Are you seeking an organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of individuals and families in your community? Look no further than Yellowstone Country Assistance Network! Our non-profit is wholeheartedly committed to building a stronger, healthier, and more vigorous community by funding organizations that share our passion for fighting poverty. Join us in our mission and become a part of the transformative impact we’re creating together!

FFY2024 CSBG RFP Park & Hot Springs Counties

PUBLIC NOTICE
Yellowstone Country Assistance Network would like to inform all residents that a public hearing will be held on May 23, 2023, at noon at 606 Greybull Avenue, Greybull, Wyoming, to discuss the proposed CSBG 2024 grant application allocations.
The Yellowstone Country Assistance Network has opened Requests for Proposals for the Community Services Block Grant 2024 program. This program is authorized under Public Law 97-35 [Section 675(c) and (4)]. The Wyoming Community Services Program will decide on the funding for Park County ($131,145.00) and Hot Springs County ($32,11900). These funds are available through a competitive application process for community-based organizations that provide services to low-income individuals and families residing in Park and Hot Springs Counties in Wyoming. 
All interested applicants must apply by Deadline of May 10, 2023. Parties are invited to attend the public hearing May 23, 2023 at noon to express their views, concerns, or support for the proposed grant applications. 
For more information and an application, please contact the CEO, Julie Dunlap, at ycanhelp@protonmail.com 
Contact:
Julie Dunlap, CEO
Yellowstone Country Assistance Network 
Mailing Address: PO Box 600 Basin, Wyoming 82410
Phone: 307-754-2073 Extension 1
Email: ycanhelp@protonmail.com

Annual CSBG Public Hearing

PUBLIC NOTICE
Yellowstone Country Assistance Network would like to inform all residents that a public hearing will be held on May 23, 2023, at noon at 606 Greybull Avenue, Greybull, Wyoming, to discuss the proposed CSBG 2024 grant application allocations.
The Yellowstone Country Assistance Network has opened Requests for Proposals for the Community Services Block Grant 2024 program. This program is authorized under Public Law 97-35 [Section 675(c) and (4)]. The Wyoming Community Services Program will decide on the funding for Park County ($131,145.00) and Hot Springs County ($32,11900). These funds are available through a competitive application process for community-based organizations that provide services to low-income individuals and families residing in Park and Hot Springs Counties in Wyoming. 
All interested applicants must apply by Deadline of May 10, 2023. Parties are invited to attend the public hearing May 23, 2023 at noon to express their views, concerns, or support for the proposed grant applications. 
For more information and an application, please contact the CEO, Julie Dunlap, at ycanhelp@protonmail.com 
Contact:
Julie Dunlap, CEO
Yellowstone Country Assistance Network 
Mailing Address: PO Box 600 Basin, Wyoming 82410
Phone: 307-754-2073 Extension 1
Email: ycanhelp@protonmail.com

2024 CSBG Subgrantee Grant Awards

[FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE]
First Stop Park County Help Center Receives Funding for Part-Time Case Manager
Greybull, Wyoming, May 25, 2023 - The First Stop Park County Help Center, managed by the Heart Mountain Volunteer Medical Clinic, has recently secured funding from YCAN CSBG and other sources to hire a part-time case manager. This is a significant milestone in addressing a critical need identified in the Park County 2023 Community Needs Assessment.
With the new funding, the First Stop Park County Help Center will be able to provide a centralized location for residents to seek assistance more conveniently. The case manager will assist residents in accessing support services that they need, by providing them with guidance and resources. This will be a great relief for residents who have been struggling to navigate various programs and services in the community.
"We are thrilled to have secured this funding, which will allow us to provide better assistance to our residents," said Amanda Brengle, Director of the Heart Mountain Volunteer Medical Clinic. "The addition of a part-time case manager will go a long way in helping our residents access the support services they need."
The First Stop Park County Help Center has been a vital resource for the community, providing a range of services to residents in need. With the new funding, the center is poised to expand and enhance its services, providing more comprehensive support to those who need it the most.
For more information, please contact Julie Dunlap at ycanhelp@protonmail.com.
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The 2023 Community Assessment on Poverty Needs recommends addressing poverty in the community. Yellowstone Country Assistance Network is a small part of a more extensive Social Service Delivery System with limited resources. The County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, Community Strategies, and decision-makers are crucial in addressing each strategy.

Decision Makers:  Government & Community Development 

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grants (CDBGs) fund local community development activities such as affordable housing, anti-poverty programs, and infrastructure development. Federal CDBG funds are provided directly to designated entitlement communities, which include central cities of Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), cities with populations of at least 50,000, and qualified urban counties with populations of 200,000 or more. States also receive federal funds to distribute to their smaller towns and rural counties. Funds must benefit low-income people, prevent or eliminate slums and blight, or meet emergency needs. In addition, communities affected by major natural disasters may receive CDBG funds through special congressional appropriations.

Decision Makers:  Funders, Community Development, & Nonprofits  

“Community land trusts (CLTs) are private, nonprofit organizations that purchase land to lease to residents with low and middle incomes for housing use. CLTs separate ownership of the home and the land it occupies, which reduces the size of a mortgage and lowers monthly mortgage payments1. The land the house is on is leased to homeowners as part of a long-term ground lease, typically for 99 years. CLT agreements require homes to be owner-occupied and stipulate that the house may not be rented out or” flipped” by renovating it for quick resale. As part of their shared equity agreement, homeowners on CLT-owned land must sell the home back to the CLT or another low-income resident at an affordable price when they decide to move. CLTs may also purchase and hold land to support community development, open space efforts, community gardens, and similar initiatives. In addition, CLTs often include stewardship activities such as teaching expectant and new homeowners about finances, alerting them to high-risk loans, and assisting potentially delinquent homeowners.” Community land trusts (CLTs) are private, nonprofit organizations that purchase land to lease to residents with low and middle incomes for housing use. CLTs separate ownership of the home and the land it occupies, which reduces the size of a mortgage and lowers monthly mortgage payments1. The land the house is on is leased to homeowners as part of a long-term ground lease, typically for 99 years. CLT agreements require homes to be owner-occupied and stipulate that the house may not be rented out or “flipped” by renovating it for quick resale. As part of their shared equity agreement, homeowners on CLT-owned land must sell the home back to the CLT or another low-income resident at an affordable price when they decide to move. CLTs may also purchase and hold land to support community development, open space efforts, community gardens, and similar initiatives. In addition, CLTs often include stewardship activities such as teaching expectant and new homeowners about finances, alerting them to high-risk loans, and assisting potentially delinquent homeowners.

Decision Makers:  Government & Community Development 

The HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME), funded by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (US HUD), provides formula grants to states and localities to support activities that build, buy, and rehabilitate affordable housing. Households with low incomes rent or purchase these homes; HOME may also provide families with direct rental assistance. Participating jurisdictions, or PJs, must match every dollar received with 25 cents in funding and determine how to allocate funds; they also often partner with local nonprofits. 

Decision Makers:  Funders, Community Development, & Nonprofits  

Housing First programs address chronic homelessness by providing rapid access to permanent housing without a pre-condition of treatment and ongoing support services such as crisis intervention, need assessment, and case management. A form of permanent supportive housing, the program usually serves individuals who are chronically homeless and have a persistent mental illness or problems with substance abuse and addiction. Clients can be placed in apartments throughout a community or a centralized housing location with on-site support for those requiring more intensive services; clients receive housing regardless of substance use. Unlike standard rapid re-housing programs, there are no time limits for Housing First program participation. 

Decision Makers:  Government & Community Development 

Housing rehabilitation loans and grant programs provide funding to repair, improve, or modernize dwellings and remove health or safety hazards from those dwellings. Programs primarily serve families with low and middle incomes and may prioritize services for households with vulnerable members such as young children and older adults. These programs can adopt a comprehensive housing improvement strategy or focus on individual housing components such as heating and insulation, plumbing, structural concerns, lead, asbestos, or mold. Programs can be focused at local, state, and federal levels.

Decision Makers:  Government, Public Health, Community Members, & Community Development 

Service-enriched housing is permanent, basic rental housing in which social services are available on-site or by referral through a supportive services program or service coordinator. Accommodation and services can be provided by nonprofit, private, or government organizations; housing options can be unsubsidized, government-assisted, mixed-income, or a combination. Programs often support low-income families, older adults, people with disabilities, or veterans. Some service-enriched housing programs also assist families or individuals experiencing homelessness; programs that support households experiencing homelessness are often referred to as permanent supportive housing.

Community Support Strategies for Park and Hot Springs County may include off-hours (non-traditional hours) child care development, transportation system development, transportation services coordination, and support. Evidence from the report indicates that a Community Support Strategy may be an opportunity to address these issues.

Decision Makers:  Business 

Flexible Scheduling: Scheduling allows employees to control some aspects of their schedule. This can include flex time, where workers set their start and end times around a core schedule; flex hours, which allows banking of accumulated hours for future time off; compressed work weeks, such as working 10 hours per day for four days rather than five 8-hour shifts; and self-scheduling of shift work, sometimes used in nursing and manufacturing positions. Voluntary reductions in work weeks, such as temporary transitions to part-time or partial retirement for older workers, are also approaches to flexible Scheduling.

Decision Makers:  Business 

Job-sharing Programs are flexible work arrangements in which a single full-time position is split between two part-time employees, and each part-time employee retains the rights and privileges of the full-time job. Employees receive the same benefits as full-time employees, proportional to their hours worked. Such arrangements are generally initiated at the request of employees.

Decision Makers: Businesses, Educators, Government, Nonprofits  

Youth Apprenticeship Programs provide high school students professional opportunities combining academic and on-the-job training and mentorship. Apprenticeships include classroom-based vocational education related to paid on-the-job work in a high school or technical college setting and connect participants to instructors who also act as mentors. Youth apprenticeships are offered in a variety of fields. Training requirements and applicable government or industry-recognized standards vary by area. Most formalized internships in the United States serve adults who have graduated from high school, often through Registered Apprenticeship programs. 

Decision Makers: Businesses, Educators, Government, Nonprofits  

Bridge programs for hard-to-employ adults Bridge programs for low-skilled, unemployed adults are basic education and training programs that teach fundamental skills (e.g., reading, math, writing, English language, or soft skills) with industry-specific training. Bridge programs can include hands-on courses closely tied to in-demand jobs and may provide additional support for low-income and at-risk students. Programs can be implemented independently but are often included as the first step in career pathways programs or as an early component of sector-based workforce initiatives to increase participants’ skill levels to continue progressing in a career pathway. Programs are also called occupationally contextualized basic education programs.

Decision Makers:  Government 

State courts issue certificates of employability to people with criminal convictions who have met specific standards to help employers and landlords make better-informed decisions about applicants with criminal records. Courts and, sometimes, parole boards can tailor certificates based on an individual’s history and circumstances and may relieve or mitigate some or all consequences of a criminal conviction, such as statute-imposed penalties restricting occupational or business licensing and employment. Certificates may be issued after a set waiting period based on proof of behavior and work history or may be awarded during sentencing to support reentry. Several states’ certificates create an enforceable presumption of rehabilitation and some limit employers’ liability in negligent hiring actions. Some certificates may be available only to individuals convicted of less serious offenses, though several jurisdictions award them to convicted felons. Names of certificates vary by state; examples include certificates of relief, certificates of reentry, certificates of good conduct, certificates of rehabilitation, certificates of qualification for employment, and certificates of recovery. Unlike a pardon or expungement, a certificate does not remove a conviction from a person’s record or relieve a job applicant of the obligation to acknowledge the conviction if asked.

Decision Makers: Government, Public Health, Community Members, & Community Development 

Carpool and rideshare programs help commuters share transportation. Carpools and rideshares can be informal arrangements between individuals, sometimes called casual carpooling, or be formally arranged through dynamic ridesharing programs or other ride-matching services. Employers and state and local governments often support the creation of carpools and vanpools, coordinate ridership, and provide incentives such as preferential parking for participants.

Decision Makers:  Government & Community Development 

Tips for Winning Federal Transportation Grants help organizations seeking federal transportation grants. 

Decision Makers: Healthcare, Public Health 

Chronic disease management programs Chronic disease management (CDM) programs are proactive, organized sets of interventions focused on the needs of a defined population of patients. Program design varies, but CDM programs are usually multi-component efforts that include planned visits to teach patients about their disease and coach them on healthy behavior change, medication adherence, and skills for self-management of chronic conditions in partnership with a coordinated, multidisciplinary care team. Interventions may be based on the Chronic Care Model, which identifies links to community resources, health system support, health care system redesign, self-management and provider decision support, and clinical information systems as essential elements for health care systems to support high-quality chronic disease care. CDM programs can help patients with diabetes, hypertension, heart failure, and depression and can be delivered in various healthcare settings.

Decision Makers: Healthcare, Public Health 

Consumer Participation in Healthcare Governance Healthcare entities are often governed by boards that set the Organization’s strategic direction; board decisions help determine organizational policy, shape patient services, and, ultimately, affect patient outcomes. Governing boards are generally comprised of various stakeholders and can include consumer representatives, usually patients of the Organization. Consumers may also be integrated into other governance activities, participate in projects to develop and disseminate consumer-friendly health and comparative quality information, or participate in healthcare system redesign efforts. Patient advisory councils (PACs), also known as patient and family advisory councils (PFACs), made up of patients, family members, health care providers, and administrative staff, can carry out these governance activities as well, in settings including hospitals, primary care practices, and community health centers. Consumer roles may be long-term commitments such as reviewing current services, potential change initiatives, or short-term engagements to provide feedback or preferences on discrete questions.

Decision Makers: Funders, Business, Government  

Electronic Benefits Transfer payment at farmer’s markets Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) is the electronic payment system of debit cards that the government uses to issue Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to eligible recipients. SNAP benefits used to be paper-based and easy to redeem at farmers’ markets; when the EBT mandate passed, benefit redemption at farmers’ markets declined dramatically. The ability for farmers’ markets to accept EBT re-establishes an opportunity for low-income shoppers to access fresh, locally grown foods.

Decision Makers: Funders, Government, Public Health, Nonprofits   

Father involvement programs that support father involvement provide educational training and services related to parenting skills, father-child relationships, and child development and well-being. Fathers can be involved with their children through direct interactions, support for a child’s mother, managing a child’s behavior, and role modeling positive behavior1. Father involvement programs are often delivered in a group setting through local organizations and often focus on first-time, low-income, minority, and nonresident fathers. 

Decision Makers: Funders, Businesses, Government, Public Health, Community Members, Nonprofits & Community Development 

Financial Education for Adults Adult financial education programs often cover basic budgeting, bank use, and credit management. In addition, specialized education programs can focus on preparing for divorce, bankruptcy, credit building and counseling, homeownership, retirement, or other relevant topics. Financial education may be provided in groups or as one-on-one coaching, in person, over the phone, or online. Programs can be offered through nonprofit organizations, for-profits, government entities, and employers, often serving individuals with lower incomes.

Mental Health

The County Health Rankings and Roadmaps Report for Park County revealed mental health providers as a strength for Park County. The report used the population ratio to mental health providers—1 per 250 people registered in Park County, Wyoming. Wyoming has 270:1, and the national average is 350:1.

This data was compared to neighboring counties and uncovered that Park County ranked the best for population ratio to mental health providers. At the same time, Hot Springs County was higher than the national average at 370:1.

Connecting the Community to Mental Health Services

Our 2023 Community Needs Assessment showed the issue might not be a lack of mental health providers but rather a lack of knowledge of the available resources. Please click the button below for the Big Horn Basin Mental Health Provider list.

Healthy Park County is focusing on Prevention in Park County to provide the necessary prevention resources, tools, and programs to support healthy lifestyles in Park County. We encourage you to visit their website at https://healthyparkcounty.org to connect with your needed resources.

Binge Drinking | Drug Abuse | Smoking | Mental Health | Vaping

Are You In Crisis?

Call 899 or text WYO to 741-741 and connect to a suicide lifeline.