Neuro-focused foundation awards $360,000 to 5 projects tackling pervasive needs

RICHMOND, Va. - Jan. 25, 2021 - PRLog -- Adira Foundation awarded $360,000 to five projects across the country that will actively address some of the most pervasive needs seen collectively by people impacted by the neurodegenerative diseases Adira currently targets: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, Huntington's disease, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease.

The five nonprofits—Bangor (Maine) Region YMCA, Compassionate Care ALS, Chronic Care Collaborative, Family Caregiver Alliance and I AM ALS—are grantees of Adira's second round of competitive funding, its Fall 2020 Pervasive Needs Grants.

The program set out to award $250,000 around three cross-cutting, under-addressed priorities. Listening sessions with people most impacted by these five diseases identified top needs and then grantees of Adira's first round of grants, an emergency response to COVID-19 prioritized them to: improving caregiver mental health, easing the coordination of care, and sharing resources within communities.

Founder/CEO Greg Smiley said they convened all 12 grantees and asked: Which needs are urgent yet seem relatively untouched? He said: "Some issues are so deep, entrenched, or expensive that they may be too big for anyone to own."

Seeing the urgency of need and quality of submissions they allocated more, $360,000.

He said: "The projects are set up to make progress on the issues like caregiving and finding your way through the health care system—issues COVID-19 has clearly exacerbated for our whole nation, but especially for people with highly complex diseases."

Projects will run through Dec. 31.

Bangor Region YMCA will pull together extensive existing programming for people with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's in Central and Eastern Maine—arts, exercise, a speaker series, nutrition, etc.—into one, holistic care coordination program, and will serve as a model for other Ys to replicate.

Compassionate Care ALS will offer an opportunity for current and former ALS families nationally to volunteer as caregivers for other families through a structured, community-building training program. It includes a two-day intensive workshop discussing end-of-life work, language, grieving and trauma.

Chronic Care Collaborative will establish a navigation and assistance network for Coloradans impacted by ALS, Alzheimer's/related dementias, Huntington's, MS, and Parkinson's, focused on cost savings by maximizing extensive community resources and healthcare benefits.

Family Caregiver Alliance will pilot an education and direct support program for caregivers of people with ALS, Alzheimer's/related dementias, Huntington's, MS and Parkinson's in the San Francisco Bay area. FCA will host listening sessions and translate curriculum into six languages.

I AM ALS will scale the national I AM ALS Navigation program and build two complementary initiatives: the Peer Support Initiative, to connect patients and caregivers, and the Caregivers Platform, an online tool to find affordable home healthcare workers with ALS experience.

Visit https://adirafoundation.org/programs/grants to learn more.