Grant Spotlight: Heart Ministry Center

Organization Name: Heart Ministry Center

Mission: Providing food, healthcare, and a way forward to people severely affected by poverty in the Omaha area.

Funded Program Description: The Kim Foundation helps support the Heart Ministry Center’s Monen Healthcare Clinic (the “Clinic”), which provides medical, dental, vision, and mental health services.  All services at the Clinic are completely free of charge and the Clinic is the only clinic in the area that does not require a copay, which can be a barrier for many living at or below the poverty line.  Funds from the Kim Foundation specifically help support the Heart Ministry Center’s mental healthcare efforts by helping cover the salaries for the Clinic’s two Licensed Clinical Social Workers/Licensed Independent Mental Health Practitioners (LCSW/LIMHPs).

The Clinic has two full-time LCSW/LIMHPs who provide mental health and substance use treatment, as well as a part-time contract with a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner from Creighton who provides psychiatric medication management services in the Clinic.  The services provided by the practitioners are person-centered, trauma-informed, recovery-oriented, and include a comprehensive holistic approach.  Priority areas of focus that have been identified to support clients include life transitions, relationships, self-care, boundaries, communication, grief and loss, addictions, stress, connection with physical health and wellness, and multiple forms of past and current trauma and abuse.

Heart Ministry Center is located on historic 24th Street in North Omaha at 2222 Binney Street.  74% of Heart Ministry Center’s clients live in Douglas County and more specifically, 57% of clients live in the 68111, 68104, 68110, and 68107 zip codes.  In these zip codes there are disproportionately high rates of crime, substance abuse, gang involvement, domestic violence, food insecurity, homelessness, low academic attainment, and other poverty-related challenges.  The median annual household income for Douglas County is $70,700.  However, the median household income for 68104 and 68107 is approximately $41,000 while the median household income for 68111 and 68110 is less than $25,000.  77% of Heart Ministry Center clients are people of color and 35% of clients are children under the age of 19.

As reported on the Omaha Community Foundation’s website, 22% of adults living below the poverty line do not have healthcare coverage and one in four people in our community has experienced symptoms of depression.  A disproportionate number of these include adults with lower income and those who identify as people of color.  Heart Ministry Center’s data showed that 27% of the Clinic’s patients reported experiencing depression symptoms, and 25% reported experiencing anxiety symptoms.  In addition, nearly all of these patients also reported having insufficient income to pay expenses for food, housing, or other essential needs while being seen in the Clinic.

Heart Ministry Center understands that lacking basic needs and the other stressors of poverty can significantly contribute to an increase in emotional and psychological distress.  In addition, a patient’s emotional and psychological health affects their physical health.  The Clinic’s goal is to decrease the barriers for clients to access clinic services, mental health support and treatment.

Successes of Program or Inspirational Stories: The Kim Foundation funding contributed to Heart Ministry Center’s ability to hire a second Mental Health Practitioner in the Fall of 2023.  With this addition, these providers were able to continue seeing Fresh Start (job training/placement) program graduates for ongoing counseling services after completion of their programming.  This also allowed for the ability to increase the number of community members outside of the Fresh Start program who could now be seen for individual counseling services, who may not otherwise have access to this service.  One of the Mental Health Practitioners stated, “The ability to provide ongoing mental health services to Fresh Start graduates has significantly improved their likelihood of continuing treatment.  When we did not have the availability to continue seeing graduates, and had to make referrals to other providers, we saw very few graduates who would consistently access treatment.”

Other Comments: While the Clinic is still relatively small, Heart Ministry Center has more than doubled the number of patients served in the last two years growing from 1,672 patients in 2021 to 3,554 patients in 2023.  The Clinic also saved patients over $640,000 in healthcare expenses in 2023.

Contact Information:

Tim McTaggart
Chief Sustainability Officer
tim@heartministrycenter.com
www.heartministrycenter.org