Grant Partners

Funding to partner with health and community-based organizations to increase access to the COVID-19 vaccine for African immigrants in Greater Boston, Lowell, and Worcester through messaging designed to increase vaccine confidence.

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

Ecu-Health Care (EHC) helps uninsured and underinsured residents of North Berkshire access health care. EHC provides individuals with assistance with new health insurance applications, renewals, redeterminations, and plan renewals. During the grant year, it will conduct outreach in collaboration with partners, including Berkshire Area Support, to support immigrants, and other populations in accessing and maintaining health insurance coverage. It also works to support clients with SNAP applications.

The Heart of a Giant Foundation (HGF) will test a community-based, culturally responsive care model which will address the social determinants of health experienced by Black and marginalized families and individuals in the Dorchester and Mattapan areas, with the goal of managing and preventing hypertension outside the clinical setting. The program will provide comprehensive health care support, health education and coaching, and will incorporate digital health technologies and remote health monitoring. The one-year pilot will provide nursing and medical services, healthy behaviors and lifestyle supports, community engagement activities, and mental health services to support patients in their journey toward emotional wellbeing and health lifestyles in a holistic way.

Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center, Inc.  (BCNC) will support two staff members to attain their certification as Mental Health First Aid trainers. These BCNC staff will then facilitate a series of mental health first aid training to other staff and youth, adults, and caregivers.  This initiative will enable BCNC staff to become more attuned and better equipped to serve participants struggling with mental health issues. Ultimately Chinese immigrant youth, adults, and families will have increased access to culturally and linguistically appropriate mental health services.

Funding to hire a consultant to conduct an assessment of its clinic space to determine its current and future space requirements, including the potential for growth in the longer term.

The Somali Development Center helps to develop the capacity of individuals and families to be self-sufficient through educational and social services. The program will equip the Somali Development Center to catalyze a new stage of growth by enhancing capacity to build campaigns and advocacy tools to advance racial justice in health. It will focus on the importance of oral health for refugees – working towards cross-cultural and patient centered health care.   

Funding to address senior isolation by providing wellness/service visits, accessing and advocating for their technology needs, and providing a conference line for seniors to participate in social activities.

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

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.

The Mayor’s Health Line (MHL) provides health insurance outreach and enrollment services, focusing on Boston neighborhoods with the highest rates of uninsured, including Mattapan, Dorchester, and East Boston, communicating with residents in the languages they prefer and where they live and feel safe. MHL is collaborating with COVID-19 outreach workers to enhance its work to connect with hard-to-reach populations. During the grant year, MHL will host virtual and in-person health literacy workshops with enrollment supports, and it will work to reduce churn through case management and dissemination of health literacy materials. MHL will continue to assist consumers to navigate social services, including expanded, streamlined, multi-lingual supports for SNAP access with education to reduce stigma.

Funding for fundraising consultant services to better support a network of farmers markets as they meet emerging needs to expand markets and reach underserved populations resulting from the pandemic.

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

Asian Women for Health (AWFH) is a peer-led, community-based network dedicated to advancing Asian women’s health and wellbeing through education, advocacy, and support. Asian Women for Health will work to strengthen its internal capacity to promote and sustain systematic solutions towards accessible, affordable, and equitable healthcare practice. The organization will work to implement the new Data Equity law by organizing community events and working with stakeholders. In addition, AWFH will advocate for language access and inclusion policies that address language barriers for residents with limited English proficiency from accessing state services, programs and information.   

Boston Center for Independent Living (BCIL) advocates with and for people with disabilities. BCIL will respond to developing situations related to the pandemic, which could include seeking timely access to booster vaccines and expanding homebound vaccinations. It will also work on prior authorization changes and new programs for expedited wheelchair repairs.  Additionally, BCIL will develop a consumer advisory group with MassHealth to monitor medical transportation providers.

In collaboration with Health Law Advocates, the Rian Immigrant Center will launch a Medical-Legal Partnership for Immigrants (MLPI) with community health centers (CHCs) in order to increase the number of immigrants that can access urgently needed legal assistance to protect their interwoven health care and immigration rights. Rian and HLA will partner with medical providers (hospitals and CHCs) to identify and refer patients who need legal assistance from HLA and/or Rian to address health care access and/or immigration needs.

Bay Cove Human Services Cape Cod Emergency Services Program (CCESP) will expand behavioral health urgent care services--encompassing mental health conditions, substance use disorders (SUD), and co-occurring disorders--to difficult to reach and isolated areas of Cape Cod. The program will increase outreach efforts to support individuals with urgent crises before they become emergencies, including regular ride alongs with police departments to proactively identify emerging crises at an earlier stage and to encourage more police departments to call the ESP in at the first sign of constituent in distress. 

Funding to build a robust, comprehensive housing tracker to shorten the wait time for housing vouchers for people experiencing homelessness.