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CareOregon invests $400,000 to support Rockwood community

PORTLAND, Ore. — Today, CareOregon announced that it is investing $400,000 in four social services organizations serving the Rockwood area as part of its inaugural corporate giving grant cycle. Selected grantees are located on a centralized campus, alongside the CareOregon Boys & Girls Club at Rockwood, and serve as a one stop shop for families to access wrap around support services.

These investments are part of CareOregon’s mission to bridge partnerships in the community and create opportunities to support a growing Rockwood. Grants were awarded to Latino Network, HOLLA School, Open School and New Avenues for Youth, each of whom serve specific needs in the community.

“Our community partners in the Rockwood neighborhood are on the frontlines of addressing the critical challenges this community faces, including poverty and houselessness,” said Ifeoma Muoto, Director of Community Health Partnerships. “Investing in these efforts, in collaboration with our partners, is an important way CareOregon can be part of meaningful solutions to bring about lasting change.”

The Rockwood area is home to the highest concentration of Oregon Health Plan members in the state of Oregon and highest concentration of youth under the age of 19 in the metro region. In 2021, CareOregon was honored to make a significant 10-year investment in the Boys & Girls Club of Portland Metropolitan Area—resulting in the organization’s Rockwood Club becoming the CareOregon Boys & Girls Club at Rockwood.

This corporate giving cycle provided an opportunity to make further investments in the Rockwood Campus by financially supporting all other community-based organizations co-located with CareOregon Boys & Girls Club.

Through this grant cycle, CareOregon invested $250,000 in Latino Network’s La Plaza Esperanza. The plaza will provide wraparound services in health and wellness, education and economic development and will expand the impact and reach of services in areas of high need, such as mental health and family counseling and immigration services. Importantly, it will also offer access to culturally specific preschool for the area’s burgeoning Latinx community.

“Support has been tremendous since the start of the campaign to build La Plaza Esperanza and the grant from CareOregon is a huge boost for our effort,” said Juan Martinez, Director of Development at Latino Network. “It sends a signal that investment in a thriving Latino community is key to a brighter future for the whole region.”

CareOregon also provided $50,000 to New Avenues for Youth to hire an additional after-hours crisis coordinator that will provide immediate crisis intervention and stabilization for youth ages 9-17 who are accessing emergency housing and shelter services, among other resources.

Additionally, HOLLA School, a charter school in the Reynolds School District focused on supporting students of color, received $50,000 to expand and scale capacity for their mentorship program; and Open School, an alternative high school for students needing a more supportive learning environment, also received $50,000 to expand student mental health services.

In addition to making financial investments, CareOregon has embraced its role as a campus partner by dedicating staff time and resources. Staff have spent volunteer hours cleaning up the campus and surrounding neighborhood, including at a spring cleanup event in partnership with SOLVE. CareOregon also piloted a free CSA program in partnership with Mudbone Grown, a Black owned farm in east county, to increase access to healthy foods in Rockwood and surrounding communities.

“We are committed to working alongside our partners to build a stronger Rockwood,” Muoto, said. “Our hope is that our investments will support each of these organizations that provide an essential service to the community and increase the availability of wraparound resources that meet the specific yet diverse needs of individuals and families in this region.”

About CareOregon

For more than 25 years, CareOregon has offered health services and community benefit programs to Oregon Health Plan members. Today, we support the needs of more than 500,000 Oregonians through three coordinated care organizations, a Medicare Advantage plan, a Tribal Care Coordination program, a dental care organization, and in-home medical care with Housecall Providers. CareOregon members have access to integrated physical, dental and mental health care, and substance use treatment. We believe that good health requires more than clinics and hospitals, so we also connect members to housing, fresh food, education and transportation services. CareOregon is a mission-driven, community-based nonprofit with offices in Portland, Medford and Seaside, Oregon.