top of page

COVID-19 RAPID RESPONSE FUND

The Contra Costa Regional Health Foundation (CCRHF) established the COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund in March 2020 and was selected as a lead partner organization in the COVID-19 Regional Response Fund supported by the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. We also received a generous donation from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative as well as many donations from generous individuals in our community.  

 

The Foundation moved quickly, identifying highest risk populations, and funding organizations who provided needed assistance.  Given the urgency of the crisis, our priority was to find organizations with the capacity to move quickly and effectively.

Based on our environmental scans of the unmet needs, CCRHF continues supporting organizations that serve in five areas: Food Security and Distribution, Shelter and Emergency Housing, Financial Assistance, Support for Essential Workers and Other Emerging Needs. 

 

Between March 2020 and April 2022, we have granted nearly $2.5M to non profits and community-based organizations in Contra Costa County.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted everyone but has not impacted everyone equally. We are committed to supporting programs that receive feedback from communities, partners, stakeholders, organizations, and businesses, throughout all stages of vaccine planning and implementation.

 

Our most recent wave of funding is in recognition of the ongoing unmet needs throughout Contra Costa County. Since COVID-19 and its variants are still with us, this round of funding is intended to address those unmet pandemic needs, but also to help Contra Costa County and our most impacted communities recover from the pandemic.  

 

Partnerships have been the cornerstone of our work throughout the pandemic and we are excited to continue those powerful efforts. We have seen how collaboration has contributed to greater impact in our community and will continue to focus on that work and encourage our grantees to do the same. 

Screen%20Shot%202020-07-08%20at%209.58_e

Each of our grantees have the capacity to quickly and positively impact vulnerable populations in one or more of our five categories. These organizations represent a wide range of abilities to serve our community most in need and were selected based on their ability to provide service in one of the five areas described above while successfully addressing the following criteria:

  • Need: The organization's ability to reach populations most vulnerable to the economic or health risks posed by this public health crisis

  • Timeliness: The organization’s capacity to move rapidly to use its resources in the support of the target audience and its responsiveness to the emerging and current needs of the crisis

  • Ability: The organization’s existing infrastructure allows it to deploy the funds expediently and efficiently

 

Please click below to learn more about our grantees and the important work they are doing in our community: 

GRANTEES

WAVE 1

ROUND 1

SHELTER, INC  •  WHITE PONY EXPRESS  •  CATHOLIC CHARITIES  •

CONTRA COSTA CRISIS CENTER •

FOOD BANK OF CCC & SOLANO

ROUND 2

THE SALVATION ARMY, CC COUNTY •

CHOICE IN AGING • LOAVES AND FISHES CC COUNTY •  PORTIA BELL HUME BEHAVIORAL & TRAINING CENTER • MONUMENT IMPACT •

WINTER NIGHTS FAMILY SHELTER

ROUND 3

NARIKA • SENECA FAMILY OF AGENCIES • ST. VINCENT de PAUL OF CC COUNTY • CONTRA COSTA FAMILY JUSTICE ALLIANCE •

HEALTH & ACTIVE BEFORE 5 •

RICHMOND RAPID RESPONSE (R3) •

LINCOLN FAMILIES • CENTER FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

ROUND 4

THE CONTRA COSTA CLUBHOUSES •

BAY AREA CRISIS NURSERY • THE LATINA CENTER • TRINITY CENTER WALNUT CREEK • RICHMOND COMMUNITY FOUNDATION • VILLAGE COMMUNITY RESOURCE CENTER

ROUND 5

HOMELESS ACTION COALITION • CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION COUNCIL OF CC COUNTY • FRED FINCH YOUTH & FAMILY SERVICES  • NAMI CONTRA COSTA • COCOKIDS • WEST CONTRA COSTA COUNTY PUBLIC EDUCATION • MONUMENT CRISIS CENTER • PLANNED PARENTHOOD: SHASTA DIABLO • GREATER RICHMOND INTERFAITH PROGRAM • LIFELONG MEDICAL CENTER • STAND! 

ROUND 6

RAINBOW COMMUNITY CENTER OF CC COUNTY • JEWISH FAMILY & COMMUNITY SERVICES • EAST BAY CENTER FOR PERFORMING ARTS • WHITE PONY EXPRESS • CC HEALTH SERVICE COVID-19 AMBASSADORS • HOPE SOLUTIONS NON PROFIT  • LOVE NEVER FAILS • IHI SENIOR FAMILY OUTREACH AND EDUCATION

WAVE 2

ROUND 1

UNITED LATINO VOICES • FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY PRACTICE • MEALS ON WHEELS • MEDICAL RESERVE CORPS • CONTRA COSTA HEALTH SERVICES • CHOICE IN AGING • SOJOURNER TRUTH PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

ROUND 2

CONTRA COSTA REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER • RICHMOND RAPID RESPONSE (R3) • CHOICE IN AGING • THE REFUGE (FOOD PANTRY) • ASSISTANCE LEAGUE OF DIABLO VALLEY • CCHS WELLNESS COMMITTEE • ST VINCENT DE PAUL OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY • CCHS COVID-19 COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND OUTREACH • FAMILY JUSTICE CENTER/STAND!/VITUITY • FAMILY JUSTICE CENTER/ASIAN PACIFIC ISLANDER (API) TASKFORCE

WAVE 3

ROUND 1

STAND! FOR FAMILIES FREE OF VIOLENCE • MONUMENT CRISIS CENTER • LOVE NEVER FAILS • DARIUS JONES FOUNDATION • CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION COUNCIL OF CCC • HIJAS DEL CAMPO • CONTRA COSTA FAMILY JUSTICE ALLIANCE • NAMI • LOAVES AND FISHES OF CCC • LA CLINICA DE LA RAZA, INC. • WHITE PONY EXPRESS • BUILDING BLOCKS FOR KIDS/TIDES CENTER • RICHMOND RAPID RESPONSE FUND • UNITED LATINO VOICES • PLANNED PARENTHOOD NORTHERN CALIFORNIA • THE ONE ACCORD PROJECT • RYSE CENTER • FRED FINCH YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES • THE CONTRA COSTA CLUBHOUSES, INC • CCHS COMMUNITY WELLNESS YYA • CCHS WELLNESS TEAM • THE LATINA CENTER • ST. VINCENT DE PAUL

Wave 1 / Round 1

Round 1

SHELTER, Inc. - $50,000 - The mission of SHELTER, Inc. is to prevent and end homelessness for low-income, homeless, and disadvantaged families and individuals by providing housing, services, support, and resources that lead to self-sufficiency.

White Pony Express - $50,000 - White Pony Express honors the essential unity of all by making sure that no one suffers from want when there is means of aiding them, embracing and serving all those in need. Their mission is to help eliminate hunger and poverty by delivering the abundance all around us to those in need -- with love.

Catholic Charities - $50,000 - The mission of Catholic Charities is to provide service to people in need, to advocate for justice in social structures, and to call the entire church and other people of good will to do the same.

Contra Costa Crisis Center - $50,000 - Dedicates their services to keep people alive and safe, help them through crises, and provide or connect them with culturally relevant resources in the community, and have since 1963.

 

Food Bank of CCC & Solano - $50,000 - Started in 1975, the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano stores and distributes donated and purchased perishable and nonperishable food items. They distribute food directly to low-income people at community sites and make food available for other nonprofit organizations serving the ill, needy and children. The Food Bank works to reduce food waste, feed hungry people and raise public awareness of issues related to food and hunger.

Wave 1 / Round 2

Round 2

The Salvation Army, Contra Costa - $36,000 - The Salvation Army (TSA) has served Contra Costa County for more than 130 years. TSA offers several programs administered for residents of the greater Contra Costa County region, focused on low income families with young children, senior citizens, and the disabled. Everything from free Christmas toys to immigration services, emergency rent or energy bill help, shelter, and free food or hot meals may be offered.

 

Choice in Aging - $19,400 - Choice in Aging (CiA) provides Adult Day Health Care programs for frail elders and people with disabilities in Pleasant Hill and Antioch. Additional programs include: The California Community Transitions (CCT) program that assists long-term skilled nursing patients return home but with help (including rent, supplies, and furniture); the Multipurpose Senior Services Program (MSSP) that aims to keep elders and people with disabilities out of institutions; and the Prevention and Early Access for Seniors (PEAS) program that provides mental health services to seniors and people with disabilities.

 

Loaves and Fishes of Contra Costa - $15,000 - Loaves and Fishes of Contra Costa is a safety-net food program serving the hungry living in Contra Costa County.  Since 1983, Loaves and Fishes has provided hunger relief to individuals, families, seniors, veterans, homeless, disadvantaged youth and people with disabilities. 

Portia Bell Hume Behavioral Health and Training Center - $50,000 - The Hume Center strives to create an environment of psychological well-being both internally for their work community and externally for the community they serve, with special consideration for the under- and un-served, through practicing an enabling consultation process. They believe in serving their community through strengthening existing and developing new resources; providing the highest caliber of culturally sensitive behavioral health services, professional training, and clinical research; and focusing on consistent improvement through outcomes, data-based quality assurance, and program evaluation. .

Monument Impact - $30,800 - Founded in 2001, Monument Impact (MI) is a Latino-led organization and a trusted partner in the community, serving nearly 5,000 predominantly Latino immigrants and refugees each year. Their mission is to ensure that immigrants, refugees and low-income residents in Concord and surrounding communities have the voice, tools and relationships necessary to have an equitable share of the social and economic wealth in our region. 

Winter Nights Family Shelter & Parking Lot Program - $24,190 - Winter Nights Family Shelter is in its 16th year of providing temporary shelter to homeless families as well as access to resources and case management that provide a path into sustainable housing. Hosted by 18 faith congregations in Contra Costa County, the shelter rotates its location every two weeks from September to June and is supervised by professional staff 24/7.

Wave 1 / Round 3

Round 3

Narika- $25,000  Narika was founded in 1992 to support victims of domestic violence and intimate partner abuse, especially in extremely low income immigrant communities. Embracing safety, empowerment and wellness, we address unmet needs of survivors of abuse by providing advocacy, support, information, and referrals within a culturally sensitive and linguistically diverse model. 

Seneca Family of Agencies- $50,000 - Seneca is a 501c3 nonprofit corporation founded in 1985 with the mission to provide unconditional care for families through the most difficult times of their lives. Since its inception as a small residential and day treatment provider, Seneca has remained committed to "doing whatever it takes" to meet the needs of families and communities. Today, the agency operates more than 150 programs in 18 counties in California and two in Washington State, which each year serve over 18,000 youth. 

 

St. Vincent de Paul of Contra Costa County - $50,000 - St. Vincent de Paul of Contra Costa County, (SVdP), has been the "safety net of the safety net"for the underserved in Contra Costa for over 56 years, providing hope, strength and support to those dealing with poverty's challenges. They work to resolve the issues of hunger, homelessness, unemployment and suffering by providing basic human services of food, shelter, medical & dental care for the uninsured, nutrition classes, employment for those with barriers, clothing/furniture and referral to other services. 

 

Contra Costa Family Justice Alliance- $20,000 - The Contra Costa Family Justice Center (the Center) is a warm and welcoming one-stop center for children, youth and adults affected by interpersonal violence (IPV) - domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, elder abuse and human trafficking. 

Lincoln Families- $45,700 - Founded in 1883 as the first racially integrated orphanage in Northern California, their mission remains timeless: Lincoln disrupts the cycle of poverty and trauma, empowering children and families to build strong futures. Today, Lincoln impacts more than 29,000 children and their families in the most underserved communities of the Bay Area and Contra Costa County through mental health services, educational supports, and family strengthening programs.

 

Center for Human Development- $15,000 - The Center for Human Development (CHD) is a community-based, nonprofit organization that offers a spectrum of services for at-risk youth, individuals, families, and disadvantaged communities in Contra Costa County. Since 1972, they have provided wellness programs and support aimed at empowering people and promoting positive growth. 

 

Healthy & Active Before 5 - $19,500 - Healthy & Active Before 5 (HAB45) is a Contra Costa collaborative that advances health equity for children ages 0-5 and their families. HAB45 leverages cross-sector partnerships to advocate, build capacity to address the social determinants of health, and disseminate best practices for early childhood environments. 

 

Richmond Rapid Response (R3)- $50,000 - The Richmond Rapid Response Fund (R3F) is a wraparound initiative that will meet the immediate and ongoing needs of the community during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. R3F will focus on key priority areas including food and essential supplies, economic recovery and security, housing and homelessness, health and healing, education and learning, and social and legal services.  Beyond this pandemic, the fund will create healing centered, racially just policies, practices, and investments for long term community transformation.

Wave 1 / Round 4

Putnam Clubhouse- $20,000 - Putnam Clubhouse is a welcoming community where adults recovering from mental illness come to rebuild their lives. Participants—called members, not patients or clients or consumers—share ownership and responsibility for the success of the organization. The underlying premise is that each member can sufficiently recover from the effects of mental illness to lead a personally satisfying and productive life. 

Bay Area Crisis Nursery - $30,000 - The Bay Area Crisis Nursery was established to help prevent child abuse and neglect by providing supportive services to families. Their primary service is providing a warm, loving, homelike environment for children from birth through 5 years of age by offering 24-hour residential care. Their services are free, confidential, and voluntary.

The Latina Center- $40,000 - Established in Richmond in 1999, The Latina Center's mission is to improve the quality of life and health of the Latino community by providing leadership and personal development opportunities for all Latinas. 

Trinity Center Walnut Creek- $25,000 - Trinity Center is a non-residential program serving homeless and working poor adult men and women in Walnut Creek and Central Contra Costa County. Their day program offers emergency services Monday-Friday: breakfast/lunch, showers, laundry, clothing, food pantry, computer, mail & telephone access (now face coverings & hand sanitizer) to persons experiencing homelessness and/or living in poverty.

SparkPoint Contra Costa- $50,000 - SparkPoint’s mission is to partner with agencies to empower individuals and families to become financially sustainable and advocates for social change. Since 2011, SPCC has been providing families with a full range of free services aimed to help them get out of poverty and achieve long-term financial stability.

Village Community Resource Center- $30,000 - Village Community Resource Center (VCRC), located in Brentwood, is a community anchor in far East Contra Costa County working with low-income, predominantly immigrant families.  Established in 1997 by community members to address drug, gang, and violence issues, VCRC is a welcoming place where marginalized families come to build connections, feel safe accessing essential services, acquire new skills to move out of poverty, and gain voice in their community.  

Wave 1 / Round 5

Homeless Action Coalition - $15,000 -  Homeless Action Coalition of Martinez (HAC) was founded in 2019, as a non-profit organization to help support and connect the homeless to services that will help improve their health, dignity and living environment and provide an avenue for entry back into the working community. 

Child Abuse Prevention Council of Contra Costa County - $24,000 - CAPC promotes the safety of children and prevents child abuse and neglect by raising awareness, influencing public policy, educating our community and providing resources/support programs to families. Partners are Contra Costa Family Justice Centers, and Contra Costa EHSD’s Alliance to End Abuse.

Fred Finch Youth & Family Services - $25,000 - Founded in 1891 as an orphanage, today's Fred Finch (FF) works with almost 6,000 youth in 24 programs in 6 California counties. Services include mental health, housing, education, and independent living services, providing a pathway to healing and self-sufficiency.

NAMI Contra Costa - $35,000 - NAMI CC works directly with individuals who are impacted by mental illness providing education, advocacy, and mental wellness supports.

 

CocoKids - $49,600 - CocoKids' mission is to champion and advance quality childcare and early education in Contra Costa County and surrounding communities. In its 43-year-long history of serving families and communities, it has ensured the welfare, care, and early education needs of young children and their families.

West Contra Costa Public Education Fund - $25,000 - West Contra Costa Public Education Fund (Ed Fund) mobilizes resources for students in the West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD) and aligns the efforts of their partners to ensure that all students succeed in college, career, and life. 

Monument Crisis Center - $25,000 - Monument Crisis Center is a critical family resource center serving Contra Costa County's extreme low-income residents.  Their community-based nonprofit has assisted the at-risk community for 17 years.

Planned Parenthood Northern California - $50,000 - Planned Parenthood's mission is to generate healthier communities through the delivery of quality sexual and reproductive health care services. Their comprehensive approach to health care emphasizes accessibility, quality, affordability, and respect for the individual.

Greater Richmond Interfaith Program (GRIP)- $10,000 - GRIP is a muti-service non profit organization whose main mission is end homelessness and hunger.

LifeLong Medical Care - $30,000 -  LifeLong is at the front-lines in addressing urgent medical and non-medical needs that impact health during the COVID-19 pandemic, with health centers in Richmond, San Pablo, Pinole and Rodeo.  Services include primary care, urgent care, dental, behavioral health and social services.  

STAND! - $50,000 - STAND! For Families Free of Violence is a catalyst for ending the multi-generational cycle of violence, promoting safe and strong relationships, and rebuilding lives.

Wave 1 / Round 6

Round 4
Round 5
Round 6

Rainbow Community Center of Contra Costa (RCC) - $25,000 -  RCC provides a wide array of well-being services for LGBTQI+ individuals of all ages—clinical/case management services, peer-based support groups, older adult programming, food pantry, HIV testing, DEI training, and youth programs as well as emergency housing and support for youth ages 12 to 24.

Jewish Family & Community Service (JFCS) - $25,000 - JFCS East Bay serves 6,000 Contra Costa and Alameda residents of all religions, races, and ethnicities each year. Central program areas: Immigration Legal Services, Refugee Services, Parenting & Youth Services, Older Adult Services, Volunteer Services, and new COVID-19 Emergency Assistance Program.

East Bay Center for the Performing Arts - $25,000 - The Center engages youth/young adults in imagining/creating new worlds for themselves/new visions for their communities through the inspiration/discipline of rigorous training in world performance traditions, in programs in WCCUSD schools, Iron Triangle main site, community artistic productions. 

Love Never Fails - $25,000 - Love Never Fails empowers all people to express and experience our best sense of humanity. We do this by restoring, educating, and protecting survivors of human trafficking and their community. We also serve other vulnerable populations in Antioch such as homeless, foster youth, and re-entry. We provide housing, workforce development, mentoring, prevention education.

White Pony Express - $50,000 - White Pony Express is a nonprofit organization, dedicated to helping eliminate hunger and poverty by delivering the abundance all around us to those in need - with love. Through our food rescue and unique "Mobile Boutique" efforts, WPE redistributes food, toys & clothing to people in need.

Hope Non Profit Solutions - $49,500 - Hope Solutions (formerly Contra Costa Interfaith Housing) provides permanent housing solutions and vital support services to over 1,500 homeless and formerly homeless families, individuals and seniors in Contra Costa County.

CCHS COVID-19 Ambassadors Proactive Outreach Coordinating Body  - $50,000 - The COVID-19 Ambassadors will conduct a county-wide social media campaign.  Ambassador recruitment strategies will ensure that candidates from West Contra Costa,  which has been disproportionately over-represented in the number of positive COVID-19 cases; and underrepresented in the number of COVID-19 tests, are given priority. Additionally, during project implementation, all COVID-19 Ambassador messages posted on social media will be geo-located throughout the County, with an emphasis on West County. 

IHI - Senior Family Outreach and Education - $50,000 - For 30 years, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) has used improvement science to advance and sustain better outcomes in health and health care across the world. They bring awareness of safety and quality to millions, accelerate learning and the systematic improvement of care, develop solutions to previously intractable challenges, and mobilize health systems, communities, regions, and nations to reduce harm and deaths. They work in collaboration with the growing IHI community to spark bold, inventive ways to improve the health of individuals and populations. They generate optimism, harvest fresh ideas, and support anyone, anywhere who wants to profoundly change health and health care for the better.

Wave 2 / Round 1

United Latino Voices - $13,000 -  ULV's Mission is to develop innovative partnerships with elected officials, public/private agencies, and community-based organizations to improve the health, educational and economic outcomes for the Contra Costa County Latino community and beyond.

Family Medicine Residency Practice - Two Pandemics - $88,800 - The Contra Costa Family Medicine Residency Program has been actively pursuing an agenda towards racial justice and racial equity to address the structural racism impacting our patients and communities. They have been successful in recent years based on a dramatic shift in our program’s leadership and commitment around DEIA, and have presented this work at multiple annual conferences. This two-year grant will advance this work within the residency, and thereby, within our health system at large. They will propose interventions to address DEIA, which builds upon work in six areas: program infrastructure, recruitment of residents and faculty of color, anti-racism teachings, community engagement, growing our residency community of color, and capacity building.

Meals on Wheels Diablo Region - $50,000 - MOW Diablo Region expanded their successful Breakfast Bags pilot program, which had been operating in Brentwood and Concord, to serve seniors in Oakley. This program delivered five breakfasts per week to the most vulnerable Meals on Wheels clients. These are seniors who live alone, have no/limited support system, do not drive, are homebound, low-income, and have told them that one meal a day was not enough to keep them from experiencing hunger. They partnered with Davi Produce to purchase the food and package the breakfast bags. Their staff worked with volunteer drivers, who delivered a breakfast bag with a week's worth of healthy, nutritious breakfast items, including fresh fruit, healthy grains, protein, and tea/coffee. Drivers also checked in on seniors during delivery, providing a wellness check. 

CCC Medical Reserve Corps - $17,900 - Funding to support continued unit operations as they related to COVID-19 response and overall unit readiness. There had been an overwhelming response for medical personnel interested in helping with COVID-19 with 55 new team members added since March, 2020. At the time of the grant, 30 more were in the onboarding process and there were another 100 pending applications. These new members have eagerly stepped in providing their service to the community. CCC MRC has been engaged in numerous activities to support COVID-19 planning and response and the funding ensured the CCC MRC could continue to provide team members with the training and resources needed to respond to disasters and continued COVID-19 operations.

CC Health Services- $50,000 - Distribution of reusable cloth masks with testing information in English and Spanish to historically marginalized communities across Contra Costa County. In the County's response to COVID-19, they increased awareness of the essential services offered to the community with a focus on testing sites that could adequately survey and respond to positivity rates as well as protect community members from COVID-19 and Seasonal Flu. The CCHS testing and community engagement branches within Contra Costa Health's COVID-19 emergency response worked collaboratively with community partners, Youth Ambassadors, EHSD, and community based groups working to stop the spread of COVID-19 in historically marginalized communities across Contra Costa County.

Choice in Aging - $14,500 - To support the caregivers (minimum wage paid essential direct care workers) in small board and care facilities. Providing training on the rollout of the vaccines to their communities and when a six bed or under facility has 100% participation in the training (some will view live and others can watch the recorded training), they provided bagels, coffee and some swag. This offered incentive to the homes to have full participation and also gave some much needed community love and support to these workers who have shown up everyday in the pandemic to ensure their frail elders don't end up in institutions. Additionally, approximately 350 pulse oximeters were purchased and delivered to small residential care facilities in CCC to help identify residents who were hypoxic due to COVID19. 

Wave 2 / Round 2

CC Regional Medical Center - $2,000 -  To purchase 20 scales for virtual baby checks. These baby scales will be loaned out to mothers whose babies are being discharged with weight loss concerns. With Virtual Home Visits, loaning scales to the moms allow them to weigh their babies without leaving the safety of their homes and immediate plan of care is developed with their care provider.

Richmond Rapid Response (R3) - $25,000 - Funds were used for R3F's "Rent Assistance Program for Displacement and Homelessness Prevention." This Program provided grant assistance to Richmond residents at risk of eviction due to circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal was to help Richmond residents facing an emergency financial situation afford their housing costs, preventing homelessness and displacement. They worked with communities of color, historically marginalized populations, and other groups being disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.

The Refuge (Food Pantry) - $6,500 - Funds were used to purchase food storage appliances, provide transportation to/from food distribution channels, supplies, and bulk food purchases for high demand nutrition sources (protein and dairy). This grant served the immediate needs of providing food to the community for the first two months of 2021 where the pandemic climate necessitated less community activity. The Refuge has long-term plans to support the strategic needs of consistently supporting the community and vision.

Assistance League of Diablo Valley - $10,000 - Funds were requested for Sunshine Boxes, which is part of the Operation School Bell® Focus Area. This program provides healthy, shelf stable food such as tuna, canned fruit, macaroni and cheese, soup and cereal to students identified as in need in the Pittsburg Unified School District. The program supplies supplemental weekend food for students who qualify for free or reduced cost meals during the week. Sunshine Boxes were delivered to Heights Elementary School in Pittsburg. The school sets aside some boxes for foster and homeless youth, then distributes the remainder to children in need throughout the Pittsburg School District.

CCHS Wellness Committee- $12,000 - Videos for Wellness Series, Expressive Arts Zoom Classes, Expressive Arts Workbooks & Mural Project to support employee well-being during COVID-19. In order to mitigate stress, burnout anxiety, depressions, and clinicians leaving the field, the CCHS Wellness Committee provided supportive resources to staff members and first responders. As was well reported across the country, it was the health care practitioners who are the scarcest resource during and after this prolonged crisis. In light of this, arts-based self-care for our health care workers with a multi-pronged approach along with wellness videos, expressive art classes, art workbooks, and a community mural project was provided. 

St. Vincent de Paul of Contra Costa County - $20,000 - The funds were utilized to provide emergency assistance to individuals and families impacted by the pandemic. This assistance was distributed as rental & utility assistance or food support, etc., to families in need. They also supported the staff coordination of the large-scale food distribution events that St. Vincent de Paul continues to conduct.

CCHS COVID-19 Community Engagement and Outreach - $25,000 - Funds were used for an adult version of the best practice Youth and Young Adult ambassador model; however, within neighborhoods instead of on social media. Incentives were provided for community members to broker outreach, relationships and messaging in more creative ways than what CCHS could do alone. This “boots-on-the-ground” approach compensated volunteers, recruited through West County and Central and East Community Care Coalitions and our partners, with gift cards and stipends for their time devoted to co-designing messaging, promoting testing and safety guidelines, participating in virtual workshops and neighborhood canvassing, and launching innovative efforts focused on improving outcomes, particularly for Black and Brown communities most impacted by COVID19. 

The Family Justice Center in a collaborative partnership with STAND! and Vituity - $25,000 - The Family Justice Center in a collaborative partnership with STAND! and Vituity connected survivors of interpersonal violence (IPV) including domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, elder abuse, and human trafficking, to reliable and fast acute telehealth services. The objective was to remove all barriers to access to healthcare while providing wraparound resources to clients/patients. 

Contra Costa COVID-19 Asian Pacific Islanders (API) Task Force (Healthy Richmond, EHSD, FJA, CCHS) - $25,000 - Funds were immediately allocated to continuing the efforts and initiatives of the API COVID19 Focused Workgroup, that focused on outreach efforts:  Providing outreach and education on COVID19 vaccines, safe gathering practices, and other necessary culturally relevant information; Assemble and distribute COVID Care and Prevention Kits into the community; Advocate for the current and emerging needs of the API community around policy recommendations and best practices to build trust, communication, and engagement between the API population and CCHS; Elevate authentic API voices in county decision making and planning spaces. 

Wave 3 / Round 1

STAND! For Families Free of Violence - $25,000 -  Funds used to directly support Emergency Housing, Emergency Lodging and Food for victims of domestic violence and their children in Contra Costa County as we recover from the COVID-19 health pandemic.

Monument Crisis Center- $25,000 - Fund will be used for their core programs including in particular Food Distribution & Nutrition and Resource & Referral/Health and Wellness supporting thousands of Contra Costa residents. In the last calendar year 2021 they assisted 7,315 individuals who accessed services 53,675 times. There is a need for support staff in pantry, resources and intake to handle the huge numbers of clients coming for assistance of all kinds

Love Never Fails - $25,000 - MOW Diablo Region expanded their successful Breakfast Bags pilot program, which had been operating in Brentwood and Concord, to serve seniors in Oakley. This program delivered five breakfasts per week to the most vulnerable Meals on Wheels clients. These are seniors who live alone, have no/limited support system, do not drive, are homebound, low-income, and have told them that one meal a day was not enough to keep them from experiencing hunger. They partnered with Davi Produce to purchase the food and package the breakfast bags. Their staff worked with volunteer drivers, who delivered a breakfast bag with a week's worth of healthy, nutritious breakfast items, including fresh fruit, healthy grains, protein, and tea/coffee. Drivers also checked in on seniors during delivery, providing a wellness check. 

Darius Jones Foundation - $25,000 - Funding to support continued unit operations as they related to COVID-19 response and overall unit readiness. There had been an overwhelming response for medical personnel interested in helping with COVID-19 with 55 new team members added since March, 2020. At the time of the grant, 30 more were in the onboarding process and there were another 100 pending applications. These new members have eagerly stepped in providing their service to the community. CCC MRC has been engaged in numerous activities to support COVID-19 planning and response and the funding ensured the CCC MRC could continue to provide team members with the training and resources needed to respond to disasters and continued COVID-19 operations.

Child Abuse Prevention Council of CCC - $5,000 - Distribution of reusable cloth masks with testing information in English and Spanish to historically marginalized communities across Contra Costa County. In the County's response to COVID-19, they increased awareness of the essential services offered to the community with a focus on testing sites that could adequately survey and respond to positivity rates as well as protect community members from COVID-19 and Seasonal Flu. The CCHS testing and community engagement branches within Contra Costa Health's COVID-19 emergency response worked collaboratively with community partners, Youth Ambassadors, EHSD, and community based groups working to stop the spread of COVID-19 in historically marginalized communities across Contra Costa County.

Hijas del Campo - $25,000 - To support the caregivers (minimum wage paid essential direct care workers) in small board and care facilities. Providing training on the rollout of the vaccines to their communities and when a six bed or under facility has 100% participation in the training (some will view live and others can watch the recorded training), they provided bagels, coffee and some swag. This offered incentive to the homes to have full participation and also gave some much needed community love and support to these workers who have shown up everyday in the pandemic to ensure their frail elders don't end up in institutions. Additionally, approximately 350 pulse oximeters were purchased and delivered to small residential care facilities in CCC to help identify residents who were hypoxic due to COVID19. 

Contra Costa Family Justice Alliance - $25,000 - To build out the existing API Advocacy Coalition website and online presence to promote the work of the Coalition and build community awareness of the Coalition. The website will be translated to several API languages as appropriate. Create two videos and one brochure to share information about the API Coalition. All materials will be translated into several API languages. Build capacity in the underserved Chinese communities by recruiting and training community members to become advocates for change. This will be accomplished through a training program led by trusted community messengers.  Partnering with NAMI Contra Costa to engage with Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese) trusted community leaders. Organizing two influential leaders to meet with systems and nonprofit partners and exchange knowledge pertaining to best approaches for community advocacy. Afterwards, community leaders will organize training sessions for less experienced community members. The curriculum will include Contra Costa based resources, knowledge, strategies, and solutions for supporting community members who may be facing issues related to COVID-19. Continue to promote, grow, and leverage the existing API Advocacy Coalition as a space and network for pan-API organizing, community building, and advocacy. Coalition provides opportunities, projects, and activities to collaborate on larger, upstream, ongoing, systems change initiatives. Over the last two years they have built partnerships and relationships with more than 20 nonprofit CBO’s, systems partners, and grassroots groups. Members of this coalition were able to support and serve more than 3000 community members to this date with COVID response and outreach efforts.

NAMI - $20,000 - Funds will help reach individuals living with mental illnesses who are unsheltered. Many of those individuals were chronically homeless and also had a lengthy history of long term alcohol and other drug use.  

NAMI CC looks at root causes and puts plans in place to build trust with these individuals to remove barriers together. They were able to create a program that included regularly supplying food, water, PPE, as well as using funds to allow the individuals we encountered to secure Government ID cards, etc. They were successful with having those who were able, reunify with their worried families etc, and they used their NAMI Educational Programs to support participants to better understand their behavioral health challenges so they could be guided to the most appropriate treatment services to begin their journey to recovery and housing. 

Loaves and Fishes of CC (LFCC) - $20,000 - For nearly 40 years, LFCC has been serving food to the community. The program has grown to having five dining rooms throughout Contra Costa County, providing a food pantry at each dining room and by having other community partners who provide additional safety-net services come into our dining rooms to serve our guests. LFCC’s dining rooms are located in Martinez, Pittsburg, Antioch, Oakley and Walnut Creek. LFCC also provides hot meals to partner agencies with facilities in Antioch and Concord. LFCC has served more than 5.3 million meals. This grant will help support the increase in cost of the biodegradable to-go containers.

La Clinica de La Raza, Inc. - $25,000 - One of the major strategies that has been instrumental at increasing COVID-19 vaccination and testing in La Clínica’s Contra Costa service area has been the ongoing involvement of volunteer Promotoras. Volunteer Promotoras have complimented the work of their essential health care workers by building capacity of street outreach at local community base organizations, churches, schools, and neighborhoods to promote local vaccination events. During La Clínica’s Mobile Team’s vaccination events, Promotoras have supported key roles including patient registration, line control, patient observation and providing resource information. Information and resources provided during these events include information about food, Cal-Fresh, housing and enrollment assistance. Promotoras also conduct calls to unvaccinated patients to book vaccine appointments. During these calls, the main area of need identified was access to transportation to get to their appointment. Funds were utilized to provide monthly stipends for the volunteer Promotoras. Funding also supported the Community Health Education Department piloting a project to offer transportation assistance through Uber Health to patients and community members who need transportation support to get to their vaccine and testing appointments.

White Pony Express - $25,000 - Like so many organizations, WPE has seen tremendous change over the last two years as the COVID pandemic tested their team and beloved volunteers. Increased need for services pushed food deliveries to nearly triple compared to the beginning of 2020. Fortunately they were able to pivot operations and respond to this need with the same number of staff, budget, and physical space. They even added 15 new recipients who set up emergency food pantries in the community. However, they still face many challenges, including supply chain disruptions and skyrocketing food prices, which have caused daily deliveries to fall from the peak levels at the height of the pandemic. This grant helped with a long-overdue maintenance on their fleet of 10 refrigerated vehicles and equipment (coolers, freezer, pallet jacks, and forklifts), fuel, cardboard boxes and food safety supplies for our food deliveries, and fees associated with composting and recycling.

Building Blocks for Kids - $10,000 - The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on the emotional and mental wellbeing of many Black and Latinx communities. Contra Costa County lacks affordable and culturally competent services for those experiencing emotional wellbeing challenges that contribute to chronic stress, distress, and trauma but are not deemed severe or as emergencies. BBK’s healing-centered care and multigenerational approach support parents and caregivers to achieve emotional, mental and physical wellness while concurrently recognizing the systemic and environmental causes of personal and community trauma. Numerous researchers have concluded that a parent’s response to stressors is much more important than the stressor itself in determining the outcomes for themselves and their children. Our BIPOC community-centered programming has demonstrated that there is a need for culturally centered wellness care for African American and Latinx parents/caregivers living in Richmond and West Contra Costa County. The funds will be utilized to support our three sanctuary groups a Black Women’s Sanctuary group, a Latina Sanctuary group, and a Men’s Sanctuary called “Holding Space.” Sanctuaries are intimate, culturally responsive monthly sessions for residents to receive support for individual and family healing, emotional well-being, and wellness. Participants self-report an appreciation for their peers and the opportunity to have a space where they can feel safe and heard. Ultimately through our wellness work, we are increasing the ability of Sanctuary participants to handle stress, receive peer support, welcome self-care, and feel more confident in caring for themselves and their families. The funding will support the expansion of our free life coaching program for Black and Latinx women and men, who are primarily mothers and fathers. During the coaching sessions, participants identify areas of growth and create a wellness plan for themselves. The coaching sessions are individualized and based on the needs of each participant who need individualized care to achieve their individual and family goals.

Richmond Rapid Response Fund (R3) - $25,000 - Direct $500 cash grants to Richmond residents to support basic needs access

United Latino Voices - $20,000 - The funds will be used to increase the knowledge, trust and utilization of health, education and financial resource benefits and services by West, Central and East Contra Costa County Latinx residents who have been so disproportionally impacted by the COVID pandemic and for who these resources will be vital if they are to fully recover from the COVID pandemic.

Planned Parenthood Northern California - $15,000 - Funding enabled PPNorCal to partner with Monument Impact, Hijas del Campo, One Day at a Time, and the Monument Crisis Center to provide vital food, hygiene supplies, and educational brochures to over 400 Spanish-speaking youth, adults, and families in Contra Costa County. Together with Contra Costa Regional Health Foundation and these four organizations, PPNorCal’s Promotores delivered essential supplies to the most vulnerable members of the county, including immigrant, undocumented, refugee, low-income, and seasonal farmworker communities. Promotores assembled 400 bags of much needed food, hygiene supplies, and educational brochures and distributed them to their partners’ clients. The average family size in California is 2.94, increasing the potential reach to at least 1,176 individuals. Promotores are Latinx community health workers trained by PPNorCal’s Education Team to help close health inequity gaps among Spanish-speaking communities in Contra Costa County. They live in and reflect the communities they serve. Most Promotores lost employment during the COVID-19 pandemic and understand the challenges that their fellow community members face. Launching projects such as this one motivates them to address food insecurity in their communities, which has dramatically worsened due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The One Accord Project - $23,000 - It has come to One Accord Project leaders’ attention that many who have received their distributed COVID19 rapid tests have had some difficulty administering these tests and the organization evaluated this issue as critical and another barrier to those who need these tests. Additionally, in the midst of a surge of the Omicron variant, they had a shortage of home tests, so it is imperative that communities of Color who are “under tested” have access to the test infomercials using trusted messengers in the Community to demonstrate their proper use. With this funding, the One Accord Project will produce infomercials using trusted messengers such as Clergy and Community leaders accompanied by a physician or medical professional (County Medical Professional) going thru the process of how to administer the test step by step. (They will also have a sign language interpreter for those who are hearing impaired). They would also include contact information on the infomercial to contact the County for further medical assistance if needed.

RYSE Center - $25,000 - In 2020, RYSE created a Youth COVID-19 Direct Supports Fund to meet the acute and persistent needs among young people they serve - needs that were heightened and entrenched through the past two years of the pandemic. From this fund, they have directly provided over 500 - $500 disbursements to-date, including youth participants impacted and hospitalized by gun violence, engaged in our Restorative Justice Diversion program, and who are experiencing homelessness. RYSE staff and therapists worked directly with young people to identify needs, and provide acute financial support as needed, as well as comprehensive wellbeing care. The circumstances young people are navigating continue to bring to bear the severe lack of economic security they carry, as well as their lack of access to welcoming and helpful financial institutions and systems. In our intake forms, rent housing, food, utilities continue to be main areas where financial crises are felt and support is needed. In all cases where mental health support was indicated as a need, RYSE staff followed up and coordinated care. These grant funds will be utilized to continue this process, and provide direct $500 payments to young people in crisis. 

Fred Finch Youth and Family Services - $19,000 - Fred Finch Youth & Family Services operates two Contra Costa-specific programs for children, youth and families: Contra Costa County School Based Services, and Contra Costa Transition Age Youth. The Contra Costa County School Based Services (CCC SBS) program serves approximately 170 concurrent participants (200 annually) at 10 Contra Costa school sites. School Based Services are a full-service therapy program designed to help youth in elementary through high school to learn to succeed in school, improve their grades, attendance and interpersonal relationships with their peers and families. The Contra Costa Transition Age Youth (CCTAY) Program works with young adults, aged 18-25, who live in West and Central Contra Costa County and who experience serious mental health challenges. These young adults may also have myriad of other challenges, including homelessness, co-occurring substance use, exposure to trauma, difficulty maintaining engagement in school and employment, high turnover in housing, involvement with the legal system, and experience with Psychiatric Emergency Services. More than 95% of the children, youth, and families that Fred Finch serve live below state and federal poverty levels; the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic have had outsize impact on this population. Beyond more precarious status of employment and access to resources, the ongoing surge in inflation has had dramatic negative effects on low-income populations in the Bay Area. This grant will be used to provides $80.00 to each of the 241 participants in our Contra Costa to assist with grocery costs and transportation costs. These funds will go directly to participants and their families to assist with urgent expenses and ease the pressure of rising inflation.

The Contra Costa Clubhouses, Inc - $12,000 - 95% of the program participants (members) live on SSDI/SSI and are below poverty level. They have members with holes in their shoes, holes in their clothes, and may not even have a warm jacket to wear. Members do not have the funds to utilize the transportation system to get around to needed appointments, services, and programming, so they stay isolated in their homes. Some cannot always get their needed prescriptions because they do not have the co-pay. Other members need a deposit and/or rent for housing, often leaving them in a bad situation they may be in. This grant will be used to create a fund for our program participants (members). Members will be able to request deposit/rental assistance, transportation assistance, medication assistance, and clothing assistance. Most importantly, the process to obtain the assistance will be without complicated barriers. We will set up a request process that immediately makes the funds available when needed.

CCHS Community Wellness YYA - 25,000 - The focus for this grant is to: 1) Reset Better to a New Normal" through a variety of micro learning and mindfulness exercises that promote renewal and connections (resilience building and strengthening, stress management, etc.), including nutrition and better sleep tips. 2) Sustain the gains of our “Get Moving, Keep Moving” campaign last year, 2021 by offering uplifting well-intentioned sessions that promote cardio fitness, strength, and flexibility, including recovery that will make daily moves easier (Yoga, Tai Chi, Cardio, Walking, Stretching, All Levels). 3) Expand our wellness touch points in the community by encouraging our staff to include their family members and/or friends in our virtual wellness sessions and start building mini communities of wellness; strategically scheduling the sessions at a convenient time; recording the sessions to promote reuse, inclusivity, and maximum reach; opening up the virtual wellness webinar sessions to the community similar to our Yoga for the Public session last year.

CCHS Wellness Team - $25,000 - The CCHS COVID-19 YYA Program, led by the Community Wellness & Prevention Program’s (CW&PP) Tobacco Prevention Program and CCHS Health Career Pathways staff, trained 25 youth and young adults ages 15-24 to educate their peers, family, and social media followers about COVID-19 in 2020. YYA COVID-19 mitigation messaging for the social media campaigns are in alignment with guidance from the CCHS Health Officer, Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). While based in science, data, and fact, the messages were and continue to be crafted by the YYA’s themselves as it is their authentic voice which will resonate with their followers. The COVID-19 YYA’s commit to 35 hours or 6 months in the program, and they receive a stipend of $525 for their time.

The Latina Center - $15,000 - Many people in our community are still reeling from the physical and mental health and

socioeconomic impacts of the pandemic. These funds will be used to distribute food boxes and provide financial assistance to families who have had no other access to relief funds for rent/mortgage assistance, medicine, utilities.

St. Vincent de Paul - $25,000 - St. Vincent de Paul of Contra Costa County provides basic needs for struggling residents of Contra Costa, providing support to those dealing with challenges. They provide food, shelter, rental & utility assistance, medical & dental care and more. 

Wave 2 Round 1
Wave 2 Round 2
Wave 3 Round 1
bottom of page