Giving Back to Our Communities

Fidelis Care and the Centene Foundation Award $1.1 Million to The Jed Foundation to Protect the Mental Health of New York’s Youth

Funding will help expand emotional well-being resources, educational workshops, and training programs for community-based organizations that foster communities of care statewide

September 20, 2024, NEW YORK CITY — Fidelis Care, a leading health insurer providing quality, affordable coverage to New Yorkers, and the Centene Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Centene Corporation, announced today a $1.1 million grant to The Jed Foundation (JED), a national nonprofit that protects emotional health and prevents suicide for teens and young adults.

With this grant, JED will expand its current services, providing at least five youth-serving community-based organizations (CBOs) with consultation or strategic planning services, including expert guidance, educational workshops, and training programs, equipping young people with life skills and connecting them to mental health care when they are in distress.

“We are thrilled to support the vital work of The Jed Foundation with this grant,” said Vincent Marchello, Chief Medical Officer at Fidelis Care. “At Fidelis Care, we recognize the importance of mental health services in creating healthier communities. This investment underscores our commitment to ensuring youth and adolescents have access to the critical support they need to thrive.”

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), it is currently estimated that nearly one in five 12- to 17-year-olds in the United States experience a major depressive episode every year, and almost half of teens 13 to 17 say they would seek out professional help only as a last resort. In New York State, the need for enhanced mental health support for school-aged youth is critical: in 2021, 57% of New York 12- to 17-year-olds with depression had not received any care in the last year.

“JED is grateful to Fidelis Care and the Centene Foundation for their commitment to supporting the emotional well-being of New York youth and for providing the resources to help them thrive,” said John MacPhee, JED Chief Executive Officer. “This partnership will allow us to bring JED’s lifesaving work to community-based organizations across the state and help them build on their mental health safety nets and approaches, while positively impacting the lives of thousands of young people.”

The inaugural group of CBOs includes Bottom Line, an organization that partners with degree-aspiring students from first-generation and low-income backgrounds as they get into and through college and launch mobilizing first careers; Hetrick-Martin Institute, which provides free, year-round programs and services for LGBTQIA+ youth and allies aged 13 to 24 in New York City; and Prep for Prep, which provides first-rate educational, leadership development and professional advancement opportunities for young people of color in New York City.

"Through decades of experience at Bottom Line, we have seen that the condition of a student's mental health plays a significant role in their overall journey to becoming a college graduate and professional,” said Sheneita R. Graham, Director of Culturally Responsive Programming at Bottom Line. “Our role at Bottom Line is to build strong relationships that assist us in determining need and connecting students to resources that will help them thrive personally to persist academically. Partnering with The Jed Foundation grants us the opportunity to expertly assess our mental health policies, processes, and resources to ensure we provide our students with thoughtful, high-quality support."

"Hetrick-Martin Institute is pleased to be working with The Jed Foundation to improve our ability to recognize young people in distress and conduct suicide risk assessments," said Bridget Hughes, Chief Program Officer at Hetrick-Martin Institute.

"We are so grateful to The Jed Foundation for hosting two workshops for our incoming college freshmen as part of our annual College Transition Retreat,” said Corey Rhoades, Director of Undergraduate Affairs at Prep for Prep. “The presenters shared their expertise and tailored the sessions in a way that was uniquely relevant and engaging for our students."

To learn more about ways to provide community-based organizations with consulting, evidence-based best practices, and data-driven guidance to protect youth mental health and prevent suicide, visit JED’s website .

Screener Program Provides Support to Families Impacted by Social Determinants of Health

SDoH-chart

Fidelis Care’s innovative SDoH screener program was launched two years ago as a grassroots health equity initiative to address conditions in the environments where people are born, live, work, and play that affect their health, well-being, and quality of life. Social Determinants of Health can affect a wide range of health risks and outcomes – particularly among vulnerable populations and in underserved areas.

The screener enables trained Fidelis Care representatives to assess an individual’s immediate needs and challenges related to SDoH through a brief series of questions covering areas such as access to transportation, food, and secure and safe housing. More than 450,000 Fidelis Care members have participated to date.

Click here to learn more about the different Social Determinants of Health and find available resources.

Learn how Fidelis Care impacts the communities we are privileged to serve.

More News:

Fidelis Care and Literacy Inc. Support ‘Diversity Through Literacy’

7/5/2022 • Posted by Fidelis Care in Corporate News, Sponsorship

Community campaign aims to promote early literacy
and foster diverse representation in children’s literature

NEW YORK, NY, July 5, 2022 Fidelis Care, a New York State health plan, and Literacy Inc. (LINC), a non-profit organization whose mission is to equip New York City families with foundational literacy skills, today announced its second year of the Diversity Through Literacy campaign. Through a generous donation from Fidelis Care, over 1,000 free books featuring stories that represent racial diversity, including 500 copies of the New York Times best-seller The ABCs of Black History by Rio Cortez, will be distributed by Literacy Inc. across New York City boroughs on July 7.

Created in 2021, Diversity through Literacy aims to increase diverse representation of children in books, and to cultivate unique perspectives on inclusion and equity, while also helping families learn about the benefits of early literacy and its impact on children's healthy development.

“Fidelis Care stresses the importance of positively impacting a child’s most formative years through early literacy habits such as reading aloud, which, with just 15 minutes a day can lead to many significant cognitive and developmental benefits,” said Fidelis Care Medical Director and pediatrician Dr. Lisa Moreno. “Children are highly impressionable. At a time in our society when racial and social justice issues continue to make headlines, it’s important we demonstrate to children that excellence can look like them, too.”

"We distribute books, but we also hold workshops for parents,” added LINC Deputy Director Eliana Godoy. “Our goal is to engage parents by providing them with simple tools and strategies they can use daily at home to create a strong literacy-rich foundation and nurture a love of reading. Through these daily experiences, children are prepared to enter school and have the necessary skills to triumph at school and in life.”

The free book distribution on July 7 will take place at the locations listed below where community members are welcome to join, enjoy refreshments and family friendly entertainment.

Fidelis Care staff members will volunteer and read a children’s book aloud to the families present. Multilingual Fidelis Care Representatives will be available to speak with parents and provide information on the importance of health and wellness for kids and families, while Literacy Inc. staff and volunteers will lead reading programs and offer resources to parents that share the importance of diversity and representation in children’s literature.

Diversity-Through-Literacy-Supported-by-Fidelis-Care

A Diversity through Literacy parent workshop will be held virtually on July 22 at 4 PM, hosted by Literacy Inc. and Fidelis Care. Author Rio Cortez will conduct a live read of The ABCs of Black History.

About Literacy Inc.:

For the past 25 years, LINC has worked to harness the power that exists in every community to make literacy a value and right of all children and promoting educational equity. Early literacy is critical for children’s lifelong social and health benefits. Our two-generational Community Literacy Model connects families with each other and with resources that already exist in the community to surround children with literacy-rich environments inside and outside of home. When a child reads, a community succeeds!

About Fidelis Care:
Fidelis Care is a mission-driven health plan offering quality, affordable coverage for children and adults of all ages and at all stages of life. With more than 2.4 million members statewide, Fidelis Care believes that all New Yorkers should have access to affordable, quality health insurance. Follow us on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/fidelis-care, on Twitter at @fideliscare, Instagram at @fideliscare, and on Facebook at facebook.com/fideliscare. For more information, call Fidelis Care at 1-888-FIDELIS (1-888-343-3547) or visit fideliscare.org.