We Can’t Fix What We Don’t Measure: Why the Youth Risk Behavior Survey is Critical
In 2021, 1 in 6 high school students was electronically bullied or bullied at school. That same year, 22 percent of high school students, and 45 percent of students who identified as LGBTQ+, seriously considered attempting suicide. We know this information because of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, which along with other state and local surveys, comprises the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System.
New FORE Grants to Combat the Overdose Crisis
The Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts (FORE) recently announced $2.2 million in grants to community-based organizations in urban and rural areas to support prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery initiatives to address opioid use disorder and the overdose crisis.
How Climate Change Affects Our Mental Health, and What We Can Do About It
The Commonwealth Fund recently published an article on how climate change doesn’t just affect our physical health but can also harm our mental health, further taxing a behavioral health care system already in crisis.
For the Community, By the Community: How Philanthropy Can Support Culturally-Led Mental Health Program
Mindful philanthropy recently released new guidance on how funders can support culturally-led mental health programs that are developed by and for communities of color.
Let’s Close the Gap on Mental Health for Good in 2023
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, a mental health crisis was growing in America, with 1 in 10 adults reporting symptoms of anxiety or depression. Today, that number is 3 in 10. The recently launched 988 hotline—the mental health equivalent and alternative to 911—is a monumental step forward in changing how we acknowledge and respond to mental health needs nationally. It finally puts mental health on equal ground with physical health—a recognition long overdue—but it is only a first step in addressing the multitude of behavioral health needs.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation: January 2023
This report, “A Focus on Health Care: Five Priorities for the Next Administration,” synthesizes the findings from stakeholder interviews, describing five health care priorities for the new governor and legislative leaders to immediately pursue.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation: November 2022
A new report, “Creating a Robust, Diverse, and Resilient Behavioral Health Workforce in Massachusetts” describes challenges that have put the behavioral health workforce in crisis and outlines seven recommendations.
Rural Investment Models for Substance Use Disorder Recovery Ecosystems
Grantmakers In Health and New York Funders Alliance explored funding models that boost multi-sector support systems for people in recovery from substance use disorders in rural communities.
Health Philanthropy’s Equity Blind Spot: Syringe Services Programs
Syringe services programs (SSPs) have existed, mostly under the radar, in the United States since the early days of the response to the HIV epidemic. Illegal then, and still illegal in many jurisdictions across the country today, sterile syringe access is a bedrock of harm reduction.
Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts
The opioid crisis is a wide-ranging public health crisis that will require many different approaches and disciplines to effect real change. It will require bringing together and highlighting the intersections of physical and mental health, social determinants of health, and long-standing policies including those on criminal justice and access to treatment. To that end, many health funders can find a role to play that contributes to reducing mortality and increasing well-being, even if they do not consider themselves opioid use disorder funders.