ANNOUNCEMENT: We're moving our blog to our website!

Hello,

Thank you all for following our blogger account. We are excited to announce that we are moving our blog to our new website. Although this account will not be deleted, it will no longer be updated.

You can now access our blog posts, action alerts, press releases, and news hits under the "What's New" section of our homepage. 

If you have any questions, please email info@catalystmiami.org. We look forward to continue sharing our ideas and progress with all of you.

Sincerely,
Catalyst Miami

Family leadership development programs offered in Liberty City and Downtown Miami beginning in February

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                            

November 9, 2015

Carla Moreira Strickland

CarlaS@catalystmiami.org

(786) 414-1292

 

Family leadership development programs offered in Liberty City and Downtown Miami beginning in February

Catalyst Miami aims to cultivate strong civic leaders through leadership development programs 

MIAMI, Florida – In February, Catalyst Miami will offer two leadership development programs for individuals and families interested in growing as advocates and community leaders. Step Up Miami, a 12-week program, will be hosted in Liberty City. Parent Leadership Training Institute, a 22-week program, will be hosted in Downtown Miami. The programs are open to all residents, with dinner and childcare provided at no cost.

Step Up Miami is a 12-week leadership development program that aims to generate a critical mass of neighborhood leaders interested in addressing poverty in Miami-Dade County. The program guides participants through an examination of current best practices in community development, the sharing of personal experiences, an exploration of diverse community development approaches, and hands-on application of problem solving strategies.

The next Step Up Miami cohort begins on Tuesday, February 16, 2015 at Gwen Cherry Park, located at 7090 NW 22nd Ave, Miami, FL.

Parent Leadership Training Institute is a 22-week leadership development training that helps parents and child advocates learn the leadership skills needed to become effective advocates for children in schools, communities, and state and local governments. Participants are able to enroll their children, grades K-5, in our Children’s Leadership Training Institute, which runs parallel to PLTI. Children will experience a multiple intelligence-based curriculum designed to develop young leaders.

The next Parent Leadership Training Institute cohort begins on Thursday, February 13, 2015 at Catalyst Miami, located at 1900 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami, FL.

For more information or to apply, please contact Gina Ha, Family Leadership Director at Catalyst Miami, at (786) 414-1296 or GinaH@catalystmiami.org.

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Catalyst Miami is a nonprofit organization developing and supporting individual leadership and strong organizations that work together to improve health, education, and economic opportunity in our community. You can visit Catalyst Miami’s website at catalystmiami.org and follow Catalyst Miami on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Affordable Care Act Open Enrollment began on November 1, 2015

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                   

November 9, 2015       

                                                                                                   

Carla Moreira Strickland

carlas@catalystmiami.org
(786) 414-1292

Affordable Care Act Open Enrollment began on November 1, 2015

Catalyst Miami’s community health workers will help individuals interested in finding coverage in the Marketplace starting on November 1, 2015 and ending on January 31, 2016

MIAMI, Florida – Sunday, November 1, 2015 marked the first day of Open Enrollment under the Affordable Care Act Marketplace. To assist individuals interested in attaining coverage through the Marketplace, Catalyst Miami’s several community health workers will be providing navigation services in our offices and at off-site locations from November 1, 2015 to January 31, 2016.

Sylvia Mathews Burwell, the U.S. health and human services secretary, said the federal government is targeting Florida and three other states in an effort to enroll the uninsured. Catalyst Miami is one of the organizations leading the enrollment effort locally. We aim to ensure that all residents who need quality, affordable healthcare can access it.

To be eligible for health coverage through the Marketplace, one must live in the United States, be a United States citizen or national, and not be incarcerated.

Important dates for 2016 enrollment:
November 1, 2015: Open Enrollment starts — first day you can enroll in a 2016 Marketplace plan. Coverage can start as soon as January 1, 2016.
December 15, 2015: Last day to enroll in or change plans for new coverage to start January 1, 2016.
January 1, 2016: 2016 coverage starts for those who enroll or change plans by December 15.
January 15, 2016: Last day to enroll in or change plans for new coverage to start February 1, 2016
January 31, 2016: 2016 Open Enrollment ends. Enrollments or changes between January 16 and January 31 take effect March 1, 2016.

If you don’t enroll in a 2016 plan by January 31, 2016, you can’t enroll in a health insurance plan for 2016 unless you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period. Individuals should also note that this year’s penalties for not having healthcare coverage are higher then last year. To learn more, contact us at (305) 576-5001 or check out our informational post at http://bit.ly/Marketplace101.

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Catalyst Miami is a nonprofit organization developing and supporting individual leadership and strong organizations that work together to improve health, education, and economic opportunity in our community. You can visit Catalyst Miami’s website at catalystmiami.org and follow Catalyst Miami on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Connecting our community with basic needs

Imagine the difficulty of having to choose between putting food on your table or paying for healthcare.  For many in Miami-Dade County, they are faced with these types of decisions every day.  While we have made a lot of progress in providing resources, many individuals and families remain food insecure and struggle to access basic necessities.  In fact, one in six Americans are at risk of going hungry and, according to the 2014 Annual Social and Economic Supplement by the US Census Bureau, over 45 million people and about 20 percent of children under 18 live in poverty. Many are hardworking Americans who are struggling with lower wages and rising costs of living.

Fortunately, there are nonprofits in our community that are helping to make a difference by connecting individuals and families with basic human services such as such as emergency shelter and access to food and benefits.  We are proud to partner with these organizations to ensure they are able to reach these individuals at their immediate point of need and provide them with the programs and services that will set them on the path to economic stability.

Recently, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation announced Catalyst Miami as a recipient of the 2015 Basic Human Services grant. Catalyst Miami will use the funds to deliver vital social services to the community.

Catalyst Miami was founded in 1996 to develop and support individual leadership and strong organizations that work together to improve health, education, and economic opportunity in our community. Through their programs and services, they help families become prosperous and civically engaged.

There’s great value in investing in these grants throughout Miami-Dade County, mainly because they help individuals and families regain and maintain financial stability that is critically important to the overall success of our community.

Along with this financial support, we thank the thousands of Bank of America employees in our community that give their time, passion and expertise through volunteerism to improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods.

Sincerely,

Gene Schaefer, Miami market president

Bank of America