Neighbors Along the Line Inc.

PROJECT PURPOSE

The primary goal of the Food Pantry is to prevent clients from experiencing hunger and food insecurity, by providing fresh healthy items for meal preparation. The elevated levels of food insecurity experienced by our neighbors have compounding effects on their ability to break free from the cycle poverty. The primary goal of the Medical Clinic is to provide quality, free, medical care to uninsured patients. Our priority is to first meet the immediate medical needs and then work on maintaining patient health. Our clinic removes the need for patients to have to choose between their health and other needed expenses. Our Education program has the ability to create a path of success for many of our clients. The goal for our Education program is to make obtaining a GED possible for anyone interested in furthering his or her education, and to work closely with local schools to improve educational performance through tutoring and mentoring. Our framework for understanding our community allows us access to help establish client households in ways that produce stability and improve their quality of life. The unique mix of programs provide us with the means to impact the community in ways that produce sustainable outcomes.

EVIDENCE

Our agency follows a community health center logic model, in which we are a safety net anchor to our underserved community. Our evaluation is directly correlated with the number of households we impact by providing healthy food, healthcare, and educational support. We use this framework to develop programs and strategies that better quality of life for low-income residents, improve organizational outcomes and positively impact systems at the community level; while fostering cross-sector collaboration. Reducing the social costs of poverty, strengthening the workforce and building a healthy, sustainable community is our vision and a goal in which most communities agree.

POPULATION DESCRIPTION

The challenge that our community faces is multi-faceted. Factors contributing to the cycle of poverty include food insecurity, low food access, low income and low access to health care. According to data from the Census Bureau and the USDA, our primary service area census tract faces severe levels of poverty, relative to Tulsa County averages. The elevated levels of food insecurity experienced by our neighbors have compounding effects on their ability to lift themselves from poverty. Experiencing the debilitating effects of hunger, it is nearly impossible for children to focus on school or for adults to take the necessary steps to improve their socio-economic situations. Lack of access to food also threatens the physical health of our neighbors, which can be devastating for those with limited access to health care. 22.0% of area residents do not have health insurance, which is considerably higher than the Tulsa County average of 14.0%. The coronavirus pandemic has only exacerbated the challenges facing those living in poverty, making the need for our services at Neighbors increasingly vital.

PERFORMANCE MEASURING

We are a charter member of the AssistOK data team, which has designed a multi-agency shared database system. This tool is designed to better track client outcomes, and also help refer clients to partner agencies that offer services that meet client needs. Our database metrics allow us to track every household served, along with each family member residing in the household. Our EMR allows us to track patient outcomes and provides a system of continuity of care. Our GED software has metrics to track student performance, and tailor lessons that prepare students for successful test examination.

ONGOING INVESTMENT AMOUNT

$

ONGOING INVESTMENT DESCRIPTION

None

ONGOING INVESTMENT REQUIRED

Able to continue operation without additional funding from the State of Oklahoma