Focus for Health Foundation

History

Focus for Health Foundation was founded by Barry Segal in 2009 as Focus Autism. ¹ Segal was founder and CEO of the roofing materials company Bradco. ² Segal founded the Segal Family Foundation supporting community organizations in sub-Saharan Africa. ² Segal subsequently founded Focus Autism to advocate for children that he claimed were more susceptible to developing autism through vaccines, environmental toxins, and immunological threats. ¹ In 2015, Focus Autism’s mission expanded and changed its name to Focus for Health Foundation. ¹

Positions

Focus for Health Foundation’s three major focuses are awareness and education, overcoming health disparity, and prevention of childhood sex abuse. ³ Through awareness and education, Focus for Health identifies issues that prevent healthy living such as food insecurity, unemployment, vaping, and bullying. ⁴ Focus for Health provides education on topics such as boosting immune systems, relaxation techniques, and self-care. ⁴

Focus for Health Foundation states that Black people and other people of color are vulnerable to racial trauma and police violence due to “living in a system dominated by white supremacy.” ⁵ Focus for Health states that persons of color may be traumatized just by watching a video of the death of George Floyd even if that person has never had a personal, negative interaction with a police officer. ⁵ Focus for Health has criticized the National Football League for failing to hire more Black individuals as coaches and in team management. ⁶ Other health-disparity issues Focus for Health identifies are racial disparities in the effects of climate change, rape culture in America, child slavery and labor in the chocolate industry, and microaggressions. ⁷

Focus for Health Foundation has advocated for abolishing the Electoral College in presidential races. ⁸ Founder Barry Segal has stated that corporations need to pay a higher tax burden, the Citizens United v. FEC Supreme Court decision should be repealed, both donor-advised funds and colleges must spend more of their endowments annually, and the threshold for annual gift taxes should be raised. ⁹ Focus for Health has advocated that America has too many firearms and supports an Australia-style gun buyback-and-confiscation program, rigid gun ownership requirements like Japan’s, and a UK-style ban on handguns. ¹⁰

Focus for Health expressed that COVID-19 vaccines were not given enough research time with the potential to do more harm than good leading to unintended side-effects. ¹¹ Barry Segal, founder of Focus for Health Foundation, has funded Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s anti-Covid vaccine organization Children’s Health Defense. In 2019, Segal and Focus for Health gave Children’s Health Defense $145,120 prior to the pandemic. ¹² In 2014, Focus for Health published and quickly retracted a study that alleged vaccination was linked to autism in young Black boys. ¹² The Daily Beast reported that Focus on Health Foundation has donated “hundreds of thousands of dollars into the National Vaccine Information Center, which experts have described as the ‘most powerful anti-vaccine organization in America.’” ¹²

Finances

In 2019, Focus for Health Foundation had net assets of $21,816,006. ¹³ According to the organization’s tax returns, in 2019 Focus for Health recorded $6,201,566 in revenue and $3,014,025 in expenses. ¹³ In 2018, Focus for Health Foundation raised $4,404,985 in revenue and $2,619,199 in expenses. ¹⁴ Focus for Health does not accept monetary donations to the foundation. ¹⁵

Leadership

Jennifer Shore has been executive director of Focus for Health Foundation since 2019. ¹⁶ Throughout her career, Shore has written cookbooks and manuals aimed toward people with disabilities, WIC, and SNAP recipients. ¹⁶ Shore has degrees in psychology from Rutgers University and Farleigh Dickinson University. ¹⁶

Barry Segal is founder of Focus for Health Foundation. ¹ In addition to Focus for Health Foundation and Segal Family Foundation, in 2021 Segal founded Focus Central America Foundation to focus on education, health, violence prevention, and working with marginalized groups in Central America. ¹⁷ Segal has long been a benefactor to the Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea Clinton Foundation, stating that President Bill Clinton opened his eyes on issues in Africa. ¹⁸ Segal and the Segal Family Foundation has been to Clinton Foundation events, donated at least $100,000 to the Clinton Foundation, and had private meetings with President Clinton and Chelsea Clinton on vaccine mandates. ¹⁸