Community Investments

BIDMC is excited to share the overarching evaluation findings from the first cohort of Boston grantees:

Prepared by an independent evaluator Health Resources in Action (HRiA), hired by BIDMC, this executive summary highlights the demographics of participants reached, the number of services delivered, and the impact achieved across the three priority areas of housing affordability, jobs and financial security, and behavioral health.

Together with BIDMC’s community partners, we reached more than 2,850 individuals, delivering meaningful impact, including:

• Improvements in participants’ levels of housing satisfaction, control over their housing situation, and confidence in their ability to improve their housing situation.
• Progress towards housing policy change, including changes to the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program.
• Improvements in participants’ positive financial habits and behaviors, such as currently having a personal budget, spending plan, and/or financial plan.
• Improved or stabilized mental health symptoms and increased likelihood of seeking help for mental health symptoms.

See the detailed report for more information about the impact the grantees made.

La Colaborativa used their Jobs and Financial Security grant to expand their year-round Chelsea Youth Employment Program for teenagers and young adults ages 14-21. Over the 3-year grant period, participants gained substantial internship and training experience, improved or maintained their professional skills, and improved financial behaviors related to budgeting. Read the final executive summary report for additional information.

North Suffolk Mental Health Association (now known as North Suffolk Community Services) used their Behavioral Health grant to create a bilingual clinical intensive case management team that worked with uninsured and underinsured individuals between the ages of 5 and 75 years and their families living in Chelsea. Program participants achieved significant impact including:

• Increased knowledge of and confidence in accessing community resources for basic and social emotional needs.
• A higher likelihood of having someone to talk to about one's problem at the time of graduation.
• An improved ability to cope with difficult situations.

Read the final executive summary report for additional information.

The Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative (HNI) is a community investment effort led by BIDMC to support resident-led, community-driven projects that advance health equity in Boston’s neighborhoods. Through HNI, neighborhood-based coalitions received funding to design and implement initiatives that reflect the unique needs and strengths of their communities. BIDMC has funded projects in Bowdoin/Geneva, Fenway/Kenmore, Allston/Brighton, Chinatown, Mission Hill, Roxbury, and the City of Chelsea. Data+Soul Research, hired by BIDMC, serves as the independent evaluator for HNI. Impact from HNI projects to date includes:

• Building community leadership infrastructure, bridging social ties through a neighborhood-wide health fair and distribution of mini-grants, and disseminating a community resource guide in multiple languages (Healthy Bowdoin Geneva)
• Training resident leaders to strengthen the capacity and sustainability of the Fenway Cares program, creating authentic relationships between residents and organizations, and increasing financial well-being through financial coaching and case management (We’re Here for You: Fenway/Kenmore)
• Establishing three gardening brigades and collaborating on six public wellness events, which increased emotional wellness and confidence, social connection and residents, sense of belonging in Chinatown, and care for Chinatown (Chinatown HOPE)
• Hosting 29 women’s wellness events with over 700 attendees, collectively increasing knowledge of women’s health issues, increasing feelings of connectedness and belonging, and decreasing stigma (Chelsea Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative)
• Two key outcomes have emerged across the seven collectives: new relationships and collaborations, and increased skills and experience in community engagement. Read the full evaluation report to learn more about this place-based grantmaking model and the lessons learned.