Arab American and Chaldean Council Gets Capacity Building Grant

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Troy, MI – Arab American and Chaldean Council (ACC), the premier nonprofit human service organization serving southeast Michigan, has announced it has received a grant from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). The three-year, $42,000 annual grant will fund the Minority Health Community Capacity Building Initiative which focuses on community and personal needs for ACC clients. The announcement was made by ACC President and CEO Dr. Haifa Fakhouri.

The community aspect of the grant will focus on collaboration and cooperation with community services providers to bring awareness and education regarding health disparities among ethnic and racial populations. The grant’s personal aspect will enable ACC to work directly with clients by collecting demographics  data through the implementation of a “Social Determinants of Health” form and direct education related to health equity.

“We are very grateful to the MDHHS for this three-year grant, allowing us to further serve the needs of the community and our clients,” said Dr. Fakhouri. “As ACC continues to assist refugees and multiethnic populations in southeast Michigan, this grant is invaluable in assisting us in generating awareness to the dire needs of health equity across the region.”

The objectives and goals of ACC’s Minority Health Community Capacity Building Initiative Program include collaboration with local health and social services providers to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate education regarding determinants of health inequity for Arab Chaldean American and African American population. ACC will work directly with clients of its Community Health Centers to collect data needed to identify and address social determinants of health.

Additionally, ACC will provide culturally and linguistically appropriate educational sessions to health and other services providers and educate the community on health disparities among Arab Chaldean American population.

Under the framework of the grant, ACC will collect a minimum of 500 completed Social Determinants of Health forms each fiscal year and reach out to a minimum of 5,000 members of the Arab Chaldean and African American communities. Data will be gathered by tracking the number of participants in community activities, information dispersed, outreach efforts, clients contacted and forms collected.

Annually through its 40 outreach offices, ACC provides more than 500,000 services to more than 96,000 individuals and families in need. The mission of ACC is to support the overall wellbeing of the community. Programs deliver various  educational, employment and training, behavioral health, youth recreation and self-enrichment services, women infants and children (WIC) and public health services, cultural activities and community revitalization projects.

For more information about ACC’s programs and services, please call (248) 559-1990.

About the ACC 

ACC is the premier nonprofit human service organization providing services to the multiethnic and mainstream communities in Southeast Michigan. Founded in 1979, ACC provides counseling, health care, WIC social services, employment training, job placement, translation, interpretation and youth services to more than 96,000 clients in metro Detroit. ACC operates 40 outreach offices in the tri-county area, staffed with bilingual and trilingual professionals to serve multiethnic populations and offer assistance to the immigrant and refugee populations. For more information, visit www.myacc.org or call (248) 559-1990. 

Arab American and Chaldean Council Gets Capacity Building Grant