Epilepsy Foundation Awarded $1.4 Million a Year to Build Public Health AmeriCorps Program
Funding will support AmeriCorps members to be trained as Community Health Workers to meet public health needs of the New England epilepsy community and help rebuild the nation’s public health sector.
Lowell, MA – Epilepsy Foundation New England announced today that it has received a Public Health AmeriCorps grant of $1.4 Million per year for 3 years from AmeriCorps, the federal agency for national service and volunteerism. The grant will expand Epilepsy Foundation New England's presence in the New England area where Epilepsy Foundation New England has been providing services for Americans since 1983.
Public Health AmeriCorps, a partnership between AmeriCorps and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, supports the recruitment, training, and development of a new generation of public health leaders. Supported by a five-year, $400 million investment from the American Rescue Plan Act, Public Health AmeriCorps will help meet public health needs of local communities by providing surge capacity and support while also creating pathways to public health-related careers.
“Community Health Workers provide people living with epilepsy the support, knowledge, and resources we need to ensure no on is alone in their epilepsy journey. Every epilepsy center in MA, ME, NH, RI, and VT is committed to this novel service delivery approach. This grant will help thousands of people a year to get what they need to address the challenges of living with epilepsy while becoming part of our amazingly resilient and caring community,” said Susan Linn, President and CEO of Epilepsy Foundation New England.
With this new funding, Epilepsy Foundation New England will leverage the skills and experience of up to 56 AmeriCorps members in the New England Area to become Community Health Workers. These AmeriCorps members will provide a customized approach to people living with epilepsy to improve the quality of their lives through guided care management.
Volunteers interesting in becoming a Community Health Worker can apply here: https://epilepsynewengland.org/about-us/careers#ac-health-worker
AmeriCorps continues to invest in the nation’s COVID-19 recovery. With existing programs in more than 40,000 locations across the country, AmeriCorps is uniquely positioned to bolster community response efforts. For the past two years, thousands of AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers across all 50 states and U.S. territories have continued their service, quickly adapting to meet the changing needs caused by the pandemic and have provided vital support, community response, and recovery efforts, providing support to more than 12 million Americans, including 2.5 million people at vaccination sites.
