Natrona Collective Health Trust Awards $235K To Local Nonprofits

The Natrona Collective Health Trust recently announced the allocation of $235,000 in grants to eight local nonprofit organizations through its Justice-Involved Participatory Grantmaking (PGM) cycle.

Grant awards were determined by a diverse group of justice-involved individuals who used their lived experiences to guide the distribution of funds to organizations that best support their peers.

The following organizations were selected for their commitment to serving justice-involved individuals through essential services that affect their health and wellbeing, such as housing, transportation, mental health support or peer-to-peer assistance:

• Community Action Partnership of Natrona County
• Central Wyoming Counseling Center
• Kind Grounds
• CHA Cares
• Wyoming 211
• Hope House
• Thrive Together Initiative
• Fireside Collective

The justice-involved expert panel selected recipients based on factors including effectiveness, grant matching, evidence-based practices, duplication of services and reporting capabilities.

Participant James Lancaster said the number of services available to help inmates transition into life outside of jail was promising, such as the life skills educational materials that the Thrive Together Initiative will use in detention center classes. Lancaster is currently in school to become a counselor, and he believes that teaching personal development and socialization are critical competencies that often go overlooked among this population. “If you’ve spent most of your life doing the wrong thing, you don’t know how to do the right thing. You don’t know how to fill out an application, or you don’t know how to have a conversation without swearing,” he said.

The scope of funded projects was broad. Some grant recipients are funding comprehensive, holistic projects like the Central Wyoming Counseling Center’s initiative to assist in intensive outpatient programs in the detention center. Others focused on delivering a single service, like Wyoming 211’s redeployment of a program to offer free Lyft rides to medical and other appointments for vulnerable populations, including the justice involved.

“More than $1 million was requested by 11 different Natrona County nonprofits, which shows just how much our community needs these vital services,” said Kristy Oster, Natrona Collective Health Trust Director of Community Engagement. “Our PGM participants know what works, so they were solely responsible for selecting which programs would be most impactful to their peers.”

This PGM cycle is part of a broader initiative by the Trust to empower those with lived experience in decision-making processes that affect their communities. This ensures that resources are directed to services and programs that most effectively meet the needs that exist.

“Twenty years ago, it was, ‘Here’s some medication and a sobriety book. Good luck,’” Lancaster said. “Now, we’re moving in this holistic direction, and that direction gives me hope.”

The Trust remains committed to building a safer and healthier community through innovative approaches like participatory grantmaking. This initiative is one of several efforts aimed at reducing recidivism, improving health outcomes, and fostering a more supportive environment for all residents of Natrona County.