In recent years, public health professionals and the broader community have begun to recognize that economic and social conditions have an impact on overall health outcomes. These conditions are referred to as Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) and they are impacting our community in significant ways. Factors such as income, education and occupation all play into Beacon Community’s Impact four priority areas:
County Health Rankings showed that nearly 1/3 of the total adult population in the three counties assessed was obese.
Our Healthy Family Priority is firmly grounded in programing that reduces infant mortality and improves maternal/child health.
The prevalence estimates for the IN North Central Region show that 4.7% of resident adults have suffered from a serious mental illness
This priority encompasses a wide range of programming aimed at reducing substance misuse in alcohol, illicit drugs, prescription drugs and tobacco.
Community Partners
In order to address SDOH, Beacon Community Impact partners with organizations in Elkhart, Marshall and Saint Joseph Counties who are tackling issues of food insecurity, housing, safety or economic stability. Our goal is to tackle these issues upstream so that our partners who are working downstream, directly serving individuals with certain health factors, are more likely to succeed.
Current and future partners who are working to address SDOH see the value in holistic approaches that improve health. Their work is complementary to the work done by clinics, educators and peer supporters. By continuing to provide support for organizations like the ones below, Beacon Community Impact hopes to see sustainable change that supports the health and wellbeing of the whole community.
- The Emergency Services Coaching Program provides guests of CFH with an individual that helps individuals identify personal needs, set goals, and take steps towards
- Cultivate’s backpack program provides six nutritious meals made from rescued food to elementary students over the weekend. These meals supplement the 68 hour gap
- Develop an educational curriculum to recruit, train, and promote health equity in organizations throughout the county
- Provides home visits and education around asthma to families with uncontrolled asthma
- Ribbon of Hope offers a variety of practical services to assist patients and family members diagnosed with Cancer including transportation to and from doctor’s
- Established in 1974, South Bend Heritage Foundation, Inc. (SBH) is a not-for-profit Community Development Corporation (CDC) that is committed to the stabilization and enhancement
Beacon Community Impact Programs
In addition to our externally funded partners, Beacon Community Impact provides the following programming within our SDOH Priority, including:
- This program, in collaboration with the South Bend School District and Near Northwest Neighborhood, delivers asthma education to children with asthma and their families.
