Pathfinders of Oregon Receives Grant from Kaiser Permanente Community Fund

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RISE Students

We are thrilled that the Kaiser Permanente Community Fund is making this investment in youth and families in Rockwood.

Portland, OR (PRWEB) December 23, 2013

Pathfinders of Oregon is pleased to announce the receipt of a grant from the Kaiser Permanente Community Fund at Northwest Health Foundation (KPCF). The grant will fund Pathfinders’ Rockwood Youth Violence Prevention Initiative (RYVPI). “We are thrilled that the Kaiser Permanente Community Fund is making this investment in youth and families in Rockwood,” said Sharon Darcy, Executive Director of Pathfinders of Oregon.

RYVPI is a community effort that seeks to keep youth in school, achieving academically and engaged in prosocial activities. RYVPI supports youth to engage positively with their families and communities. The program targets middle school youth in the Rockwood area who have experienced, or are at risk of experiencing, chronic school absenteeism, gang violence or gang involvement. The program focuses on youth before high school and during the first year of high school. It provides support to youth and their families to ensure that youth are prepared to complete high school and continue on to further education and employment. The RYVPI program will serve 200 youth.

Pathfinders is partnering with a group of nonprofits to put into place a framework of supports for middle school youth as a Youth Pathway within the larger Rockwood Pathways project. Through Rockwood Pathways, Pathfinders is working to develop a coordinated system for referrals and services to improve service delivery for youth and their families.

Pathfinders serves youth and families through its Rockwood Intercultural Student Experience (RISE) program and through its Center for Family Success. Both programs are located in the heart of the Rockwood neighborhood of East Multnomah County. Rockwood is a community that has changed dramatically over the past several years. The population is now predominantly poor and young: approximately 30% of the population is under age 18, and more than 30% have income below the poverty level. This change in neighborhood dynamics has increased instability, crime, and youth violence.

The Kaiser Permanente Community Fund is a philanthropic partnership between Kaiser Permanente Northwest and the Northwest Health Foundation. Funded by Kaiser Permanente Northwest and distributed by Northwest Health Foundation, the Kaiser Permanente Community Fund’s objective is to advance the health of local communities served by Kaiser Permanente Northwest. The fund was established to support community-based efforts to enhance social factors that promote health equity and help eliminate factors that contribute to health disparities. The RYVPI project will address youth violence as a social determinant of health.

About Pathfinders of Oregon

Pathfinders of Oregon is a 501(c) 3 organization whose mission is to break the cycle of criminality. Pathfinders has taught programs within the Oregon Department of Corrections for 20 years. In the community, it offers programs to families impacted by incarceration through its Center for Family Success and RISE program.

About the Kaiser Permanente Community Fund at Northwest Health Foundation

The mission of the Northwest Health Foundation is to advance, support, and promote the health of the people in Oregon and Southwest Washington. The Foundation invests in the root causes of health through community-driven solutions and seeks to ensure that the voices of all people are represented in addressing health. More information can be found at http://www.nwhf.org.

Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. Founded in 1945, the organization serves the health needs of more than 8.4 million people nationwide. More than 496,000 people in Oregon and Southwest Washington receive their health care from Kaiser Permanente. For more information, go to http://www.kp.org/newscenter.

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