Dane County Announces 2018 Partners in Equity Grant Recipients
October 02, 2018
Dane County Board of Supervisors: 608-266-5758
County Executive
MADISON – Five local agencies have been selected to receive the Tamara D. Grigsby Office of Equity and Inclusion’s 2018 Partners in Equity (PIE) Grants, including the first PIE – Food grant in partnership with the Dane County Food Council, Dane County Executive Joe Parisi and Dane County Board Chair Sharon Corrigan announced today.
“Dane County is honored to partner with this year’s grant recipients to support their work to address racial inequities and food insecurity for communities of color,” said Dane County Executive Joe Parisi. “This year’s recipients have proven that, through partnership, we can ensure opportunity for all.”
“As Dane County works to advance communities often unheard, innovations unheralded, and unique partnerships, I am delighted to congratulate the winners of the 2018 Partners In Equity award,” said Dane County Board Chair Sharon Corrigan. “Criminal justice improvements and overall community wellness will be enriched by the awardees.”
Two agencies were selected to receive a PIE grant for proposals intended to address systemic racial inequities in the criminal justice system.
The Focused Interruption Coalition will receive $40,000 to provide a culturally relevant, community-based peer support reentry program. Their program will focus on supporting individuals of color who are returning to the community after incarceration to break the cycle of recidivism, and work to close Dane County disparity gap. Their program will offer sustainable, evidence-based reentry coordinated, cognitive behavioral intervention, supported housing, supported employment, and peer mentoring support opportunities.
The Dane County TimeBank will receive $10,000 to support its Youth Court program, an alternative to municipal citations that is offered throughout Madison High Schools. Madison high school youth are diverted from the traditional municipal court process in an effort to reduce disproportionate rates of contact with the system amongst youth of color.
Three agencies were selected to receive the first-ever PIE-Food grants for proposals to increase access to healthy food, land on which to grow food, and/or food waste and recovery. Each PIE-Food grant that was awarded totaled $5,000.
The Badger Prairie Needs Network (BPNN) was selected for their proposal to move surplus food from commercial food service operations to the BPNN for packaging and re-distribution to local food pantries throughout the area. The target population for the project is individuals with low-income, the elderly, communities of color, and individuals with disabilities who are experiencing food insecurities.
Community Ground Works will receive a grant to support their Leopold Community School Gardener-in-Residence program to help the school develop, coordinate, and manage its garden. The program is designed to help children learn skills and tools to combat food insecurities.
DSS Community Center Inc. was chosen to receive a grant to support its Youth Employment Training Program (YET). The training program provides persons of color with basic knowledge about gardening by providing hands on experience through training activities at community garden sites. The program employs youth to maintain the gardens and work to increase food security for their families.
To learn more about the Office of Equity and Inclusion and its mission, please visit: https://oei-exec.countyofdane.com/.