AMOS @ STA - Research Teams

Health Care: Prenatal Care for Uninsured Pregnant Women in Story County

Background: McFarland Clinic does not provide prenatal care for uninsured pregnant women residing in Story County. To receive care and delivery, they must travel to Des Moines or Marshalltown.

Effort: AMOS has been working 3+ years on this issue and continues to encounter significant resistance from area healthcare providers. At present, AMOS is attempting to work with Story County Medical Center to provide care for this small population of county residents. This appears to be a promising short-term solution though it is still in negotiation.

Heath Care: Primary Care Clinic for Uninsured/Underinsured in Ames

Background: A primary healthcare clinic would be the long term solution to the issue of providing pre-natal care to uninsured women in Story County. It would also shore up what has historically been a shaky "free" dental clinic in Ames and provide much needed medical care to the local underserved population.

Effort: AMOS is represented on the Mid-Iowa Quality of Life Alliance Committee by Randy Gehring and Marv Julius. This Committee is applying for a federal grant to fund a primary healthcare clinic.  The clinic would be a satellite of Primary Healthcare Inc. in Des Moines and would offer both medical and dental care. It is very rare for a grant to be awarded on the first attempt, though Ames' chances are greatly enhanced by the fact that we would be affiliated with an existing clinic.  The grant, an annual amount of $650,000, is designated for operations (not facility) and is renewable annually.

Economic Justice: Job Training for Chronically Un/Underemployed

Background: During the 2009 AMOS House Meeting campaign gleaned the following:

1. There is limited collaboration between workforce efforts and the chronically underemployed and those in poverty. This leaves the people most impacted by the programs out of the decision- making process to shape them;
2. There is a lack of financial resources for the kind of support those in poverty need to succeed in job training/education programs;
3. There is limited community support and counseling for those enrolled in job training/education programs;
4. There is a growing "skills gap" between the education of low wage workers and the skills they need to be successful in the labor market.

Effort: AMOS is organizing to bring an innovative job training program to Central Iowa. It is based on the Project Quest (QUality Employment through Skills Training) model pioneered in San Antonio, Texas, in 1993. It has since spread throughout central Texas. The Des Moines AMOS cluster has been working with many local dignitaries (DMACC, Mercy Health Systems, Greater Iowa Foundation, Iowa Workforce Development, et al) on this issue. The Ames Cluster Economic Justice Research Team has begun interviewing employers to determine the living-wage jobs in demand in the area. To date we have met with Mary Greeley Medical Center, City of Ames, Mechanical Comfort, and Sargent Metal Fabrication. We have also made contact with the Chamber of Commerce. More interviews are in the offing. The Team has also begun house meetings for persons with interest in training for such jobs. (For more information on the model visit www.questsa.org)

Environment: Sustainability Education

Background: The Environmental Research Team has been working with the City of Ames to promote sustainability by educating the public.

Effort:

1. Develop and give a presentation on sustainability. The presentation will be adaptable for different audiences; e.g., general public, business, or government. It has been presented numerous times to churches and other organizations. More presentations are planned.
2. Facilitate a local, comprehensive plan for sustainability by targeting and educating different segments of the public on sustainability. We are facilitating relationships with ISU, as well as county and city governments
3. Plan a series of lectures and a workshop to present in September and October at Ames Public Library. Lectures are scheduled for Sept. 20 (Global Impact of Climate Change), Sept. 27 (Green Design), Oct. 4 (Environmental Nutrition). The workshop on sustainability planning is scheduled for Oct. 20.

Youth and Education: Youth at Risk

We continue to work on compiling resources for at-risk students in Ames. We are cognizant of other organizations working on community unity issues that may have some youth information to share and that we may be able to share with as well. We have agreed to a meeting with those groups in later August. We are developing a three-question plan to collect information on gaps in support for at-risk students in the Ames School District, barriers to fixing them and actions that could help address them, with a deadline that will culminate in sharing the information and developing an actionable issue. The meetings will be with both school administrators and with service providers.

Resolving Community Conflict

The Team is going through a rigorous discernment process based on input from the house meetings and passion within the group. A concerted effort is being made to avoid duplication of efforts with current City projects and the efforts of other community groups already in place

Effort:

1. Collaboration with Amy Hayes of the Urban Dreams organization. She described the Urban Dreams purpose as empowering the African American community, and noted that her organization has been canvassing the African American community to determine what changes they feel would be beneficial to them. Amy pointed out that for this to happen, trust building is the first step, and cautioned that this is not an easy process.
2. There is discussion about the overlap of interest between our group and the Youth and Education interest group.
3. David Digby and Mary Sawyer are RCC's contacts with Body of Christ Church. David reported that he had had a most rewarding conversation with their pastor, Toran Smith. He knows about AMOS. David and Mary will sit down for an informal conversation with Pastor Toran, Anthony Stephens and other members of the Body of Christ Church to "think together about how things are."

Mental Health: Availability of Mental Health for Low Income Individuals and a Mental Health Drop-In Center

The Richmond Center spoke to the Mental Health Research Team about the Center's mission to serve persons with mental illness, especially those with limited funds, and the problems that a fee-for-service funding model has created. The Team will be advocating for the Richmond Center with the Board of Supervisors on how the Richmond Center is funded. Iowa is unlike most states in that the counties are responsible for mental health services and are, therefore, the primary providers for mental health in Iowa.

Also of pressing interest is the question of a mental health drop-in Center in Ames. The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI), Story County Community Services, and the Richmond Center are already discussing possible funding, and United Way of Story County has hired a grant writer to look for grants.