Complete Story
08/10/2023
Mini-grant Opportunity to Make Your Community More Accessible!
It is with great pleasure that we announce an exciting partnership between the Health and Disability Program of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the Massachusetts Health Officers Association (MHOA), Mass in Motion, the Root Cause Solutions Exchange, and the Office of Local and Regional Health. We are honored to be awarding 7 mini-grants valued at $18,000 each to municipalities in Massachusetts, to improve community accessibility for individuals with disabilities.
This initiative aims to improve the health equity of the residents of Massachusetts communities. It places significant focus on promoting both racial and disability justice. The communities are urged to consider the intersectionality of marginalized identities that the community members may have when assessing accessibility.
Awardees will use the National Center for Health, Physical Activity, and Disability’s (NCHPAD’s) easy-to-use Community Health Inclusion Index (CHII) and NCHPAD’s Inclusive Community Implementation Process (NiCIP) to guide the crafting of their projects.
More information on the CHII and NiCIP can be found here https://www.nchpad.org/1273/5989/Community~Health~Inclusion~Index and
https://www.nchpad.org/1615/6649/An~Innovative~Approach~to~Inclusive~Health.
Communities will work on their projects from December 1, 2023 - May 31, 2024.
Communities involved in the project are requested to collaborate with Independent Living Centers which offer expertise on disability-related matters. The Health and Disability Program from the Department of Public Health will provide an extra $3,000 to the Independent Living Center for each municipality they partner with. This will ensure that individuals with disabilities are a primary focus of the community projects.
If you are interested in applying for a mini-grant, please review and complete the Request for Proposals or contact Kimberley Warsett at Kimberley.Warsett@mass.gov for more information.
Prospective applicants have the opportunity to attend a webinar on September 12th at 11 AM.
While attendance is encouraged, it is not mandatory.
Applications are due October 30, 2023, by 5:00 P.M. Please consider applying to use these funds to make your community more accessible for people with disabilities!
