York County (Manhattan) Supreme Court

Howie the Harp Advocacy Center

2021 National Award-Winning Program Thomas J. Moran Award Recipient

Nathaniel Project

Watch Video

Organization

Center for Alternative Sentencing & Employment Services (CASES)

Brooklyn, NY

Program

Nathaniel Project

Partners

Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice

New York State Office of Mental Health

New York County (Manhattan) Supreme Court

Howie the Harp Advocacy Center

Nathaniel ProjectJoel Copperman
Chief Executive Officer

Center for Alternative Sentencing & Employment Services (CASES)

151 Lawrence Street, 3rd Floor
Brooklyn, NY 11201

212.553.6354
Email

In America, there are more individuals living with serious mental illness detained in jails and prisons than being served in psychiatric treatment centers. Most of these incarcerated people lack access to mental health services that could help them recover. As a result, they often are subject to violence and ongoing suffering while imprisoned, and they struggle to find their footing when released into the community.

Established in 1967, CASES (the Center for Alternative Sentencing & Employment Services) is dedicated to increasing public safety through innovative services that reduce crime and incarceration, improve behavioral health, promote recovery and rehabilitation, and create opportunities for success in the community.

In 2000, CASES launched its groundbreaking Nathaniel Project, New York City’s first alternative-to-incarceration program for adults with serious mental illness (SMI) who are facing prison as the result of felony charges. Named for a man experiencing homelessness whose mental illness went untreated as he cycled in and out of the criminal legal system for 15 years, the Nathaniel Project has earned national recognition for safely supervising and supporting clients as they work within their community to rebuild their lives.

In 2000, CASES launched its groundbreaking Nathaniel Project, New York City’s first alternative-to-incarceration program for adults with serious mental illness (SMI), who are facing prison as the result of felony charges. Named for a man experiencing homelessness whose mental illness went untreated as he cycled in and out of the criminal legal system for 15 years, the Nathaniel Project has earned national recognition for safely supervising and supporting clients as they work within their community to rebuild their lives.

CASES clinical staff working in the courts identify people with indications of psychiatric distress who may be appropriate for the Project. Working with the client and their defense attorney, CASES develops a plan to support the client’s return to the community. If the court agrees, sentencing is deferred pending the outcome of a 2- to 3-year treatment period, during which clients engage with CASES staff in intensive case management, court advocacy, mental health and substance-use treatment, medication management, and housing and employment services—delivered by a state-licensed mobile treatment team.

I spent 29 months behind bars. The judge, acknowledging that I was suffering from mental health problems and knowing that I was working really hard to get better, released me to the care of the Nathaniel Project. They helped me get housing, took me to doctor appointments and helped me get benefits as a disabled person. Without them, I wouldn’t be here.”

Antonio Client

50+%

Percentage of people admitted to jail in NYC in 2021 with mental health treatment needs; the annual cost to incarcerate each individual exceeds $447,000.

500+

Individuals living in NYC with serious mental illnesses who were diverted to the Nathaniel Project’s intensive, community-based mobile treatment services instead of going to prison.

Nearly 90%

Nathaniel Project graduates who have had no new felony convictions within two years of completing the program.

What makes the Nathaniel Project unique is the incredible reputation they’ve developed with the courts and the district attorney’s office. They’ve proven that when we dedicate resources into giving people community treatment, as opposed to locking them up, public safety is increased, and lives are changed for the better.”

Jeffrey Berman

Mental Health Attorney, Legal Aid Society

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