bluecrossmafoundation Sign Up Information

To our partners, colleagues, and community:

Health inequities, as evidenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, are only one aspect of the unjust conditions and treatment experienced by people of color for centuries.

The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation stands in solidarity with the people and communities in our state and across the country who continue to bear the physical, emotional, and economic effects of racism.

We speak out against the historical and current violence against Black, brown, and indigenous people.

We are committed to our partnership with health care and community-based organizations across the Commonwealth working to address the root causes and outcomes of racism.

Sincerely,

Manny Lopes Chair, Board of Directors

Audrey Shelto President

The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation is pleased to announce awards to 20 nonprofits across Massachusetts to support their efforts to expand and adapt operations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

The Foundation is awarding Special Initiatives COVID-19 Response Grants to nonprofits that predominantly serve people of color, rural communities, people experiencing homelessness, and other at-risk populations. Grants will support increased staffing needs, investments in IT infrastructure to abide by physical distancing guidelines, and changes in programs necessitated by the pandemic.

The Foundation has given one-time, $25,000 grants to each of the following organizations:

• Advocates
• East Boston Neighborhood Health Center
• Father''s Uplift
• Hilltown Community Health Center
• La Alianza Hispana
• The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts
• Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless
• Lowell Community Health Center
• Samaritans, Inc.
• Martha''s Vineyard Community Services

The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation is pleased to announce $150,000 in new grant awards to three Massachusetts organizations addressing gaps in behavioral health care access. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when the already critical need for behavioral health care is heightened, the Foundation remains committed to supporting nonprofits that are expanding access to evidenced based care for our most vulnerable residents.

The Foundation''s Board of Directors approved three Special Initiative grants of $50,000 each to:

• Bridge Over Troubled Waters, a Boston-based nonprofit that provides innovative services to runaway, homeless and high-risk youth, many of whom have experienced trauma in the past and now face greater challenges in the current public health crisis. The grant will fund training for four counselors in dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) and virtual or residential program based support group therapy sessions for homeless youth. DBT teaches young adults skills to manage their behavioral health so they have a better chance to be able to focus on achieving long terms goals such as education, housing, and employment.
   
• United Teen Equality Center (UTEC), a nonprofit whose mission is to ignite and nurture the ambition of youth from Lowell and Lawrence. The grant will support UTEC''s "Circling Home" pilot for incarcerated or probation/parole-involved young adults. The project will create a behavioral health continuum of services for youth who are re-entering their communities in this new pandemic environment. The collaboration between behavioral health services and the criminal justice system aims to improve health outcomes and reduce recidivism. UTEC is partnering with the Sheriff''s Offices in Middlesex and Essex counties, the Massachusetts Probation Service, and Lowell Community Health Center.