MeHAF Makes Grants to Educate Migrant Workers, New Americans about Available Health Benefits
August 17, 2011
--Funding a part of broader outreach effort on new benefits--
MeHAF has awarded grants to two Maine nonprofits to educate diverse communities about eligibility for health benefits under the year-old national Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The grants will also support communication efforts addressing recent changes in MaineCare (Medicaid) eligibility which may be different for certain populations depending upon resident and immigration status in the US.
MeHAF has granted $4,770 to the Maine Migrant Health Program, a mobile medical program delivering health care services statewide to migrant workers in the fields and farms across Maine. Partnering with Milbridge-based Mano en Mano, in a program titled REinFORMA! the Maine Migrant Health Program will create and distribute Spanish and Kreyol language resources for farm workers and family members in Washington, Aroostook and Kennebec Counties.
MeHAF also granted $5000 to the Somali Culture and Development Association (MESOM) in Portland which will work with specific Somali and Muslim communities in greater Portland and in Lewiston. The nonprofit will offer outreach programs in Somali and Afghan mosques in Portland, and through an Iraqi mosque in Biddeford. In addition to community meetings and informal outreach, MESOM will publish information in a newsletter distributed to the Somali community.
These new MeHAF grants will complement the ongoing work of ten additional organizations across the state, awarded a total of $344,500 in 2010, who are reaching out to constituents about new benefits and eligibility under the Affordable Care Act.