In December 2021, Eisner Health partnered with The Change Reaction, a private foundation located in Los Angeles, creating an Angel Fund to provide micro-grants to patients and their families experiencing a short-term crisis. Our case management team has been empowered to use the Angel Fund to provide financial support to families in need, thereby amplifying their and Eisner Health’s passion for helping in ways that meet our patients where they are now.
An Eisner Health case manager identifies a qualified patient during the regularly scheduled visit or when a patient is referred to them by a clinician. If they meet the income requirements, they can then apply for an Angel Fund micro-grant. The Angel Fund micro-grants can support a range of personal needs, including payment for emergency dental treatment, repair of an automobile, and home-based repairs, including appliances and furniture. When needed, emergency funds are available for a hotel stay if a family is unhoused. Support can also be provided to students and working parents with grants for computers, work supplies such as clothing and uniforms, and educational expenses, including certification and training fees.
Working in close collaboration with The Change Reaction team, approval of these emergency requests is made within 24-hours. The average The Change Reaction gift is $1,200. Many of our patients do not have the ability to pay for these one-time costs, and paying for these unexpected expenses can have an enormous impact on a family’s health, stress, and wellness.
Here are the stories of two Eisner Health patients who benefited from our newly launched Angel Fund:
A new mother gave birth prematurely in December 2021 and remained hospitalized due to COVID-19 pneumonia while her premature baby was in NICU. The family was in dire straight’s as her partner was hospitalized due to COVID-19.
The new mother’s sister came from Houston to California to help care for the infant. However, she did not know how to navigate services or access resources in California. Because of the family’s current situation, there was no income available to help support an infant’s needs, such as diapers, formula, etc. Accessing local care was challenging since the child’s aunt is not the legal guardian. The family needed immediate financial assistance to help meet the infant’s basic needs. The Angel Fund was able to issue a $600 grant that helped them through this short-term crisis and carried them through until the new mother was able to come home from the hospital.
In another case, a single mother of three was in counseling at Eisner Health to overcome past trauma and to obtain housing to bring her kids to live with her. She left her ex-husband because he was verbally, emotionally, and physically abusive. While planning her move to Arizona, the single mother was in a severe car accident that resulted in her car being a total loss. She exhausted all her savings to pay for motels stays, leaving her unable to replace her car. She took on two jobs to help make ends meet as she recovered. While this, along with food stamps, helped her start to rebuild, she did not have any way to pay for the deposit and first month’s rent for an apartment she found. She needed assistance with the $300 deposit and $500 for furniture for her room (i.e., a bed, a dresser, a lamp, and a small desk.) The Angel Fund grant helped her into the rented room where her children could come stay with her.
Thank you to The Change Reaction for your support for the Eisner Health Angel Fund!