The 2023 Anne M. Davis Mobile Health Award
By vnafoundation Published On September 25, 2023
From left to right: Daniel (Danny) Meloy, Associate Director of Clinical Operations; Amanda Rodriguez, Supervisor of Clinical Operations; Gloria Johnson, Community Health Worker (holding the Davis Award); Mary Kay Gilbert, Interim Executive Director of Heartland Alliance Health; and Jestine Ware, Associate Director of Grants Management
Daniel (Danny) Meloy, left accepting the Anne M. Davis Mobile Health Award from VNA Foundation Executive Director Robert (Rob) DiLeonardi, right.
Earlier this month, VNA Foundation was proud to present the 2023 Anne M. Davis Mobile Health Award, along with a gift of $10,000, to Heartland Alliance Health for its Young Adult Supportive Services (YASS) program, which promotes mental health stability for young people ages 18-24 who are experiencing homelessness.
To perform its work, the YASS team travels to sites throughout Chicago where youth congregate and shelter: currently Heartland Human Care Services NEON Youth program; La Casa Norte; and The Night Ministry; and historically, Covenant House, Ignite (aka Teen Living Programs), and Unity Parenting and Counseling. In addition, YASS supports HAH’s New Hope drop-in center where participants can access food, medical care, Medication-Assisted Treatment and more.
Young people experiencing homelessness are a particularly difficult population to reach and treat, and most have experienced significant trauma, often resulting in mental health and/or substance use challenges. Through innovation, persistence, and hard work the YASS team has established itself as a trusted provider with this population and increases access to comprehensive services to assist them. The result is an especially impactful program model that delivers services to those who would otherwise be unable to receive them.
VNA was an early supporter of the YASS program, funding it within a year of its 2018 launch and three times since. The Anne M. Davis Mobile Health Award, named in honor of a devoted long-term former VNA board member, recognizes a VNA grantee that uses mobile health services in a particularly innovative, effective and/or impactful way. VNA Foundation’s Board of Directors unanimously agreed that the YASS program was the ideal recipient of the award this year.
You can learn more about the YASS program on Heartland Alliance’s website here.
About the Anne M. Davis Mobile Health Award
This initiative was created to recognize the dedication, volunteerism and creativity of longtime Board member Mrs. Chester A. Davis and was first presented upon her retirement from the VNA Foundation Board of Directors in 2009. The Anne M. Davis Mobile Health Award is awarded up to once per year, at the discretion of the VNA Foundation Board of Directors, to a grantee using mobile health services in a particularly innovative, effective and/or impactful way.
