2025 Grant Finalist Project Summaries

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Health & Wellness: Macomb Family Services

This project aims to explore and implement the integration of somatic and neurobiological therapy techniques into traditional talk therapy models to enhance treatment outcomes, particularly for individuals experiencing trauma, anxiety, or chronic stress. By combining evidence-based practices from neuroscience—such as polyvagal theory, nervous system regulation, and advanced therapeutic interventions like EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), Brainspotting, and Neurobiofeedback—with somatic approaches including body awareness, breathwork, and movement, the project seeks to address the limitations of purely cognitive-based interventions. The goal is to create a more holistic, trauma-informed therapeutic framework that supports both the mind and body in the healing process. Through research, practical application, and evaluation, the project will develop guidelines, provide clinician training, and offer tools to effectively integrate these methods into clinical practice. This comprehensive approach is especially aimed at increasing effectiveness with clients who have not responded to traditional therapy modalities, supporting them in becoming more regulated, resilient, and connected. Importantly, access to these advanced therapeutic services is limited—if available at all—in Macomb County, Michigan, despite being more readily available in the western areas of Southeastern Michigan. This geographic disparity contributes to unequal access to trauma-informed care and nervous system-based interventions. By expanding the availability of these approaches locally, this project seeks to fill a critical gap in services and promote more equitable mental health support across the region.

Environmental: Peaceful Hugs

Peaceful Hugs is a grassroots nonprofit serving vulnerable families, seniors, and at-risk youth across Southeast Michigan, with a focus on Macomb County. Our mission is to promote health equity and stability by offering wraparound services that meet critical basic needs. Our project, “Bridging the Health Gap: Wraparound Support for Underserved Families and Seniors,” is designed to help those facing housing instability, food insecurity, transportation barriers, and limited access to healthcare or mental health resources. Many of our clients are part of the ALICE population (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) and are working hard yet unable to afford essentials. Others are experiencing homelessness or staying in motels after eviction, often with no access to other forms of assistance. We provide targeted, compassionate support that includes:

  • Emergency assistance for motel stays, rent, utilities, and basic needs

  • Food delivery and grocery support

  • Clothing, hygiene supplies, and school materials

  • Transportation to essential appointments

  • Referrals to medical, dental, and mental health services

  • Youth mentorship and life skills coaching through our Uplifting U program

This holistic model is grounded in the understanding that families cannot achieve long-term health or educational success without stability. We meet people where they are and offer individualized help that addresses root causes. We work closely with schools, social workers, and community organizations to identify and serve those in greatest need. While we have no formal co-applicants for this project, our trusted relationships ensure rapid coordination and greater impact. With Impact100 funding, Peaceful Hugs will expand our reach, improve service coordination, and provide immediate relief and long-term hope to more families and seniors in crisis.

Education: Gianna House

Gianna House program focuses on healthy babies & moms, health disparities and birth education. Outcomes encourage improved pregnancies, enlightened mothers and well-cared-for infants. These services are guided by best practice guidelines and access to healthcare. After safe housing, food, and clothing are ensured perinatally, residents can then face other life challenges by leveraging additional GH resources. GH's project outcomes include: Healthy Baby & Mother: Modalities that teach healthy pregnancy, delivery, and baby care, lead to a self-sustaining lifestyle and improved lives. These include: providing shelter, offering meals/food planning/nutritional counseling (pre-post pregnancy with incentives like gift cards for formula), medical questionnaires and access to appropriate care, group counseling activities/mentoring, transportation to medical care (foundational to supporting healthy outcomes for housing insecure women or the low-income community families we serve), and healthy birth education. Also, parenting classes are included with a curriculum in place with focus on program goals and outcomes. These are available upon request. Services include: case management, parenting classes by GH staff & WSU School of Social Work interns, nursing or Doula support, healthy birthing, baby & parenting education (includes classes in hygiene, personal and baby care), Lamaze techniques/Doula and Midwife services, nutrition and breastfeeding classes for Mom and baby, safe sleep activities/instruction offers incentives such as cribs/pack 'n plays, gift cards, infant car seats/receiving blankets, sleepers for baby, fitted sheets, etc. Building safe and healthy relationships (i.e.: interpersonal skills, domestic violence awareness, coping strategies), stakeholder forums, focus groups & surveys. 

 Collaboration with community partners and organizations Minimize Health Disparities GH is unique as it supports an underserved and vulnerable target population of pregnant young women and mothers who are at risk and experiencing homelessness, domestic violence, or food insecurity. Our low-income, community families have similar disparities. To curb these inequities, GH offers opportunities/resources in the following areas to our residents and community: career pathing, financial literacy, and computer skills. Job readiness activities are provided such as resume building, interviewing techniques, and job search/placement assistance. Domestic Violence awareness for safe environment/housing and social services to advance quality of life (Sec. 8, Bridge cards, Medicaid and other community agencies), which GH paves the way to independence, by offering health education, access to appropriate care, and working to reduce health disparities. GH guides and facilitates access to necessary support that participants would not otherwise have. Community-building activities increase participants' health, emotional well-being, and sense of belonging to improve their lives.

Family: Susie Q’s Kids

We wish to expand our reach to middle and high schools throughout Macomb County within the 22 potential public school districts to explore invitations to share our mission and involve students in nonprofit management, mental health awareness, and community give-back. Through our program, we propose funding the kid’s involvement with a minimum of $5000 per event which will cover the expenses of 50 comfort bags per school. We wish to entice the students to become involved in matching our donations through fundraising and collection drives enabling them to create a total minimum of 100 comfort bags per event. Through our outreach, we will discuss the art of philanthropy, express stories of the Power of Positivity, “It’s OK not to be OK”, and suicide awareness and prevention. We will also address what type of children they would like to provide comfort bags to, thus allowing space for dialogue regarding the needs of these kids and the impact their involvement could have on the nonprofit's mission and the children in their care. During these discussions, dialogue occurs where students can share their personal stories such as abuse, illness, suicide, foster care, homelessness, and loss, providing opportunities to support each other and recognize their strengths for sharing their personal stories. They will define their passion as a group (the type of kids to help), their purpose (how to fundraise, volunteer, or serve), and engagement (how they bring passion + purpose to make an impact). 

 

As of July 1st, we moved to a warehouse setting in Sterling Heights where we can accommodate more participants in smaller or larger groups, added hours, engage more business employee volunteer participants and sponsors, and provide students with an outlet to conduct ongoing community service. Through recognition in the community and our impact through non-profit distribution, we hope to fundraise to sustain the program into the future continuing to garner sponsorships, grants, and in-kind donations to continue to serve all the various non-profit organizations we currently support with our bags and make introductions to new groups that could benefit from our program. The funding will allow us to create a program where we can work with the students within the Macomb County district schools, engaging more students and impacting more kids with our comfort bags. Being able to propose our idea to the school administrators with a minimum number of bags funded, reduces friction to garner student support to match or exceed project expectations. Through the new school alliances, we will be exposed to additional non-profits to assist more kids and businesses to support our program through volunteer engagement. We hope to implement a podcast in the coming months that would allow us to share the students’ participation stories, the nonprofit's impact stories and gratitude bringing recognition to our program, the nonprofit's, the school’s participation, and the kids involved.