NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Maternal Infant Health Outreach Worker (MIHOW) project, which assists low-income families in the Appalachia, Mississippi Delta and Mid-South communities, was recently honored by both the Bernard van Leer Foundation and Annie E. Casey Foundation.
MIHOW is one of several grassroots community service projects housed at Vanderbilt’s Center for Health Services, which strives to help people manage their physical, social, political and environmental health.
MIHOW is the first American program to receive the prestigious Oscar van Leer Award, which is presented to one community organization worldwide by the Bernard van Leer Foundation every two years. Barbara Clinton, director of the Center for Health Services, recently traveled to the Netherlands to receive the award from officials with the Dutch Parliament. A private international organization begun by Dutch industrialist Bernard van Leer in 1949, the foundation provides financial assistance to programs that significantly help children reach their full potential in circumstances of social and economic disadvantage.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation also recognized the MIHOW program with the Families Count Award, which provides $500,000 in funding to MIHOW. The foundation, which not only directs initiatives but also provides support to programs like MIHOW, praised MIHOW’s dedication and guidance in improving conditions for young children in isolated communities across the Southeast.
MIHOW creates partnerships between the University and local community organizations to train the communities’ natural leaders in sharing prenatal and child development information with their neighbors. Each MIHOW program is developed to address a community’s particular resources, culture and needs.
“Local parents, if they’re provided with modest technical and financial support as well as training, can be very important role models for their peers to learn about services that can improve the quality of their parenting and enhance the health of their children.”
Since it began in 1982, the program has served 9,000 families. It is active in 23 communities, including Nashville through a partnership with the Woodbine Community Organization. This organization focuses on helping local regions’ international populations to thrive. With its rising recognition, MIHOW is currently in the process of reviewing prospects for future programs in states as far away as Nebraska.
The Center for Health Services, which recently celebrated 30 years at Vanderbilt University, is an association of community outreach programs that provides support to local community members in the Southeastern United States to manage their physical, social, political and environmental health. For more information, call (615) 322-4176 or visit the website at www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/chs/.
Contact: Ann Marie Deer Owens, (615) 322-NEWS
annmarie.owens@vanderbilt.edu