Grant Partners

THRIVE will develop a pilot to provide high-quality ongoing mental health service to THRIVE community members to address underlying trauma or long-term impacts of incarceration. THRIVE will partner with Lowell House to support individuals while still incarcerated and serve as a consistent point of contact when their detention is over to navigate community resources and services and help coordinate mental health care services.

Brien Center will increase community-based locations with behavioral health urgent care (BHUC) and expand their operating hours, including 24/7/365 staff for BHUC. Brien Center’s BHUC program will also serve as a bridge between an individual’s emergency services assessment and the connection to outpatient services. The Center will increase its focus on working with all local police departments, the Massachusetts State Police, and other sources to encourage appropriate direct referral and transport to community-based behavioral health urgent care rather than the Emergency Department.

Funding for training sessions to support home hospice nurses manage pandemic-related stress, which has resulted in compassion fatigue and burn out. The session will help nurses continue to be strong caregivers.

This grant was made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Greater New Bedford Community Health Center (GNBHC) assists people with insurance applications and renewals and provides education on how to use and keep coverage. GNBHC works to bridge the gaps between enrollment and maintenance of health insurance coverage year-round. GNBHC also outreaches to community-based organizations to reach immigrants, people experiencing unemployment, and young people. The health center also provides referrals for clients who require assistance in applying for SNAP and it is exploring opportunities to provide the assistance in-house.

Cape Verdean Women United, Inc (CVWU) will increase access to services for marginalized intimate partner violence survivors as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The program will include care coordination services, evidence-based education on violence prevention, and specialized language services. One of the goals of the project is to create robust community dialogue around intimate partner violence and make the community aware of organizations that provide services tailored to ethnically and racially marginalized community members.

Gándara Center will support children, youth, families, and adults who are currently lacking services or underserved by the service delivery system by increasing their ability to receive high-quality outpatient services remotely.  The initiative will strengthen the telehealth infrastructure through the use of telehealth kiosks and will subsidize the purchase of data plans.

Funding to hire a consultant to help transform its work culture and service delivery model with an enhanced focus on racial equity, inclusion, and cultural competency to better serve its clients.

Funding for a consultant to create a program for 30 youth to discuss mental health issues and to reduce mental health stigma in the community.

This grant was made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Funding to support a 24-week health and wellness initiative for people with low-income. The initiative includes group sessions, nutrition, exercise, and relationship building to address depression, stress, isolation, anxiety, and suicidal ideation in communities of color.

Mass Senior Action Council (MSAC) is a member-led organization and is the only organization in Massachusetts that informs, engages, and empowers low-income seniors from diverse communities to have direct input in shaping the Commonwealth's health policy decisions. MSAC will advocate to expand access to affordable healthcare for lower-income Medicare beneficiaries by: raising state income eligibility of the Medicare Savings Programs from 165% to 200% of the federal poverty level (FPL); and updating the MassHealth asset limit to exclude life insurance policies. In addition, it will continue to meet with a range of stakeholders to better understand the oversight of Long-Term Care and to identify opportunities for increased protections for residents of nursing facilities. MSAC will also continue to advocate for a fully integrated intake and eligibility process for state health, food, and other means-tested benefits. MSAC is also continuing its efforts to have all 6 Senior Care Options programs include Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and other benefit enrollment during their intake and re-certification processes. 

Caring Health Center (CHC) works to increase insurance enrollment and access to benefits among uninsured and underinsured residents of the Springfield area, including immigrants, refugees, non-English speaking individuals, and persons of color. CHC will increase health insurance enrollment through outreach, education, eligibility screening, plan selection, and assistance in submitting documentation to obtain and maintain coverage. During the grant year, it will increase individual capacity to navigate changes in coverage through, culturally- and linguistically responsive, one-on-one and group education, advocacy, and counseling. CHC will collaborate with refugee resettlement agencies, cultural organizations serving immigrant communities, schools, employment centers, providers, and social service agencies to increase access to health insurance. It will also continue to provide SNAP enrollment assistance.

Funding to hire a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging consultant to audit its staff training model, using a racial and gender equity lens, to ensure that staff deliver inclusive, equitable services to victims of domestic violence.

La Colaborativa is a trusted partner to Latinx immigrants in Chelsea and surrounding areas with a mission to empower community members to enhance the social and economic health of the community and its people; and to hold institutional decisionmakers accountable to the community. La Colaborativa will build on its distinct, culturally relevant, community-based approach to promote community health and advocate for systems change. La Colaborativa will continue to expand its health advocacy work to improve health equity and expand coverage and access – specifically for immigrants, regardless of documentation status. 

This grant funded the development and maintenance of of a centralized resource that documents and describes how Massachusetts, with support from the federal government, has implemented several policy and programmatic changes intended to promote continued access to health care services and health insurance coverage during the COVID-19 public health emergency. 

Health Law Advocates (HLA) advocates for public policy reforms that help consumers access necessary health care and provides legal expertise with grassroots organizing and policy reform to advance healthcare access.  HLA will advocate to reduce barriers preventing immigrants from accessing health care. It will focus on improving health insurance coverage for immigrants and reducing the medical debt incurred by immigrants. HLA will help immigrants access health care through three interrelated activities: policy advocacy, legal assistance for immigrants, and training programs for providers. Additionally, HLA will continue its longstanding advocacy for better access to mental health care for youth. HLA lawyers will advocate with policymakers across our health care, human services, education, and judicial systems to remove barriers to mental health care for children.