GRAND JUNCTION, Colorado – Rocky Mountain Health Foundation has awarded grants totaling $1,062,500 to health-focused organizations on the Western Slope. Sixty-four organizations addressing physical and mental health, basic needs, and healthcare workforce development received grants totaling $971,000. Awards ranged from $5,000 to $30,000. Most of the funding, 55%, went to basic needs programs helping to ensure that individuals and families are housed, have access to transportation, feel safe, and do not go hungry. Programs that help people access affordable, quality healthcare accounted for 46% of the grants. Grants were awarded in the following categories: Basic Needs
- Case management: $78,000 / 6 grants
- Food (food banks and pantries, meal services, food-related equipment and delivery vehicles): $140,000 / 7 grants
- Housing (emergency shelters, safe houses, rental/mortgage assistance): $73,000 / 4 grants
- Safety (domestic violence, sexual assault, child advocacy, in-home parent education and child abuse prevention): $187,500 / 11 grants
- Transportation (medical, dial-a-ride vouchers, bus passes): $45,000 / 2 grants
Physical Health (dental, vision, hearing, and medical screening and services; animal-assisted physical & occupational therapy; health navigators & promotoras; hospice/palliative/home health care; securing health insurance): $162,000 / 11 grantsBehavioral Health (mental health counseling and therapy, crisis response, suicide prevention, substance abuse prevention, treatment, and therapy, animal-assisted behavioral health therapy, grief counseling): $205,500 / 14 grantsWorkforce Development (promoting and supporting women, people of color, and people in poverty who are seeking careers in behavioral health and health care): $39,000 / 2 grantsOther $41,000 / 7 grantsIn addition to these general operating grants, Staff Care grants were made to each of the funded organizations for a total of $91,500.
Events of the last two years have put tremendous strain on everyone, but especially on employees in the health and human service field who are often stretched to the limit and sacrifice their own health in caring for their clients. The Foundation understands that staff are the most precious resource for any organization. In response, these unsolicited, restricted grants were awarded as a means for organizations to directly support the emotional and physical wellbeing of staff. RMHF believes these grants are a unique and meaningful way to further promote the health of people on the Western Slope.
Rocky Mountain Health Foundation was established in 2017 to improve the health of Coloradans living on the Western Slope by investing in community assets and by acting as a catalyst for new approaches. To learn more about Rocky Mountain Health Foundation and to see a detailed list of funded projects, visit https://rmhealth.org/grant-making/funded-projects/. Contact: Michaelle Smith, 970.644.8188, michaelle@RMHealth.org