BIDMC Invests in Impactful Local Organizations as Part of Its $18.4 Million Community-Based Health Initiative

$6.8 million will be awarded to organizations focused on housing, jobs and financial security, and behavioral health programs

BOSTON – Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) has selected 17 local organizations to receive funding for impactful initiatives in the areas of housing affordability, jobs and financial security, and behavioral health. This funding represents a significant portion of the $18.4 million dollars that will be invested into the community over the next six years as part of the Massachusetts Determination of Need (DoN) process for BIDMC's new inpatient building.

"BIDMC has a proud history of supporting the health and wellbeing of our communities," said Pete Healy, President of BIDMC. "This important milestone reflects our commitment to all the populations that we serve. We look forward to working with these impactful organizations to support programs and initiatives that lead to more equitable and healthy communities."

BIDMC will award $6.8 million over three years to 17 local non-profit organizations working in the neighborhoods of Allston/Brighton, Bowdoin/Geneva, Chinatown, Fenway/Kenmore, Mission Hill, and Roxbury and the City of Chelsea. The BIDMC Community Benefits Advisory Committee – made up of local leaders and residents – led a community-engaged process to identify health needs and strengths through public meetings, focus groups, engagement partnerships with Boston CHNA-CHIP Collaborative and others, and thoughtful reviews of evidence-based and informed strategies. BIDMC adopted the full set of recommendations from the Committee.

"We recognize the importance of intentionality when working towards achieving health equity," said Nancy Kasen, Vice President of Community Benefits and Community Relations at Beth Israel Lahey Health, the health care system BIDMC is a member of. "The Allocation Committee carefully considered whether the selected organization's leadership reflected the lived experience of the communities they serve and how their efforts would reach populations disproportionately impacted by racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic health inequities. BIDMC is proud to partner with these organizations to create meaningful and sustainable change."

Cross-Sector Partnership for Systems Change Grantees ($1,000,000)

• Bridge Over Troubled Waters | Housing Affordability, Jobs & Financial Security, Behavioral Health
• Metro Housing|Boston | Housing Affordability, Jobs & Financial Security

Focused Investment Grantees ($500,000)

• Asian Community Development Corporation | Housing Affordability
• BAGLY (Boston Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Queer and Transgender Youth) | Housing Affordability
• City Life/Vida Urbana | Housing Affordability
• Community Servings | Jobs & Financial Security
• English for New Bostonians | Jobs & Financial Security
• The Family Van | Behavioral Health
• Fathers' Uplift | Behavioral Health
• Fenway Community Development Corporation | Housing Affordability

Capacity Building Seed Funding Grantees ($100,000)

• ACEDONE (African Community Economic Development of New England) | Behavioral Health
• Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center | Behavioral Health
• Charles River Community Health | Behavioral Health
• Greater Boston Chinese Golden Age Center | Behavioral Health
• Nuestra Comunidad Development Corporation | Housing Affordability
• Sociedad Latina | Jobs & Financial Security

In addition to the 16 organizations above, BIDMC's Community-based Health Initiative also recently awarded $270,000 to North Suffolk Mental Health Association to improve access to behavioral health services in the city of Chelsea over the next two years. This is the first of several Community-based Health Initiative funding opportunities BIDMC will be announcing over the next three years.