FOUNDATION FOR THE MID SOUTH INC

Healthy opportunities:the foundation advanced both mental health and physical health equity in 2024: - mental health leadership: fms intern john r. Walker was appointed to the mississippi k-12 and postsecondary mental health task force, established through senate bill 2727. He is the only youth representative statewide, a notable example of fms's leadership cultivation model. - partnership with mississippi department of health (mdh):--integrated fms's reentry resource guide (rrg) into the mdh statewide website.--expanded chw (community health worker) training and ce1tification efforts for community-based workforce expansion.- philanthropic alignment:--collaborated with the robert wood johnson foundation (rwjf) on health equity concept notes.--secured $25,000 from julie h walker legacy foundation for student emergency medical training.impact: these partnerships positioned fms as a key intermediary for public health capacity-building in underserved communities, especially through workforce-linked health initiatives.

Community engagement and events:under the trht framework, fms supported six community partners-millsaps college, jackson state university, tougaloo college, mission mississippi, neshoba youth coalition, and the alluvial collective-to design and lead local racial healing programs: - reach: over 800 participants statewide, spanning community dialogues, storytelling circles, and symposia. - highlights:--millsaps college hosted juneteenth st01ytelling forums exploring economic equity.--mission mississippi led "one community" dialogues across biloxi, hattiesburg, and picayune.--tougaloo college convened "rooted in resilience" fireside chats on black agricultural equity.--the alluvial collective addressed jackson's water crisis through environmental justice roundtables. - trht media project:--partnered with jacksonian media to document racial healing events; four major recordings were completed and archived (june-july 2024). - evaluation: evaluator rodney washington received national recognition as a robert wood johnson foundation culture of health leader, elevating the profile of the mississippi trht initiative.