Metro Solutions News

W.K. Kellogg Foundation Grant to Improve Infant Health Outcomes With Community Approach
Detroit-based Metro Solutions receives multi-year, $425,000 grant to fund community-based breastfeeding initiative

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE —

DETROIT, MI - June 26, 2014 - Metro Solutions, a Detroit-based non-profit fiscal intermediary, has partnered with three nationally recognized infant health and community engagement experts who will launch an innovative pilot project to improve community support for breastfeeding, and thereby improve infant and maternal health outcomes in cities across America.

The project, the First Food Friendly Community Initiative, is funded by a $425,000 grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, and is guided by the premise that the first food—breast milk—with its unparalleled immunological and preventative health properties, is the earliest and most optimal intervention point for improving the likelihood of healthier infants and children. The 2 ½ year project, which will include pilots in Detroit and Philadelphia, aims to create more supportive “first food friendly” community environments for mothers and infants by identifying on-the-ground partners and targeting local agencies, establishments, faith-based institutions and residents for multi-pronged coordinated strategies. These strategies stretch beyond traditional health interventions and include economic and workforce development components. By eradicating “deserts” of support and removing common barriers to increased breastfeeding with comprehensive community-led interventions, infants and the families that care for them can have more healthful and empowered lives.

Kimberly Seals Allers, a leading advocate and consultant on breastfeeding, Kiddada Green , founder of the Black Mothers Breastfeeding Association and Duane Kinnon, a management consultant with over three decades experience in non-profit and health and human services will spearhead the community-based work. Ruth Rashid Kaleniecki, a licensed social worker currently focused on community engagement around early childhood education, will serve as Metro Solutions’ grants director.

“We are delighted to work with such respected leaders in the field whose work dovetails perfectly with our commitment to advance community well-being and to add another WKKF grant to our growing portfolio as we provide fiduciary management and support for community service providers,” says Rose Khalifa, executive director of Metro Solutions, which creates strategic financial partnerships with health care systems, non-profit foundations, universities, social service agencies, and local municipalities.

“For years, we have been saying that hospitals are only step one and that women need more supportive environments where they work, play, eat and worship in order to have meaningful breastfeeding success. This grant from the Kellogg Foundation allows us to continue working on making that a reality for more mothers and babies and to develop a nationally scalable model,” says Seals Allers, who will serve as project director. “It is exciting to partner with Metro Solutions, who have a proven commitment to community health, on this project.”

About the FFCI Team: Kimberly Seals Allers is a nationally recognized media commentator, consultant and advocate for breastfeeding and infant health. As a consultant, Kimberly has led ground-breaking community-based projects in the southeast and Philadelphia that explore the impact of “first food deserts”—communities that severely lack or have inaccessible resources to support mothers who choose to breastfeed—and examining how to transform these areas into more breastfeeding supportive environments. A former IATP Food & Community Fellow, her advocacy work also centers on rethinking childhood nutrition and preventative health as beginning at birth with the optimal first food—breast milk. Kiddada Green is the founding executive director of Black Mothers’ Breastfeeding Association (BMBFA), co-founder of Black Breastfeeding Week and sits on the advisory council of the Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters, Women’s eNews Black Maternal Health and Wayne Children’s Healthcare Access Program. Mrs. Green works tirelessly to increase breastfeeding rates for African Americans, and contributed recommendations for The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding. She is committed to supporting families, and training public health workers on cultural competence in breastfeeding support. Duane Kinnon, president & CEO of the Kinnon Group, LLC, is a leader in community engagement and nonprofit management with more than 30 years of human service experience working with global organizations like the Salvation Army, Boys & Girls Club of America, the YMCA and YWCA, institutions of higher learning, state education departments, various school districts, Parks & Recreation Departments, Public Housing Authorities and faith-based organizations. Mr. Kinnon has a long-standing track record strengthening communities to better serve vulnerable youth and families with high quality, researched-based programming.

About Metro Solutions: A Wayne County, Michigan non-profit organization, Metro Solutions, was established in 2003 to provide organizational and operational support to tax-exempt hospitals, to form strategic partnerships with health care supporters and sponsors statewide, and to fund and promote programs that deliver quality health care to the uninsured and underinsured in the metro Detroit area. It has since expanded its capabilities beyond healthcare to support the efforts of non-profit foundations, universities, social service agencies, and local municipalities.

About WKKF: The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), founded in 1930 as an independent, private foundation by breakfast cereal pioneer, Will Keith Kellogg, is among the largest philanthropic foundations in the United States. Guided by the belief that all children should have an equal opportunity to thrive, WKKF works with communities to create conditions for vulnerable children so they can realize their full potential in school, work and life. The Kellogg Foundation is based in Battle Creek, Mich., and works throughout the United States and internationally, as well as with sovereign tribes. Special emphasis is paid to priority places where there are high concentrations of poverty and where children face significant barriers to success. WKKF priority places in the U.S. are in Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and New Orleans; and internationally, are in Mexico and Haiti. For more information, visit www.wkkf.org.

2012 Mini Grant Awards and Metro Solutions Annual Meeting Held

The Metro Solutions Mini-Grant Program was held at the Greater Grace Temple on Friday, October, 19, 2012. This event marked the 8th annual meeting that highlighted an initiative that provides funding to non-profit organizations involved in the development and implementation of projects in the fields of disease prevention and management, workplace safety, and health education and wellness.

Individual announcements of 2012 awards were as follows:

OBESITY CATEGORY

• Adult Well Being Services
• All Four One
• Camp Fire USA, Southeast Michigan Council
• The Children’s Center of Wayne County
• Child’s Hope
• H.Y.P.E. Athletics Community
• National Kidney Foundation of Michigan
• Wayne Children’s Healthcare Access Program, Inc. (Wayne CHAP)

DIABETES CATEGORY

• DAAA (Detroit Area Agency on Aging)
• Hope Medical Clinic, Inc.
• HUDA Clinic (Health Unit on Davison Avenue)
• Joy Southfield Community Development Corp.
• School Community Health Alliance of Michigan, Inc.

ALCOHOL & DRUG ADDICTION CATEGORY

• Ruth Ellis Center, Inc.
• Starr Commonwealth

Welcome & Introductionswere handled by Zenna F. Elhasan, Corporation Counsel, Wayne County and the keynote speaker for the event was Tonya Allen, MPH, MSW, Chief Operating Officer and Vice President of Program, Skillman Foundation.

Award biographies were read by Metro Solutions Board of Director's President, Renée Ahee, APR, who is also the Executive Director of the National Arab American Medical Association.

Rose Khalifa, Executive Director of Metro Solutions and Rick Nowakowski, Administrator of Wayne County Four Star Health handled the awards, that were sponsored fully by Four Star for 2012.

Rose Khalifa closed the morning with comments about the organization and the need for continued financial support to provide for the awards in 2013.

This event was attended by many of the notable members of the non-profit community, as well as local civic leaders.

For more information feel free to contact rosek@metrosolutions.us

Spirit of giving hits Detroit streets as interfaith group seeks out homeless

Detroit Free Press - December 24, 2011 - A dozen men sat quietly reading in a room at the Skillman branch of the Detroit Public Library downtown.

The room emptied when a library staffer alerted them that a volunteer group was upstairs with food and warming items.

A flight up, three Compuware volunteers on lunch break and a longtime St. Aloysius Catholic Church worker handed out cookies and warm clothing to the men.

Jerry Wilson, 48, who spent the night before at a southwest Detroit shelter, took a hat and gloves. He was laid off 18 months ago from a Detroit potato chip company.

"I'd go to work tonight if there was a job for me," he said.

Others left with hand warmers and socks, homemade Christmas cookies and handmade scarves.

"Two ladies from St. Joan of Arc (in St. Clair Shores) who had to be in their 70s came in yesterday with boxes of hats and scarves they crocheted," Brother Michael Radomski, a pastoral associate at St. Aloysius, said earlier this week.

Homemade and handmade donations -- plus money, new goods and clean, used clothes -- are the lifeblood of an active interfaith ministry called the Downtown Detroit Circle of Care. It unites churches, businesses, Detroit foundations and volunteers in a sustained effort to address health, food, shelter and other problems of homeless people and poor seniors living in downtown Detroit.

On Sunday, Christmas morning, a street ministry with the network plans to distribute food at the Rosa Parks Transit Center in Detroit, then fan out on downtown streets to find others needing food, warmth and cheer.

Other days, teams organized by two friars head out on foot with backpacks or pedal three-wheeled ice cream carts loaded with sandwiches and coffee. But the network's services are expanding beyond street work.

In the last two years, the network has developed connections with a federally funded clinic in Midtown Detroit that provides free and low-cost health care. It also has received two $10,000 grants from Metro Solutions, a nonprofit Detroit organization that pays for free eyeglasses and other care.

There's also a new prescription drug program that offers free or low-cost medicine through Ahmed Ankouni, owner of Griswold Pharmacy.

Another downtown business owner, Brian Pastoria of U Detroit Café on Randolph, donates space to make sandwiches and hold food supplies.

Working together

Several downtown churches are the hubs for the network and coordinate the drop-off of donations at churches throughout metro Detroit.

"We take care of the socks, the hats, the gloves," said Mike Carsten, director of outreach ministries at St. Aloysius. "Central United Methodist takes care of sleeping bags and blankets. Fort Street Presbyterian takes care of the coats, the pants, the sweatshirts and the hoodies."

The network succeeds because "we've identified a way for faith-based organizations to work closely together," said Ron Beford, executive director of the Brighton-based Interfaith Health & Hope Coalition, which created the Circle of Care program.

Gifts of food and clothing are appreciated, but more important, they open the door to conversations of health, faith and hope, said Geraldine Biffle, a retired Detroit post office worker and longtime St. Aloysius volunteer.

She recalled going out on the street once to find a homeless man who told them it was his birthday. She and her teammates sang him "Happy Birthday," then asked him to join hands in prayer.

"He cried and told us no one had sung him 'Happy Birthday' in 40 years," Biffle said.

"He also told us he had not prayed in so long, he couldn't remember the last time he did."

Staying warm
Though homeless people are scattered well beyond Detroit, the city's central business district is a haven for homeless people seeking support during the day and a shelter or warm spot at night.

No one knows exactly how many homeless people are in downtown Detroit. A one-night survey last January by the nonprofit Homeless Action Network of Detroit found 2,600 people in shelters in Detroit's downtown and Midtown neighborhoods and another 350 on the street and in other non-shelter locations.

Downtown, homeless men outnumber homeless women, though women and kids who beg for People Mover coins sometimes can ride the trains at night to stay warm, Carsten said.

Though many have mental illness and substance abuse problems, others are chronically unemployed, such as Luther Mayes, 48. Each year, though, he usually gets part-time work during Detroit's auto show. He's trying to hold on until then.

Mayes said he splits time living with aunts, or he stays in places he finds for the night. On Monday, he found a secluded spot at the Renaissance Center where he slept unnoticed.

He accepted a pair of fresh white socks and a hat from the Compuware volunteers at the library and returned to the reading room to seek out job leads on the Internet.

Antonio Nunn, 30, alternates homeless shelters, which may typically make residents leave in the daytime as they prepare for the next night. Nunn goes daily to the Skillman branch. Recently, the branch added movies every Tuesday at 2 p.m. because so many homeless people spend much of their day there.

Carol Hale, assistant manager of the Skillman branch, said the staff added the movies because they understand their building is one of the few indoor places downtown where homeless people can stay safe and warm for hours during the day.

"Essentially, we're a heating and cooling shelter," she said. "They can stay all day as long as they don't go to sleep or break the rules, like talking loud or eating in the library."

Metro Solutions Announces 2011 Mini-Grant Recipients

October 21, 2011 - Wayne County, Michigan – As a part of their 7th annual meeting and networking luncheon held Friday at Habib's Cuisine in Dearborn, Michigan, Metro Solutions, a financial intermediary, announced the recipients of their 2010 mini-grant awards.

The Metro Solutions Mini-Grant Program is an annual initiative that provides funding to organizations involved in the development and implementation of projects in the fields of disease prevention and management, workplace safety, and health education and wellness.

The 2011 recipients are:

• Alternatives for Girls
• Downtown Detroit Circle of Care
• Heritage Works
• Lions Hearing Center of Michigan
• M.O.O.R.E. Community Council, Inc.
• Oakwood Inkster Teen Health Center
  

Renée Ahee, Board President and Joy Calloway, Director of Community Programs at St. Joseph Mercy Oakland Hospital, announced the grant recipients at the event. The keynote speaker was Donna Murray-Brown, Senior Director, Capacity Building, and Director, Metro Detroit Partnership, of the Michigan Nonprofit Association.

Dealing with a continued unprecedented request for funding during the past two years, and with need at an all time high in Wayne County, Metro Solutions continues its partnership for its annual community “mini-grant” effort from one of its largest non-profit clients, Wayne County Four Star Health.

For more information feel free to contact rosek@metrosolutions.us

Metro Solutions Announces 7th Annual Meeting & Minigrant Awards

September 21, 2011 – Metro Solutions is pleased to announce plans for its 7th Annual Meeting & Minigrant Awards Celebration planned for October 21st at Habib's Cuisine, in Dearborn, Michigan. 

Metro Solutions, working with its partner and mini grant sponsor Wayne County Four Star Health for this effort, plan to announce the 2011 Mini-grant recipients publicly at that event. The grant program exists to promote health and wellness in Wayne County by providing access to healthcare for at risk populations with limited or no access to healthcare prevention, screening and treatment due to these common challenges: physical, cultural, linguistic, financial, socioeconomic, domestic, or transportation.

In addition, keynote speaker Donna Murray-Brown, Senior Director, Capacity Building and Director, Metro Detroit Partnership will address those attending.

The networking event has been well attended in the past and is via invitation only.

Applications for 2011 Mini-grants

May 5, 2011 – Metro Solutions is pleased to announce that we are now accepting applications for our 2011 Mini-Grant program. We are proud to work with our partner and mini grant sponsor Wayne County Four Star Health for this effort.

The Metro Solutions Mini-Grant Program is an annual initiative that provides funding to public and private organizations involved in the development and completion of projects in the fields of disease prevention and management, workplace safety, and health education and wellness.

The grant program exists to promote health and wellness in Wayne County by providing access to healthcare for at risk populations with limited or no access to healthcare prevention, screening and treatment due to these common challenges: physical, cultural, linguistic, financial, socio-economic, domestic, or transportation.

Individual awards for this year will range from $2,500 to $15,000. Applications to support existing projects are judged on the impact or potential gain from the use of Mini-Grant funds.

Metro Solutions Announces 2010 Mini-Grant Recipients

October 18, 2010 – Wayne County, Michigan – As a part of their 6th annual meeting and networking luncheon held Friday at the Fairlane Club in Dearborn, Michigan, Metro Solutions, a financial intermediary, announced the recipients of their 2010 mini-grant awards.

The Metro Solutions Mini-Grant Program is an annual initiative that provides funding to organizations involved in the development and implementation of projects in the fields of disease prevention and management, workplace safety, and health education and wellness.

The 2010 recipients are:

• Cabrini Clinic
• Hamtramck School-Based Health Center
• Joy-Southfield Community Development Corporation
• Society of St. Vincent de Paul of the Archdiocese of Detroit
• St. Christine Christian Service

Renée Ahee, Board President and Tonya Allen, Board Treasurer, announced the grant recipients at the event. The keynote speaker was Dr. Robert Jackson, MD, MMM, Southeast Michigan Health Information Exchange and a video message of support submitted by United States Senator Debbie Stabenow.

Dealing with an unprecedented request for funding during 2010, and with need at an all time high in Wayne County, Metro Solutions sought a partnership for its annual community “mini-grant” effort from one of its largest non-profit clients, Wayne County Four Star Health.

Metro Solutions plans to continue to provide funding opportunities to smaller non-profit organizations within the healthcare field – issuing mini-grants on a yearly basis. Eligibility is limited to Wayne County organizations and institutions primarily serving Wayne County residents and employees. The grant program exists to promote health and wellness in Wayne County by facilitating access to healthcare for vulnerable populations with limited or no access to healthcare prevention, screening and treatment due to these common challenges: physical, cultural, linguistic, financial, socio-economic, domestic, or transportation.

Metro Solutions is a Wayne County, Michigan non-profit organization. It was established in 2003 to provide organizational and operational support to tax-exempt hospitals, to form strategic partnerships with health care supporters and sponsors statewide, and to fund and promote programs that deliver quality health care to the uninsured and underinsured in the metro Detroit area.  Additional Information about Metro Solutions is available by calling Rose Khalifa, Executive Director at:  313 963-8383, or by e-mail at Rosek@metrosolutions.us.  Metro Solutions is located at 243 W. Congress, Suite 350, Detroit, Michigan  48226.

Metro Solutions Announces Wayne County Four Star Health Support for its 2010 Mini- Grant Program

August 20, 2010 -  Detroit, Michigan –With need at an all time high in Wayne County, Metro Solutions, a Wayne County, Michigan non-profit organization, has received sponsorship for its annual community “mini-grant” effort from one of its largest non-profit clients, Wayne County Four Star Health.

The Metro Solutions Mini-Grant Program is an annual initiative that provides funding for the development and implementation of projects in the fields of disease prevention and management, workplace safety, and health education and wellness.

The annual program, which awards multiple grants between $5,000 to $20,000, helps to facilitate access to healthcare for vulnerable populations with limited or no access to healthcare prevention, screening and treatment due to these common challenges: physical, cultural, linguistic, financial, socio-economic, domestic or transportation.

The cooperative effort for this year’s mini-grant program, ties Wayne County Four Star Health, along with its operating partners at Oakwood Healthcare System, Henry Ford Health System, St. John Providence Health System and the Detroit Medical Center to the annual program of community grants awarded by Metro Solutions. Wayne County Four Star Health is a community based not-for-profit organization developed to provide affordable employer based health coverage.

During the 2010 grant application period, Metro Solutions received over $500,000 in grant requests, which precipitated the need to expand available fund sources to these grass roots programs. In prior years awards have been granted to organizations such as Advantage Health Centers, Bridging Communities, CHASS Center, Sand Castles Grief & Support Program and YouthVille Detroit.

This year’s grant recipients will be honored at Metro Solutions’ annual meeting on October 15, at the Fairlane Club, in Dearborn. Senator Debbie Stabenow will once again deliver an address at the event.

Additional information about this year’s mini-grant program is available by calling Rose Khalifa, Executive Director, at:  313 963-8383, or on their website at

http://www.metrosolutions.us.  Metro Solutions is located at 243 W. Congress, Suite 350, Detroit, Michigan 48226. Metro Solutions’ mission is to serve as a fiscal intermediary that enables diverse community service providers to acquire funds and maximize their resources. Metro Solutions supports its clients’ contributions to communities and helps to advance community well being. More information on Wayne County Four Star can be found at www.waynecountyfourstar.org.

Metro Solutions Announces 2010 Grant Opportunities

April 20, 2010 - Metro Solutions, a Wayne County, Michigan non-profit organization has announced open applications for its 2010 Mini-Grant Program. Metro Solutions Mini-grant program is an annual initiative that provides funding to public and private organizations involved in the development and implementation of projects in the fields of disease prevention and management, workplace safety, and health education and wellness. Individual awards for 2010 will range from $5,000 to $20,000.

Metro's Mini-grant Program was established in 2003 to provide organizational and operational support to tax-exempt hospitals, to form strategic partnerships with health care supporters and sponsors statewide, and to fund and promote programs that deliver quality health care to the uninsured and underinsured in the metro Detroit area.

In 2009, Metro Solutions Mini-grant recipients included:

• Advantage Health Centers
• Bridging Communities, Inc.
• CHASS Center, Inc.
• HealthChoice Diabetes Education & Prevention Initiative
• Infant Mortality Program
• Oakwood Cancer Center Transportation for Seniors
• Sand Castles Grief & Support Program
• YouthVille Detroit

Metro Solutions mini-grant eligibility is limited to Wayne County organizations and institutions primarily serving Wayne County residents and employees. The grant program exists to promote health and wellness in Wayne County by facilitating access to healthcare for vulnerable populations with limited or no access to healthcare prevention, screening and treatment due to these common challenges: physical, cultural, linguistic, financial, socio-economic, domestic, or transportation.

Additional Information about this year's mini-grant program is available by calling Rose Khalifa, Executive Director at: 313 963-8383, or on their website at http://www.metrosolutions.us. Metro Solutions is located at 243 W. Congress, Suite 350, Detroit, Michigan 48226.

Metro Solutions Announces 2009 Grant Recipients

October 23 , 2009 Dearborn, Michigan - As a part of their 5th annual meeting and networking luncheon held today at the Fairlane Club in Dearborn, Michigan, Metro Solutions, a financial intermediary, announced the recipients of their 2009 grant awards.

Metro Solutions is a Michigan non-profit organization. It was established in 2003 to provide organizational and operational support to tax-exempt hospitals, to form strategic partnerships with health care supporters and sponsors statewide. According to Rose Khalifa, executive director, "Our goal is to fund and promote programs that improve access to services for the vulnerable population in the metro Detroit area."

The Metro Solutions Mini-Grant Program is an annual initiative that provides funding to public and private organizations involved in the development and implementation of projects in the fields of disease prevention and management, workplace safety, and health education and wellness.

This year's recipients are:

• Advantage Health Centers
• Bridging Communities, Inc.
• CHASS Center, Inc.
• HealthChoice Diabetes Education & Prevention Initiative
• Infant Mortality Program
• Oakwood Cancer Center Transportation for Seniors
• Sand Castles Grief & Support Program
• YouthVille Detroit

The grant recipients were announced by Renée Ahee, board treasurer of Metro Solutions and Joy D. Calloway, Board President. A video message of support was submitted by United States Senator Debbie Stabenow, and the event's keynote speaker was Sister Mary Ellen Howard, Executive Director of St. Francis Cabrini Clinic.

Metro Solutions plans to continue to provide funding opportunities to smaller non-profit organizations within the healthcare field - issuing mini-grants on a yearly basis. Eligibility is limited to Wayne County organizations and institutions primarily serving Wayne County residents and employees. The grant program exists to promote health and wellness in Wayne County by facilitating access to healthcare for people with limited or no access to healthcare prevention, screening and treatment due to these common challenges: physical, cultural, linguistic, financial, socio-economic, domestic, or transportation.

Additional Information about Metro Solutions is available by calling Rose Khalifa, Executive Director at: 313 963-8383, or by e-mail at Rosek@metrosolutions.us. Metro Solutions is located at 243 W. Congress, Suite 350, Detroit, Michigan 48226.

Metro Health Services is now Metro Solutions

May 5, 2009 - In a prepared release issued today from their offices in Detroit, Metro HealthCare Services, Inc., a financial intermediary, announced a company name change to Metro Solutions.

The name change demonstrates the expanding services now being offered by this non-profit to local organizations that require third party involvement in the administration of received public and private funds.

According to Rose Khalifa, who remains as executive director, "In addition to current clients in the healthcare field, Metro Solutions will begin to support the efforts of non-profit foundations, universities, social service agencies, and local municipalities."

Metro Solutions supports its nonprofit clients' financial reporting requirements which advances community and economic development goals, and works to fill the overall need for capitalization of organizations in this sector.

Metro Solution's mission is to serve as a fiscal intermediary that enables diverse community service providers to acquire funds and maximize their resources. They intend to grow into a preferred organization that not only sets the pace in fiduciary responsibility for fund management in the region - but also to identify and capture additional streams of revenue to further the development of the people in the community and neighbors its clients serve.

They plan to continue to provide funding opportunities to smaller non-profit organizations within the healthcare field - issuing mini-grants on a yearly basis - with applications for funding available on their website at www.metrosolutions.us.

Metro will continue collaborations and partnerships with the area's best health systems, including St. John Health, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit Medical Center, and Oakwood Healthcare System as well as Detroit Wayne County Health Authority and Health Management Associates.

Metro Solutions current clients include Wayne County Four Star Health - a community based not-for-profit organization developed to provide affordable, basic health coverage; Wayne County HealthChoice of Michigan - a managed care program that provides health care benefits to Wayne County residents, small businesses, their employees and families; Wayne County Health and Human Services Department - who offer Wayne County residents a wide range of services, such as immunization and public health information, mental health services, information on health care for small businesses, Head Start program details, and many other countywide services.

Additional Information about Metro Solutions is available by calling Rose Khalifa, Executive Director at: 313 963-8383, or by e-mail atrosek@metrosolutions.us. Metro Solutions is located at 243 W. Congress, Suite 350, Detroit, Michigan 48226.