PATH CITED Funding Helps A Greater Hope Support Neighbors in Crisis

A Greater Hope is a community-based organization serving at-risk adults, foster families, and vulnerable children in Riverside and San Bernadino counties, with a focus on underserved rural populations. Staff travel more than one million miles each year to meet Californians in their homes, at school, and in A Greater Hope offices, providing critical prevention and intervention services.

Since its founding more than 20 years ago, the nonprofit has placed more than 6,000 abused children in stable homes and provided behavioral health care services to adults, helping them build skills, access therapy, and improve their quality of life. A Greater Hope’s mission is to deliver integrated, culturally responsive services that meet people where they are.

Through the Providing Access and Transforming Health (PATH) Capacity and Infrastructure Transition, Expansion, and Development (CITED) initiative, A Greater Hope expanded its capacity to serve individuals and families through Enhanced Care Management (ECM). The three stories below illustrate the impact of that investment.

*Names have been changed to protect individuals’ identity.

PATH CITED funding provided the workforce, technology, referral systems, quality assurance processes, and operational structure needed to launch and sustain ECM services. Those investments became especially meaningful when one grandmother suddenly found herself caring for three young girls under age 10.

After her son was incarcerated, she stepped in to care for his daughters. Retired and unprepared to raise young children again, she quickly became overwhelmed. The girls had substantial educational, behavioral, and physical health needs. One child, Ivy, had significant special needs, and none of the girls had attended school in more than a year.

A Greater Hope’s ECM team began by addressing the family’s most urgent needs. An ECM care coordinator worked closely with the grandmother to enroll the girls in school, connect them with behavioral health services, coordinate health care and dental appointments, and access school supplies and monthly fresh food boxes. The team continued to support the family as new challenges emerged.

For Ivy, that coordinated approach was especially important. Rather than addressing each challenge separately, the ECM team provided support across her educational, health, behavioral, and family needs.

Over time, the family began to stabilize. The girls returned to school, gained reliable access to food, and received needed physical and behavioral health services. Their grandmother gained a trusted support system she could rely on when problems surfaced. The family also attended A Greater Hope’s holiday event, where the sisters created art, played games, shared a meal, and simply enjoyed being kids.

That is the impact PATH CITED makes possible. By investing in the systems behind coordinated care, A Greater Hope helped ensure that one grandmother did not have to navigate every challenge alone and that her granddaughters could access the support they needed to thrive.

Story 2: Helping a Family Find Peace Again

After her marriage ended, Rhonda became a single mother, helping her three children cope with the emotional impact of the transition.

Rhonda connected with A Greater Hope’s ECM program. Her sons began attending weekly therapy sessions, while she received her own counseling and support. Over time, the family developed healthier coping strategies, communication improved, and emotional outbursts became less frequent at home and school.

Their support extended beyond traditional appointments. In October 2025, Rhonda and her children attended A Greater Hope’s Gather & Grow Fall Family Fair. The event brought together health resources, family activities, and community services in one welcoming environment. Families connected with ECM staff, received enrollment help, participated in health screenings with the organization’s registered nurse, and learned about behavioral health and other community resources.

For Rhonda and her children, the event also gave them something they had been missing: an opportunity to have fun together. Support was readily available in a setting that felt warm and community-centered rather than clinical.

That experience reflects the coordinated care model supported through PATH CITED. The funding helped A Greater Hope create a multidisciplinary team that connects families with care coordinators, behavioral health professionals, a registered nurse, community health workers, intake staff, and more without requiring them to navigate complex systems on their own.

Story 3: When Hope Arrived for Allie

At 45 years old, Allie was just about to give birth when she was served divorce papers. She faced transportation issues, financial instability, and the loss of her primary support system. At the same time, she was caring for her 3-year-old son, who was struggling with the conflict he had witnessed at home. In crisis, Allie called A Greater Hope.

Thanks to PATH CITED–supported ECM infrastructure, the team was prepared to respond quickly. Allie told her ECM care coordinator that she had experienced domestic violence, emotional abuse, and monetary control, including restricted access to her finances. Her young son was also in crisis and at risk of losing his daycare placement because of aggressive behavior toward other children.

The ECM team immediately connected Allie with therapy to help her process her separation and prepare for childbirth. Staff also worked with her son’s daycare to better understand and address his behavioral challenges.

Then, baby Andrew was born.

When the newborn began experiencing medical concerns, A Greater Hope’s registered nurse, Rebecca, started making home visits. She quickly recognized that Allie was so focused on meeting her children’s needs that she was neglecting her own well-being.

“When a mother is under significant stress, her baby can often respond to that tension,” said Rebecca.

Rebecca connected Allie to specialists, explained the referral process, and taught her ways to comfort her baby. A Greater Hope’s ECM coordinator also arranged transportation for Allie and her baby so they could continue attending doctor appointments.

Allie’s journey is not over, but she is no longer walking the road alone. PATH CITED helped A Greater Hope build the staff and systems needed to respond to families like hers.