Grant Partners

Greater Lawrence Action Council (GLCAC) is a social service agency rooted in the community. GLCAC will concentrate its efforts in Lawrence, and expand services to Lowell and Haverhill, which are all areas with high uninsurance. During the grant period, they will conduct community-based outreach and enrollment using data to help focus and reach specific communities with Community Action, Inc. and Community Teamwork, Inc. to reach clients using print and digital media. They will focus on communities with the most barriers to accessing and maintaining health coverage by using data and mapping to guide their outreach and enrollment efforts.

Stavros' mission is to help persons with disabilities and Deaf people develop the tools and skills they need to take charge of their own lives. They accomplish this through programs and services designed to meet the needs of persons of any age or disability as they work to achieve the life goals that are important to them. Stavros provides services to persons that identify as having a disability and who live in Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin counties of western Massachusetts. Stavros will work with the BCBSMA Foundation and its technical assistance partners to support community members in addressing mild mental health distress and practical problems of daily living. Stavros will implement the PM+ model to support people with disabilities who live in western Massachusetts and have difficulty getting services due to limited access to the internet and transportation.

Funding requested to pilot a program to recruit and train more people of color to be lactation specialists in Western MA.

Community Action Committee of Cape Cod & Islands (CACCI) serves a vital region of the state and its partnerships with organizations across the Cape and Islands will expand its presence in areas of the region that experience higher uninsurance rates. The organization will also build their relationships with local businesses and develop a toolkit of health insurance outreach materials in Brazilian, Portuguese, Spanish, and Haitian Creole.  

Centro Presente will meet with individuals and families to help determine their health needs and connect them with resources and services that meet those needs. Its population of focus will be immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in communities across the Commonwealth. It will also coordinate closely with other community-based organizations and local and state agencies to ensure that its services are additive and not duplicative. 

Funding for technology needs to facilitate applications for MassHealth and ongoing contact with patients seeking mental health services.

Disability Policy Consortium (DPC) promotes health justice and ending health disparities for people with disabilities.  DPC will work with people of color-led organizations for more equitable distribution of health resources and better data collection on marginalized communities.  DPC will advocate for regulatory overhaul focused on changing MassHealth policies around absorbency products and wheelchair repair.  In addition, it will continue its work with the Dignity Alliance Massachusetts to fight for fundamental long-term care reform, from banning double-occupancy rooms to diverting significant funding to home-based care.

Cambridge Economic Opportunity Committee’s (CEOC) one-stop bundled services model allows them to serve the whole person or family and not just one need. This approach results in wider access to an array of benefits, including health insurance. CEOC has ongoing relationships with their clients and strong community partnerships allowing them to support clients through the federal COVID-19 Public Health Emergency and life changes that may impact their coverage status. During the grant period, CEOC will provide multi-lingual outreach to the remaining uninsured by going where they receive services, conducting community and education events, and advertising on local and ethnic social media in English, Haitian Creole, Amharic, Portuguese, and Spanish. They will also expand outreach to neighborhoods that experience high rates of uninsurance with a focus on the Latino, Haitian, African American, and Brazilian communities; individuals and families under 300% of the Federal Poverty Level; single, younger, and people of color; and employment sectors with a high rate of uninsurance

Funding to improve security measures that includes additional surveillance equipment to ensure the organization can safely provide food and other services to the community.

Funding for new equipment to improve the food pantry and make it more welcoming for guests.

Funding to build a sensory room and expand the Sherill House Expressive Therapy program to meet the complex healthcare needs of residents and patients, especially those with Alzheimer’s or dementia.

The Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers (MLCHC) works to support community health centers (CHC) and seeks to advance its knowledge and identify entry points for increased direct advocacy, while continuing to support the ongoing work of CHCs. It is seen as a trusted source of information for CHCs and is often called on by the state for policy expertise, input, and convening functions.  MLCHC will finalize negotiation and implementation of MassHealth’s Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) prospective payment system, and promote equitable access to telehealth by leveraging funding to develop digital access initiatives, including a CHC digital bridge pilot.  Additionally, MLCHC will advocate for continued and new workforce investments to address shortages; investments will develop and expand programs that focus on the growth of culturally and linguistically diverse CHC care teams that include behavioral health, community health workers (CHWs), and peer supports to address patients' health-related social needs.

Brookview House is a Black and Latinx women-led community-based agency working for justice, equity, and systemic change for low-income families. Through a two-generation, culturally responsive approach, Brookview provides housing with on-site programs to improve health, educational achievement, and economic stability. Brookview will develop and implement a grassroots community engagement campaign that identifies the intersection of substance use and oral health and the impact on young people – including a social media component. They will also work to increase the health advocacy skills and build grassroots power of the Brookview Youth Advisory Board.   

East Boston Neighborhood Health Center (EBNHC) will develop and pilot a culturally adapted health education and nutrition intervention program to improve rates of controlled blood pressure for economically marginalized Latinos with hypertension in East Boston. The pilot will help EBNHC assess the feasibility and effectiveness of this approach and identify ways to improve the program, such as adapting the program to a virtual format.

Funding for a consultant to work with program nutritionists to source ingredients and develop more culturally competent and medically tailored menus for seniors.