PAHOKEE — Healthier Glades’ “Mini Grants” applications are available at the Belle Glade Library starting Monday, Nov. 23, and at both the Pahokee and South Bay branch libraries on Nov. 24.

Anyone interested in learning about this program may visit any of those libraries, or go to the group’s page on Facebook to get links to download the application and send it electronically to healthierglades@htpbc.org.

The organization’s leader, Annie Ifill, said, “We can’t wait to see all those creative ideas from the community.”

In about a half-hour Zoom presentation on Saturday, she and co-chairwoman of the mini-grants committee, Cylenthia Mann, explained the intent of the program and how to go about filling out a Mini Grant Application, which is being funded through the Palm Health Foundation.

Healthier Glades was started in the fall of 2017 in the western areas of Palm Beach County, which have rich cultural and agricultural assets. “Glades” refers to the collective of four communities — “we serve the cities of Belle Glade, Pahokee, South Bay, as well as the unincorporated areas including Canal Point, all on the eastern and southeastern shores of Lake Okeechobee.”

Ifill said its group is focused on behavioral health, with an emphasis on unlocking community strengths and changing the community narrative, adding that they had several areas to choose from, regarding what approach is most needed in the Glades.

“Each (program) was designed to address social determinants of health: either family caregiving, diabetes, or behavioral health. We had a chance to poll residents of the (Glades) community, and (it) decided to focus on behavioral health.

“For Healthier Glades, along with other Healthier Together communities who are also focusing on that, we decided what we wanted to do more was focus on the positive aspects of the Glades.

“We know that we have to work with the community. We have to focus on the natural assets that exist in our community. And as you know for the Glades, family, faith and friends — especially with faith, we have a strong faith-based community here in the Glades — we know by utilizing those naturzal assets is how we cope with life stressors in our community.”

On the info session’s agenda were the topics of what’s new with the Mini Grants program, what has changed since 2019, the timeline for submission and completion of projects, the focus areas that HG is looking for in the mini-grant applications, review of applications and budgets, and then an open Q&A session.

For those who missed the information session on Saturday, you can watch it here https://fb.watch/1Wcaxm09fE/.

No community presentation will be made this year beccause of the coronavirus situation, and 11 rather than 10 grants will be awarded this year, eight to residents and three to nonprofits.