Sturdy Health (Attleboro, MA)

Sturdy Health made a powerful investment in the health and well-being of its communities, announcing more than $2.6 million in community health grants to support innovative, on-the-ground solutions across the region. This funding is part of a broader commitment tied to the expansion of the Sturdy Memorial Hospital Emergency Department.

These grants will support a range of impactful projects, including a school-based family stabilization effort, community navigation program, housing support services, and expanded access to nutrition, health benefits, and care coordination.

The grant awards are as follows:

  • Attleboro Public Schools—to strengthen early identification and referral pathways for students and families by connecting schools with community-based behavioral health, social services, and basic needs supports, helping to reduce social isolation and increase participation in supportive community activities.
  • The CHANCE Project—to support the collaborative initiative of the Literacy Center, Attleboro Norton YMCA, Attleboro Public Schools, Attleboro Interfaith Collaborative, The Arc of Bristol County, and Attleboro Council on Aging, to embed community health workers and peer health navigators across community sites to expand access to screening, navigation, transportation, and early intervention for individuals and families.
  • Hockomock Area YMCA—to support its Social Action Services Center and Pathways Forward Program will provide a centralized, community-based navigation and prevention model offering screening, health education, and coordinated referrals to address food insecurity, housing stability, behavioral health access, and social isolation.
  • Manet Community Health Center—to support its Health Benefits and Enabling Services Program to expand multilingual health insurance navigation and care connection services, in partnership with Community Counseling of Bristol County, ensuring residents can access and maintain continuous primary, specialty, and behavioral health care.
  • NeighborWorks Housing Solutions—to establish a “no wrong door” housing access hub in partnership with the City of Attleboro that will provide housing navigation, stabilization services, and financial counseling to reduce housing instability and homelessness risk.

Contact: Izzy Nickel at 617.243.9950 or izzy@ballcg.com.

UniHealth Foundation (Pasadena, CA)

UniHealth Foundation approved $4.57 Million to support transformative work in community health care workforce development, behavioral health integration, coordination in primary care, recuperative care expansion, neurofeedback for Veterans, and Medi-Cal transition navigation.

The grants include:

  • Beyond Blindness—to expand their mental health services for blind and visually impaired children and families by formalizing their Wellness Services program. The funds will allow it to align their services with CalAIM’s Enhanced Care Management to increase sustainability, integrate mental health into their intake processes, develop a counseling program that includes on-site and at-home services, and strengthen outreach efforts. ($200,000 over two years)
  • Charles R. Drew University of Medicine & Science—to support phase two of a collaborative, multiphase initiative to uplift and strengthen health care providers who will serve the Watts-Willowbrook community. The expansion will double CDU enrollment and create measurable improvements in health care access, workforce development, and community health. ($1,000,000 over two years)
  • Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County—to launch a multi-year capacity building initiative to help community health centers optimize their performance and ensure their financial viability in light of impending changes at the state and federal levels. It will assist health centers’ in improving their understanding of the repercussions of new policies and help them make responsive changes to their operations and finances. ($900,000 over three years)
  • Give-Mentor-Love Foundation—to integrate licensed mental health services with holistic wellness practices to promote whole-person healing for at-risk youth and young adults. Core program components include weekly individual therapy, weekly group counseling, wellness workshops focused on mindfulness and emotional regulation, and movement-based therapies such as yoga and tai chi. Together, these elements promote mental health, build resilience, strengthen identity, and develop lifelong coping and self-care skills. ($50,000)
  • New Directions for Veterans—to scale their neurofeedback services to its permanent supportive housing communities. Motivated by their findings of reduced anxiety and improved emotional regulation and sleep quality among transitional housing participants, NDVets’ program expansion will seek to strengthen wellness outcomes among Veteran residents. It will supplement this expansion with occupational therapy and case management, supporting resident stability and retention. ($450,000 over three years)
  • Share Our Selves Corporation (SOS)—to invest in expanding behavioral health services for its under-resourced patient population. Newly hired behavioral health consultants will coordinate with SOS’ physicians to integrate behavioral health screenings and interventions during primary care visits. SOS will also establish a training program that will help behavioral health consultants gain clinical hours required to qualify for licensure. ($200,000 over two years)
  • Symba Center—to grow its recuperative care program by expanding their short-term, post-hospitalization beds from 11 to 25. By hiring a licensed vocational nurse and family nurse practitioner, it will expand its capacity to provide ancillary and clinical care. Strengthening its organizational and programmatic infrastructure will allow Symba Center to offer more services, which will translate into greater financial sustainability for ongoing growth. ($150,000)
  • Uncommon Good—to invest in the Inland Empire’s community clinics and health workforce pipeline. They are creating a mentorship program that will facilitate the pairing of associate behavioral health clinicians with those who are licensed and work in Federally Qualified Health Centers, similar clinics, or any county behavioral health agency. Offering stipends to all program participants, it aims to help associates earn their hours required for licensure and encourage them to continue their service post-licensure in the Inland Empire’s community clinic network. ($500,000)
  • Union Station Homeless Services—to increase health care access to individuals and families experiencing homelessness, expanding service provision from a licensed vocational nurse to all seven of their interim housing sites. The funds will help it support more than 200 additional participants, significantly reduce health-related incidents, and improve overall wellness. ($100,000)
  • UNITE-LA—to develop a health-focused, registered pre-apprenticeship program for opportunity youth modeled after their My Pathway to Health (MPTH) program. MPTH will establish partnerships with allied health apprenticeship programs, offer pre-apprenticeship programs to prepare for enrollment, and ensure participants develop the skills needed to identify career interests, secure viable employment, and ultimately strengthen the healthcare workforce pipeline. ($200,000)
  • Variety Boys and Girls Club—to widen community access to behavioral health care, addressing both service provision and systems coordination. They will hire a licensed clinical social worker and promotora to offer a wide range of services from outreach and counseling to bilingual education and staff training. It will also engage partner agencies to develop collaborative convenings, referral networks, and shared resources. ($200,000)
  • Via Care Community Health Center—to scale its Clinical Pharmacy Program to South Gate by funding a new clinical pharmacist at the Tweedy Health Center. Its project is rooted in Medication Therapy Management (MTM), a patient-focused, evidence-based model in which clinical pharmacists serve as integral members of the care team and meet one-on-one with patients. The project integrates MTM within primary care to improve outcomes for low-income adults and seniors living with chronic conditions. ($170,000)

Washington Square Health Foundation (Chicago, IL)

Washington Square Health Foundation awarded a total of approximately $392,000 in grants to continue its mission to promote and maintain access to adequate health care for all people in the Chicagoland area regardless of race, sex, creed, or financial need.

Grant highlights from the February 2026 Grant Committee Meeting include:

  • Keshet—to support the establishment of an inclusive community center for people with disabilities and special needs of all ages offering programs such as arts, sports, social gatherings, and vocational training.
  • The Chicago Lighthouse For People Who Are Blind Or Visually Impaired—to develop, research, pilot test, and evaluate an integrated Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and mindfulness curriculum for adjustment to vision loss through a mixed-methods research approach utilizing qualitative and quantitative data.
  • ChesedChicago—to upgrade and create a new food pantry annex that would allow for all new systems and equipment to efficiently serve the growing need of food assistance programs in the community.
  • Illinois Spina Bifida Association—to provide health care coordination services for adults with spina bifida to address significant barriers in accessing comprehensive, coordinated medical care.
  • Devices 4 the Disabled (D4D)—to provide the community with continued access to durable medical and assistive equipment through the process of refurbishing, repairing, restoring, and repurposing donated medical equipment, advancing individual mobility, independence, freedom, and dignity. The program addresses an important unmet need by providing reparable medical equipment not covered by insurance or government programs, while also offering workforce training.
  • The Night Ministry—to expand the Health Outreach Bus Program to provide services directly to individuals living in tent encampments and other outdoor spaces in Chicago. Illinois three days a week providing individuals with holistic care that includes food, health services, housing connections, and case management.
  • Deborah’s Place—to provide monthly pop-up lectures for residents to promote women’s reproductive health care in East Garfield Park and Old Town locations improving accessibility and reducing barriers to women’s health care. These lectures will be in collaboration with health care professionals providing informative discussions and resources on lived experiences and health priorities of residents, encompassing important topics such as menopause, uterine fibroids, and cervical cancer awareness.
  • Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago—to support a fellowship program that prepares the next generation of physicians through comprehensive training in hematology, oncology, and stem cell transplantation. The program emphasizes mastery of clinical fundamentals, the management of complex diseases across these specialties, and provides an environment that fosters professional development and growth through active participation in translational research.
  • Centro San Bonifacio—to assist providers in addressing Spanish-speaking patient knowledge of diabetes, management, care and health outcomes on an advanced level collaborating with Belmont Cragin Cook County Health Center in a neighborhood- based community program initiative project. This partnership will provide peer support groups, appointment reminders, follow-up contact, and home visits for group participants in collaboration with Community Healthcare Workers.
  • Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science—to continue funding a scholarship program to nursing students pursuing an advanced practice degree from the Chicago region who have committed to working in underserved and underrepresented communities post graduation.
  • Orchard Village—to provide medical, electronic tools and software that will allow the regular tracking and monitoring of health measurements that include blood pressure, weight, and sleep with the goal of reducing resident obesity. This initiative helps its residents with developmental disabilities who receive comprehensive residential and health services.

Contact: Catherine Kapella at 312.664.6488 or kapella@wshf.org.

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