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<p class="MsoNormal"><b>From:</b> Gonzalez Jr., Roberto - OPPE, Calexico, CA <roberto.gonzalez@usda.gov>
<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Friday, January 22, 2021 3:17 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> Ogden, Kimberly L - (ogden) <ogden@arizona.edu>; Burgess, Shane C - (shaneburgess) <sburgess@cals.arizona.edu>; Hunt, James E - (jeh) <JHunt@ag.arizona.edu>; Pawar, Sangita C - (sangita) <sangita@arizona.edu>; Mester, John Clark - (jmester) <jmester@arizona.edu>;
Patten, Kim J - (kjpatten) <kjpatten@arizona.edu>; Coffey, Courtney - (ccoffey) <ccoffey@arizona.edu>; Silvertooth, Jeffrey C - (silverto) <Silver@ag.arizona.edu>; Mars, Matthew M - (mmars) <mmars@arizona.edu>; Cantwell, Elizabeth R - (ecantwell) <ecantwell@arizona.edu><br>
<b>Subject:</b> [EXT]2021 USDA-NIFA Rural Health and Safety Education Competitive Grants Program (RHSE)<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p align="center" style="text-align:center"><strong><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:red">External Email</span></strong><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>USDA-NIFA Rural Health and Safety Education Competitive Grants Program (RHSE)<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">RHSE proposals are expected to be community-based outreach education programs, such as those conducted through Human Science extension outreach that provide individuals and families with: information as to the value of good health at any
age; information to increase individual or family’s motivation to take more responsibility for their own health; information regarding rural environmental health issues that directly impact human health; information about and access to health promotion and
educational activities; and training for volunteers and health services providers concerning health promotion and health care services for individuals and families in cooperation with state, local, and community partners.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Who Is Eligible to Apply:</b> Land-Grant Colleges and Universities; Other.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Closing Date: </b>Thursday, April 29, 2021<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement:</b> No<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Range of Awards:</b> $0 - $350,000<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>View Grant Opportunity:</b> <a href="https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=329476">
https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=329476</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>For Example<o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">ACCESSION NO:</span></b><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"> 1024189
<b>SUBFILE:</b> CRIS <br>
<b>PROJ NO:</b> COVID19 <b>AGENCY:</b> NIFA VI.N <br>
<b>PROJ TYPE:</b> OTHER GRANTS <b>PROJ STATUS:</b> NEW <br>
<b>CONTRACT/GRANT/AGREEMENT NO:</b> 2020-46100-32844 <b>PROPOSAL NO:</b> 2020-08128
<br>
<b>START:</b> 01 SEP 2020 <b>TERM:</b> 31 AUG 2022 <br>
<b>GRANT AMT:</b> $392,337 <b>GRANT YR:</b> 2020<br>
<b>AWARD TOTAL:</b> $392,337<br>
<b>INITIAL AWARD YEAR:</b> 2020 <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><b><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">INVESTIGATOR:</span></b><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"> Chanes, C.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><b><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">PERFORMING INSTITUTION:</span></b><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">
<br>
UNIV OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS <br>
ST. CROIX, VIRGIN ISLANDS OF THE U.S. 00850 <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><b><i><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">COMMUNITIES OVERCOMING VARIOUS INJUSTICES TO DEFEND RURAL HEALTH (COVID) IS A PILOT OUTREACH PROGRAM TO INFORM THE COMMUNITY OF
COVID-19 BY LEVERAGING ACCESS AND INFORMATION IN HEALTH TO LIMIT THE SPREAD</span></i></b><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><b><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY:</span></b><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"> Participants will thrive in the pilot program Communities
Overcoming Various Injustices to Defend Rural Health (COVID). It is slated to be a two-year process designed to allow those in it to see and benefit from their efforts in the first year from using counseling, art, journaling and gardening to help mitigate
the spread of disease. In year one, professional listening session will take place to get the participants started whereas, in year two, the project will move from listening, to the participants actively engaging themselves and their families and sharing that
knowledge with others, thus extending the project to others not directly involved. Participants will work with Extension professionals through UVI CES and those who thrive in agriculture to aid them in getting started and encouraging them to start small and
grow their garden with care which they can then share with family, friends and neighbors. This provides over the two-year period, two specific interventions; one reduces stress the other adds their ability to grow foods they can eat from their home that matches
their personal taste and is grown by their own hands. Cooking will also be incorporated as a stress relief to allow participants to share recipes, use food grown in their gardens to enhance meals and recipes that are cultural in nature but can be made healthier
using fresh ingredients grown at their home. Natural Resources and Water conservation will also be addressed in distance learning sessions and listening sessions pairing participants with experts who can address issues of water conservation and water quality
so as to increase literacy as it relates to water conservation and resources for good health practices.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><b><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">OBJECTIVES:</span></b><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"> The major program goals are to empower the communities of the
USVI to address concerns surrounding COVID-19, including mental health, nutrition, food security and water quality while dealing with the unknown of the virus. The main goal of the pilot is to offer ten listening sessions focusing on small sessions with an
expert for each topic to talk about and listen to participants share about how they are dealing with COVID-19 as a disease, what they are doing to shelter in place, if they are accessing health services and how they are holding up as far as mental health.
There will be at least ten Distance Learning sessions held for participants via Zoom. The main goals are to have ten Distance Learning sessions in the same Zoom format which will serve as "how to" sessions in agriculture, nutrition, food security through gardening
and mental health sessions focused on journaling which will include topics such as depression, loneliness, and the importance of being connected to a broader community through their experience in the program. Exercise and art therapy will be included so that
participants can engage and learn from the pilot with ways in which to destress and learn to deal with the fear of COVID-19. The goal of the listening sessions and the distance learning sessions which will pair participants with experts and researchers in
each key area from across the territory and region is to provide skills, tools and interventions that will allow for freedom from fear when dealing with COVID-19. Hands-on interventions to address family health and hygiene from a holistic approach to sheltering
in place provide families with food security support so they can become more self-reliant. CES is a leader in offering such programs including agriculture for home food security which help participants get involved in nature and to deal with stress which is
also a key goal in the pilot. Sessions about container gardens for small spaces, low cost hydroponic systems and small home or victory gardens will be featured to allow for learning and growing food to consume at home to limit the need to shop. Another goal
is to address issues surrounding mental health which will be included as part of a human science component through group discussions, listening sessions along with art therapy and journaling to allow a creative outlet and to build a sense of community. Art
therapy and journaling can serve to release anxiety, address depression and loneliness which is also a goal of the program.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><b><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">APPROACH:</span></b><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"> Researchers will use simples hands-on methods to increase a sense
of community in a time of sheltering in place. In doing so and to secure program outcomes including working on ways to limit the health burden through nutrition education, the program will offer simple cooking classes from local chefs, celebrated community
cooks as they relate to increasing good health, which is a key part of the desired outcome of the project. The project team will also pair hands-on home gardening and container gardening techniques offered in beginner gardening classes to provide food sources
naturally grown at home to reduce the need to shop as well as offer yet another outlet to deal with mental health by offering ways to limit stress by being in or faced with large crowds in public and at stores. A home garden class will provide seeds and/or
seedlings so home gardens and places of nature can be created through the program with ideas on how to plan, prepare and maintain them. Program participants can create a small haven or relief from being indoors and can provide peace to those working in it
as well as offer a positive impact on stress as it provides a way to get into the sunlight, getting in touch with nature and spend time outdoors. Mental health services will address anxiety and fear and art therapy including journaling will allow for a cultural
relevant a way to document experiences during COVID-19. Art therapy will also be included as well as journaling for increased positive mental health. An art instructor will work with participants to create artwork. A Mental health professional will work with
them on journaling their experience of COVID-19 and sheltering in place. These cultural and art pieces will be kept by participants and/or placed in public places and the journaling pieces will be placed in a book at the end of the project to maintain a historic
reference for future generations on how the community dealt with the disease of COVID and ways they worked to mitigate it in the USVI.
</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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