UNITED WAY OF THE NATIONAL CAPITAL AREA

United way nca's thrive united 365 health program provides equitable access to the distribution of health resources and improves people's lives by addressing health conditions most affecting its communities. Adopting a community-based public health intervention model, the program supports prevention and care management strategies to create low-barrier health resource access points for communities facing enduring health disparities. This place-based work includes equitable access to covid-19 response programs, diabetes prevention and management, and mental health first aid. In 2023-24, united way nca and partner organizations engaged 744 people to receive covid-19 testing, vaccines and education events. United way nca engaged more than 3,500 people to learn more about the risks of chronic health conditions and receive tests to assess their health needs. The program also built and distributed 3,780 kits containing food, clothing, and hygiene supplies. United way nca also provided $2,583,934.80 in prescription savings to 22,624 individuals and families across the region. United way nca's education initiatives provide high-quality resources through the community school model to support students and young adults in realizing their academic and training goals. United way nca partners with seven community schools designated as title i schools. Title i schools receive federal financial assistance with high percentages of children from families with low income and 80% of students are recipients of free and reduced meals (farms). The community schools initiative supports a place-based strategy in which each school partners with community agencies and allocates resources to provide an integrated focus on academics, health and social services, youth and community development, and community engagement. This strategy aims to support community schools located in neighborhoods where structural forces linked to racism and poverty shape the experiences of young people and erect barriers to learning and school success. The seven community schools that united way nca partners with are based in communities where families have few resources to supplement what typical schools provide. Through united way nca's community schools, 3,921 students were served addressing attendance, behavior and course performance. For over 300 youth facing the most significant chronic learning challenges, they received individualized intensive services and showed consistent improvement on all indicators. This includes 84% improvement in attendance goal, 73% improvement in math and language arts goal, and 78% in attaining social-emotional learning and career readiness goals. This is in part due to the more than 11,000 aggregated contact hours of community school coordinators engaging students and families in academic and wraparound services. This translates to an additional 1.5 hour of engagement per school day.