Free health services in Camden

CAMDEN – The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has awarded a $432,174 grant to the Rutgers University Foundation in support of an initiative offered through the Center for Strategic Urban Community Leadership at Rutgers University’s Camden campus that will provide free health-care services to Camden residents.

The one-year award will support the Centers of Excellence at the LEAP (Leadership, Education And Partnership) Academy charter school in Camden. Through the centers, Rutgers and UMDNJ faculty and students provide LEAP children and their families with pro bono assistance in a wide range of primary health care and social work services.

Founded in 1997, the LEAP Academy enrolls 570 students in grades K through 8. In September, the LEAP University High School opened and currently enrolls 54 ninth-grade students. Through its Centers of Excellence, LEAP students and their families are strengthened by free services in such areas as health care, social work, legal guidance, and college preparation.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, based in Princeton, is the nation’s largest philanthropic organization devoted exclusively to health and heath care. Its grantmaking seeks to assure that all American have access to basic health care at a reasonable cost; to improve care and support for people with chronic health conditions; to promote healthy communities and lifestyles; and to reduce the personal, social and economic harm caused by substance abuse.

The Center for Strategic Urban Community Leadership is directed by Dr. Gloria Bonilla-Santiago, a Board of Governors Distinguished Service Professor of Public Policy at Rutgers-Camden. The center offers a wide range of programs designed to empower community leaders and citizens across southern New Jersey.

For more information about the LEAP Academy and the LEAP University High School, visit www.camden.rutgers.edu/Camden/CFSUCL.

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Author: Mike Sepanic, Rutgers Univ.