UTICA — ICAN announced the receipt of an Excellus BCBS Health Equity Award to support Evelyn’s House — ICAN’s joint transitional and rapid rehousing program for homeless women, aged 16-24, who are pregnant and/or parenting. 

Excellus BCBS Health Equity Award funding supports underserved populations with health disadvantages due to race, ethnicity, disability, sex, gender and/or rural disparities. Award categories include, but are not limited to, improving the community’s physical health and mental health, reducing social disparities in health care, and ensuring access to health care services. Grant recipients were selected based on clear, defined goals and measurable results for reducing health disparities and improving health equity.

“We are proud to further our commitment to health equity by supporting ICAN’s Evelyn’s House program,” said Eve Van de Wal, regional president of Excellus BlueCross BlueShield. “Their work helps reduce inequities among communities of color by providing access to safe, nurturing transitional housing and support services in a racial and culturally competent environment.”

ICAN officials say the award will help Evelyn’s House accomplish three goals:

• Raise awareness about Evelyn’s House in communities of color to increase access through a social media and community-based marketing campaign.
• Continue to deepen Evelyn’s House staff’s understanding and inclusion of racially and culturally relevant practices by engaging in trainings on racial equity, maternal health, and housing programs.
• Elevate the voices of recent Evelyn’s House graduates by expanding its current Evelyn’s House Graduate Peer Support Program, through which those who have graduated from the program to live independently in the community are compensated to serve as peer mentors to current residents.

“Evelyn’s House is one of ICAN’s most unique offerings and our only residential program,” ICAN CEO/Executive Director Steven Bulger adds. “Diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging work threads throughout all of our agency’s work and is a continued commitment in our strategic planning and emphasized in every day care for our clients, staff and culture. To be able to utilize this generous grant from Excellus BCBS to advance both will make an impactful difference for us.”