Community Grants in Action:

In May 2014 BACH completed a comprehensive two year Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnerships (MAPP) process, a citywide and neighborhood-level strategic planning process that engaged more than 2,000 residents and organization representatives. This Request for Proposals was designed to help stimulate collective action on these issues at a citywide level through collaborative initiatives that will build a solid foundation for continued work. The funding will be for a period of 11.5 months and grants ranged from $25,200 to $39,000.

1. Jamaica Plain Tree of Life/Arbol de Vida Coalition with its partners, the Jamaica Plain Justice and Equity Collaborative, Alternatives for Community and Environment (ACE) and the Center for Community Health Education Research and Services (CCHERS) will work to develop a unified transit justice policy and action agenda to be implemented with community health centers in Boston. Using a racial justice framework, collaborators will document the relationship between transit justice and increased access to opportunities, housing and preventative healthcare. This initiative will also pursue a clear mandate for the City of Boston to develop racial equitable goals in all areas of city governance that would be monitored by a newly created Racial Justice and Equity Commission.
2. Neighbors Organizing Affordable Housing (NOAH) in partnership with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council and other organizations in East Boston will implement the Creative Placemaking for Public Health project to engage residents and empower them to drive the process of selecting sites, identifying short-term place interventions, and formulating creative, low-cost methods for implementation. NOAH believes that residents have a critical role to play in helping to find workable solutions for their neighborhoods. This grant will allow them to build their capacity to engage, educate and obtain meaningful input from diverse and non-English speaking, low and moderate income residents, whose voices are often not heard. This resiliency can influenced determinants of health, such as access to open space and exposure to traffic injuries.
3. Center for Community Health Education Research and Services (CCHERS) in partnership with many agencies including BACH-affiliated coalitions, community development corporations, community organizations and organizations from the African –American, Dominican, Cape Verdean, and Somali communities will provide training to neighborhood coalitions affiliated with BACH as well as 3 community development corporations, and 3 community based organizations utilizing their tested and applied curriculum, the Critical MASS Toolkit: Taking Community ACTION on Health Disparities. The emphasis will be on promoting health equity in communities through increased understanding of the social, political and economic determinants of health such as education, employment, and transportation with the purpose of broadening and strengthening coalition efforts in these areas.
4. Youth HUB in partnership with The Boston Project Ministries, ABCD, Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation, BOLD Teens, Codman Square Neighborhood Council, Tech Boston Academy and the Millennium Ten Initiative will develop Youth Cohorts which will focus on improving youth employment and health outcomes by building strong interpersonal supports starting in Codman Square, Dorchester and then replicated in Mattapan and Roxbury. Participants will receive education, exposure, practice, and coaching in job-seeking, career planning and overall professionalism in order to improve their employability in reaching career goals. These Youth Cohorts will consist of 8 – 10 youths and 2-3 adult coaches to cultivate peer, adult, and community support for young people, as well as provide support for participation in the “Youth HUB Community”– an ongoing social network that fosters youth development, employment, and overall health and well-being.