CICOA receives $25,000 grant from Faith & Action Project

A new program funded by this grant brings social services and faith communities together

The Christian Theological Seminary Faith & Action Project has awarded a grant of $25,000 to CICOA Aging & In-Home Solutions for the Compassion Connect program, which will leverage relationships older residents have with their churches to close care gaps in underserved communities.

CICOA will embed a Community Health Worker to hold office hours in three partner faith communities (St. Mark Catholic Church, Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church and Living Word Baptist Church) to help older adults and church members access community services and resources that allow them to remain independent, safe and healthy in their own homes.

“When older residents face challenges with their health, independence or quality of life, they often turn to their faith community for assistance or hope,” said Tauhric Brown, president and CEO of CICOA. “By partnering with faith communities through initiatives like Compassion Connect, we can create a powerful network of support and essential resources to help older adults thrive in their own homes.”

The Faith & Action Project awarded grants totaling $115,000 to five organizations this year, with a focus on efforts aimed at breaking the cycle of poverty in Indianapolis.

“The initiatives receiving grants this year expose the truth that poverty affects a wide range of people – people of all ages, in various neighborhoods and with diverse ethnicities and backgrounds,” said Faith & Action Director Lindsey Nell Rabinowitch. “Tackling such a multifaceted problem requires ambitious, sustainable and compassionate efforts, and we are humbled to support those kinds of initiatives with this year’s grants.”

Launched in 2016, the Faith & Action Project at Christian Theological Seminary is supported by the Mike and Sue Smith Family Fund, Pettigrew Fund, The Indianapolis Foundation and Lumina Foundation as a multiyear effort to help reduce poverty in Indianapolis. In addition to providing grants, the Faith & Action Project holds community-wide events and attracts national poverty experts to Central Indiana.

About the Faith & Action Project

The Christian Theological Seminary Faith & Action Project is dedicated to helping to spark a revolution of hope by leveraging resources of communities of faith to connect, inspire and empower lasting solutions for people confronting poverty. Through annual public events and grants, the Faith & Action Project seeks to ignite a solution-oriented movement for inclusive well-being in our community. Additional information about CTS is available at www.cts.edu.