By: Jackie Jankewicz

Back in 2021, the Parker Family Health Clinic in Red Bank was a building bursting at the seams. The free health care facility — which serves Monmouth County residents without medical insurance or the ability to pay for medical care — had maximized every available inch of space. That’s when Parker, a volunteer-based organization, embarked on a capital campaign for a long overdue and much-needed expansion and renovation.  

The $107,500 grant from Impact 100 Jersey Coast was one of the first major commitments Parker received. It was amazing that our grant had such a huge ripple effect! Today, Parker has nearly reached its campaign goal of $5 million and the construction on the new addition is well underway, with the second floor and roof completed. Renovations in the existing facility are also proceeding, and the entire project is scheduled to be completed by Spring 2024. 

Greater Capacity to Deliver

The expansion will add exam rooms, space for blood-drawing and vaccinations, and private spaces for counseling, intakes, and telehealth. This increased caregiving capacity will allow Parker to better meet the demand for services, which is up about 25 percent since 2021.

“The Impact grant was so important in the early stages of our capital campaign. You believed in Parker – our leadership and our vision – and kick started our campaign! We will always be grateful for the investment Impact 100 made in us and our ability to meet the needs of the medically underserved today and in the future,” said Suzy Dyer, Executive Director, Parker Family Health Clinic. 

By: Jackie Jankewicz

One in seven women can develop postpartum depression (PPD).  And, for low-income women the rate can be much higher. But a program funded by a 2021 grant from Impact 100 Jersey Coast is helping to change that by delivering PPD preventative care to women in need – many of them the victims of domestic violence or sexual assault 

Called The ROSES Program (Reach Out, Stay Strong, Essentials for mothers of newborns), it has been shown in randomized control trials to reduce cases of PPD by half among low-income women.  Now, thanks to an Impact grant of $107,000, the Community Affairs and Resource Center (CARC) is deploying this method in the real world.  In its second year, the program has surpassed grant goals, reaching 189 women. 

By Jen Egan

For many, the “back-to-school” season can mean new beginnings, new friends and welcomed new adventures. But for some kids, returning to school produces anxiety and dread, particularly if they are being bullied or marginalized. Currently, suicide is the second leading cause of death for youth aged 10 – 24.  

Very soon, Monmouth County educators will have an improved resource at their disposal from The Society for the Prevention of Teen Suicide (SPTS). Its Behavioral Health Toolkit, which has been provided in pamphlet form to parents and caregivers looking for guidance on common mental health issues, warning signs and resources, is being digitized for easier access and wider distribution.

SPTS, whose mission it is to increase awareness, save lives and reduce the stigma of suicide, has been pivotal to making educators partners in suicide prevention. They have encouraged superintendents, teachers and counselors to start conversations with students about their mental health just like they do with physical health. In 2006, SPTS helped pass legislation in New Jersey requiring all educators to complete at least two hours of instruction in suicide prevention as part of their professional development requirement.

The Behavioral Health Toolkit  is a comprehensive, yet concise list of what to do, what to ask and what to expect, and it has been well received in the school system. Gina Rabone, a student assistance counselor in a Monmouth County school district, estimates she has distributed nearly 3,000 tool kits. In paper form though, its potential to serve the community at large has been limited. This valuable resource is about to go digital thanks to an Impact 100 Jersey Coast grant that SPTS was awarded in November. This funding enables SPTS to put the pamphlet online and on phones so that everyone can access this critical information easily.

“The digital tool kit fills a real gap in the mental health system,” said Susan Tellone, SPTS Clinical Director. “It allows us to reach and save so many lives. It is a game changer in terms of prevention.”

Dawn Doherty, SPTS Executive Director, has kept our grant committee informed of its progress moving online. This past winter, the SPTS team built a new web platform and revised the toolkit content and transformed it into a more dynamic product. The summer was spent producing a promotional video to introduce the toolkit to schools and making enhancements to deliver a more personalized user experience with engaging content. 

Tellone is scheduled to present at the Monmouth County Superintendents’ Roundtable Meeting on Friday, September 29 when the digital toolkit will be launched. Monmouth County schools will be ready to distribute the promotional video in October once the busy nature of the start of the school year subsides.

“I think the toolkit going digital will be amazing,” said Rabone. “Parents on high alert with a child in crisis will have all of the materials, like agencies to call and questions to ask, right at their fingertips at a time when they may not be processing everything.”  

“I am still beyond excited and grateful about the grant,” says Tellone. “We can’t do this without people like Impact 100 members. This made something that was a hope and a dream, a reality for us.” 

September marks National Suicide Prevention Month, and SPTS will be hosting the Women of Wellness & Wonder luncheon on Friday, September 29 at Navesink Country Club honoring Impact 100 member and grantee Marilyn Schlossbach as Woman of the Year. Tickets are available here. 

By: Jackie Jankewicz

Empowering Youth: The Transformative Power of Art to Improve Mental Health

Art is a powerful form of self-expression, especially for children who may have difficulty articulating their feelings verbally.  The Creative Expressions Arts & Wellness Program from Monmouth Arts uses painting, drawing, music and dance to help children communicate their emotions, thoughts and experiences in a safe and constructive way.   Funded by a 2021 grant of $107,500 from Impact 100 Jersey Coast, the initiative is now in its second year and has reached more than 1,800 kids across Monmouth County.   

Designed to address the rise in mental health issues among children, the program was in full swing during the recent summer camp season.   Teams of teaching artists and mental health professionals delivered free arts programs and services at sites throughout Monmouth County, including the Red Bank Boys and Girls Club, Long Branch Boys and Girls Club, and the Freehold Family YMCA, among others. 

Helping Kids Express Themselves

One of the projects offered in the program is an art assignment called “Unzip Your Mind.” The activity uses the zipper imagery to “unzip” thoughts, emotions, or anything else kids would like to release from their minds.  For this project, each child receives a blank canvas and a colored zipper of their choice. The child can decide whether they want their zipper open or closed on the canvas, and once they hot glue the fabric down, they can draw or paint anything they’d like to let go of.  During the program, the teachers build relationships with the children and identify those who could potentially benefit from additional mental health services.

“I was one of the participants in Monmouth Arts very first Teen Arts Festival,” said Dr. Carol Penn, Impact 100 member and grant liaison.  “I can say that the experiences provided by Monmouth Arts can shape a life.  I know because it shaped mine! The combination of knowledge, creativity and curiosity equals a super power that is nowhere better molded than by exposure to and experience with the arts.” 

Strong Program Satisfaction

“Monmouth Arts coming is my favorite part about my week. I love art.”  Student from Neptune Boys & Girls Club

Monmouth Arts is committed to measuring the impact of the Creative Expressions program.  It uses an online platform called Hello Insight to continually evaluate and respond to participants social and emotional learning needs.  Pre and Post surveys are taken using Social Emotional Learning (SEL) surveys created by Hello Insight. The most recent data collected from the Asbury Park Boys & Girls Club participants showed 100% program satisfaction.

Grant Inspires Art Program for Seniors

The success of the Creative Expressions program has inspired a new initiative from Monmouth Arts to bring the transformative power of the arts to the senior community.  Dubbed the Creative Aging Campaign, it is being piloted at the Red Bank Senior Center. By bringing seniors together socially to express themselves through art, the program seeks to remedy the isolation and disconnection many experience. 

Impact 100 Jersey Coast Honored

Monmouth Arts is honoring the women of Impact with a community service award on Sept. 28^th at Monmouth Arts After Dark: The Art of the Impossible in Asbury Park.  Learn more athttps://www.monmoutharts.org/the-art-of-the-impossible

By Jen Egan

Restaurateur Marilyn Schlossbach prides herself in lifting up the communities in which she does business. When she arrived in Asbury Park, amidst its vibrant opening nearly 20 years ago, she saw an opportunity.  Through food, beverage and local partnerships, she endeavored to “mend some of the disruption,” that the rapid influx of new business imposed on the long-standing community. 

It began with community dinners in her restaurants – including holidays – that created connections to many nonprofits in Asbury.  Soon after, she was partnering on surf, art and gardening programs for kids.  Schlossbach’s vision for the nonprofit she founded, Food for Thought by the Sea, was to engage in collaborative programs with other nonprofits. One of the first was the Boys & Girls Club of Monmouth County, which she credits for doing a remarkable job elevating all of the different opportunities available to kids in the community. 

“The Boys and Girls Club has always been in this age bracket of kids that we can tap into as a culture and community because they haven’t gotten to a point where they’re jaded or they’ve fallen into something they can’t get out of,” said Schlossbach. 

As new hospitality continued its sprawl into town, it neglected to hire Asbury Park residents. Schlossbach recognized that youth here could benefit from developing a hospitality skill set, the basis of which is communication.  Marilyn realized that her Food for Thought food truck could be just the platform – literally a vehicle for change – where kids could learn critical soft skills through hospitality training. While the concept was sound, more funding would be necessary to program it as Schlossbach intended. 

An inaugural member of Impact 100 Jersey Coast, Schlossbach says she is “floored” by the organization and how effective it is at “helping small organizations do really important things in their community.” At the helm of a grass roots organization primarily funded by herself and her customers, Schlossbach needed a partner to meet the financial criteria for an Impact grant. She applied “over and over,” tweaking the concept and the collaborator through several grant cycles. 

“Even if you don’t get the grant,” she acknowledges, “you get exposure to all of these women in your community that have the ability to not just raise money for you, but raise awareness for you and volunteer. It’s amazing!”

Finally in November of 2022, Schlossbach was handed the ‘big check’ alongside Doug Eagles, chief collaborator and CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Monmouth County. Eagles executed on helping identify a group of kids who would find success by working on the truck via the club’s “Teen Night” program. Meanwhile, Destiny Smith, the club’s Area Director for Asbury stays on top of the individual challenges faced by each of these kids for whom clean clothes, a place to shower and a stable living environment are not always available. Smith and her team play a key role in providing the support these kids need to show up for the job. 

The truck is currently operating at Northeats where the kids are preparing and selling food from the summer menu, including tacos, and at The St. Laurent hotel where they offer food service poolside every Tuesday.  They are making great progress developing the life skills that a real job requires like keeping a schedule and doing their payroll. Schlossbach notes that the kids are so excited when they receive a tip. “They feel like they put a day of work in at a job where all of these people want them to succeed and are here to help.” 

Beyond support of the food truck program, Impact 100 JC members have stepped up to help the Boys & Girls Club fulfill needed items on its wish list. 

Smith relayed a need for games, yoga mats and drawstring bags. Over 100 of these items were donated earlier this month at a member event as well as six bikes to provide transportation for the kids working on the food truck. High on Schlossbach’s wish list is more Board Members to keep the momentum going.

“I don’t expect we’re going to change a million kids with this program,” said Schlossbach. “But, if we change one and then they change one and they change one, you create a movement, and that’s what we intend to do with this.”   

By: Jackie Jankewicz

An Impact 100 Jersey Coast grant of $107,500 in 2021 to the Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) of Central Jersey’s Children and Family Health Institute funded the education, training and certification of 11 bilingual, multicultural Doulas. The program is part of Monmouth County’s first ever Doula Learning Collaborative with the goal to improve poor birth outcomes among low-income women and minority women — especially those without insurance.

Program Updates and Outcomes

• Focus on holistic care by providing advice, information, emotional support and physical comfort to the mother during the prenatal phase.
• Know how to educate and access birth control options for women post-pregnancy
• Improve postpartum care. Doulas know the warning signs of problems after a woman gives birth, such as heavy bleeding or depression.
• The program successfully arranged for the Doulas to submit applications to become Medicaid providers, so that women without insurance can have the services covered.
• The program has empowered women in the community to start a new career path. So far these Doulas in training have been connected with 79 pregnant women.
• The learning collaborative brings the doulas together to network, learn and support each other. As they continue to grow in their practice, they will be able to help even more women and babies.
• The program brought awareness of the value of community-based doulas to the community and the local hospitals.

“The Impact100 Jersey Coast grants are so valuable to non-profit agencies and the communities here along the Jersey Shore. Impact is a funder that believes in empowering non-profits with a vision to use innovative solutions to address community problems. We were able to do our best work and make this initiative successful,” said Colleen Nelson, Vice President of VNA’s Children and Family Health Institute  

There’s strong evidence that working with a doula can reduce childbirth complications. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) report that the continuous presence of a doula during pregnancy is one of the most effective tools to improve labor and delivery outcomes. Because of the success of the program through our support, VNACJ will seek additional grant funders to continue the program in Monmouth County and to replicate it in other NJ counties.

What the Birth Moms are Saying 

• “Amazing delivery, all went so well, so thankful and I appreciate all the help and support I received from my Doula. She was amazing and was such a big help.”
• “The Doula was very helpful to me and gave me great information before the delivery and after the baby came.”
•  “The Doula was so helpful, excellent person. She made things so much easier for me. I appreciate her and wish I had a Doula with my boy.”
  
• “The Doula was a big help. I am so thankful. She helped explain things to me.”

Importance of the Doula Learning Collaborative

Women of color are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women[1]. An Impact 100 grant is helping to change that by creating community-based doulas to guide and support low-income, minority women before, during and after pregnancy.

Doulas (non-clinical pregnancy coaches) actively work to strengthen the communication between an expectant mother and her healthcare providers.   Trained to recognize complications of pregnancy –such as preeclampsia or gestational diabetes — they advocate for the best care.   In addition to prenatal care, doulas help with labor and delivery and provide postnatal assistance with breastfeeding, newborn care, postpartum depression and parenting wellness. 

Community doulas do all of the above but because they live and work in the community, and speak many languages, they are able to help bridge cultural barriers and assist with communication between hospital staff and pregnant women.  They also know how to connect pregnant women with community resources. 

[1] According to report on U.S. maternal mortality rates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

By Jen Egan

On June 28, Shore House cut the ribbon on their newly renovated Clubhouse in Long Branch. In a matter of 100 days, the 2022 grantee transformed its Clubhouse from functional, but deficient, to amazing! Its members, who are adults living with mental illness, can enjoy expanded programming for social education and employment opportunities that its upgraded facilities can now provide. 

Shore House opened in 2010 with one member, one day a week, in borrowed space in Red Bank. In the past two years, the Clubhouse has seen its daily attendance almost double.  In the absence of any state funding and the only Clubhouse providing a continuum of this type of care in New Jersey, Shore House has been challenged to keep up financially with this growth. 

In 2022, Shore House received a grant from the American Rescue Plan Act of Monmouth County to complete a necessary renovation of its Clubhouse. Combined with the funding from Impact, Shore House was able to finish its kitchen and furnishings in program spaces.

“This wonderful, commercial-grade kitchen that we have now was entirely paid for by the Impact 100 Jersey Shore grant,” said Rich Ambrosino, Executive Director of Shore House. “This will enable our members who work in the culinary unit to create member-run businesses.”

“As in a home, the kitchen is the heart of the Clubhouse,” said founding Board Member Cathy Smith. “The benefits of having a commercial-grade kitchen will allow members to gather to make and serve meals, including on all the holidays.” 

Furthermore, with the new culinary unit, members are now able to participate and get credit in the ServSafe course where they learn nutrition and cooking skills. This qualifies them with a transferable skill to add to their resume, which will benefit them in finding sustainable employment.

Its beautiful new structure also provides sustainability to the Shore House mission – to empower and restore hope, independence and self worth for people living with a mental illness – as well as its model. Run as a Clubhouse, members take accountability toward implementing all aspects of the program. Referred to as the Work Order Day, this voluntary program has members finding recovery through meaningful work done side-by-side with their peers. 

“We tell our members to leave their diagnoses at the door,” said Bailey Taft, Program Director. “We value them as people versus their mental illness.”

Taft also points out that there is a ripple effect from Impact’s funding of the new kitchen, which meets health department food storage standards.  Now Shore House can partner with organizations like FulFill and Lunch Break to accept food donations, offsetting some of the kitchen’s operational costs. This is significant for an organization that is over 90% funded by private donations and grants.

Ambrosino is particularly excited to demonstrate to legislators the full extent to which community-based mental health care via the Clubhouse model can improve the lives of people living with serious mental illness. “Having legislators and decision makers come through here and see our work in action will go a long way,” he said. With nearly two million people in New Jersey living with serious mental illness, Ambrosino is advocating that our leaders act now, while the legislature is setting priorities for the upcoming state budget, to invest in new solutions. 

Read more about Ambrosino’s call to action for a new approach to mental healthcare in his Op-ed with Amy Kennedy of the Kennedy Forum, published this weekend on PBS’s NJ Spotlight News.