Hospitals in Action >> Case Examples

ST. DOMINIC HEALTH SERVICES - Jackson, Mississippi 
Grants to Neighborhood Homeowners

What is it?  
In 2006, St. Dominic Health Services committed $250,000 over a five year period to the Phoenix Initiative.  This Initiative is a grant program that assists qualified homeowners with façade renovations and repairs to their homes within the hospital’s Fondren community. The program offers up to $5,000 in grants, with a 25 percent match up to $1,250 from homeowners, for a total project budget of $6,250 to repair and renovate homes within the community.  

Who is it for? 
Qualified homeowners in the hospital’s Fondren community.

Why do they do it? 
This grant program was developed to support the Fondren District Renaissance Foundation – a public and private collaboration aimed at improving St. Dominic’s neighborhood. St. Dominic’s is not only committed to excellence in patient care, it is also committed to the Fondren District, in the heart of the city of Jackson, which has been home to the hospital for more than 60 years. Most of the homes in the neighborhood are 50 or more years old, and the majority of homeowners exist on fixed incomes. Thus, making repairs was not an option for many. One of the first renovations projects to benefit from the grant program repaired structural damage and replaced a roof, blown off by high winds during Hurricane Katrina.

Impact: 
Now in its third year, the Phoenix Initiative has help area residents renovate and/or repair 40 homes, bringing the older properties up to a healthier and safer level.    

Contact:   Bill Scruggs
Special Projects and Community Activity Coordinator
Telephone:   601-200-6994
E-mail:   bscruggs@stdom.com