Grant Partners

To hire a consultant to lead a youth disability inclusion and positive behavior support training.

The Community Builders (TCB) is a nonprofit real estate developer and owner that develops housing for families and seniors, invests in local businesses and public amenities that strengthen neighborhoods, and constructs or preserves hundreds of affordable and mixed-income housing developments.  This initiative will focus on TCB communities in Worcester which house 1,500 low-income residents across three housing development sites.  In partnership with Family Health Center of Worcester, Central Mass Housing Alliance, the Worcester Police Department, and researchers at Boston College and Clark University’s Local Action Research Partnership, this team will implement a family-centered intervention to address housing stability and trauma as key social determinants of health. 

Boston Medical Center (BMC) has served as the lead agency for the Boston Emergency Services Team (BEST) since 2003. BEST is the Metro Boston Emergency Services Program, working in collaboration with Bay Cove Human Services, North Suffolk Mental Health Association and Massachusetts General Hospital. BMC will establish an Advisory Group to work closely with a Leadership Committee to develop a master strategic work plan to address issues that will lead to the creation of an expanded behavioral health urgent care system. 

To purchase blood pressure monitoring equipment, educational and marketing materials for the Lynn YMCA branch.

To implement a statewide outreach and marketing plan geared toward Massachusetts residents to increase website traffic and helpline calls.

To hire a marketing communications consultant to develop a branding strategy.

Boston Center for Independent Living (BCIL) will represent the interests of individuals with disabilities to policymakers and health care delivery system leaders. BCIL will work to ensure the availability of funds for accessible medical equipment, the continuation of funding for One Care plans, and the stability of MassHealth’s partnership with community-based organizations. BCIL will partner with other organizations in representing the disability community to accountable care organizations. Additionally, BCIL will continue its involvement with the Disability Advocates Advancing our Healthcare Rights (DAAHR) Coalition, focusing on social determinants of health.

To redesign the organization’s website, making it smartphone-accessible and multi-lingual.

To hire a grantwriter. 

The National Alliance on Mental Illness Massachusetts (NAMI Mass) will work to improve access to mental health services and to reduce stigma regarding mental health conditions. Priorities include restoring state funding and reimbursement for behavioral health services and improving commercial coverage of emergency services. Additionally, NAMI Mass will work on creating a statewide mental health training program for law enforcement. To achieve these goals, NAMI Mass will conduct policy analyses, organize local chapters and peer support program members, and participate in coalitions and stakeholder alliances.

Disability Policy Consortium (DPC) will connect disability advocacy communities across the state and amplify the voices of these groups in conversations with state and federal policymakers. In so doing, DPC seeks to re-frame disability as a social rather than medical condition and to shift the focus within disability-related health care from payment to ethics. DPC will serve as a hub for cross-disability advocacy through community-based participatory action research, their co-leadership of DAAHR, and an expanded social media presence.

Massachusetts Advocates for Children will partner with Justice Resource Institute to implement a holistic, wrap-around service model to help reduce suspensions and expulsions by addressing the behavioral health needs of the children and youth in Boston through training at least 30 JRI social workers and staff, educating parents on the behavioral health and special needs rights of their children (provided in English and Spanish), and providing individualized legal assistance for 20-30 child clients with significant behavioral health challenges.

Medical Legal Partnership Boston will develop and deliver a series of Learning Community webinars as well as a large-scale event for health care providers and human service organizations.

To hire a grant writer.

Massachusetts Public Health Association will support the Alliance for Community Health Integration (ACHI) pilot a training curriculum for community representatives of Community Benefits Advisory Committees (CBACs) on the Attorney General’s Community Benefits Guidelines and the Department of Public Health’s Determination of Need/Community Health Initiative (DoN/CHI) regulations.