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Initiatives focused on increasing access to healthy food, housing, technology and other supports

WATERTOWN, MA – July 7, 2021 – Tufts Health Plan Foundation today announced 16 new grants to support collaborative initiatives helping communities in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island be great places to grow up and grow old.

“We’ve seen dramatic inequities across the region over this past year,” said Thomas P. O’Neill, III, chair of the Tufts Health Plan Foundation board. “As our region moves toward recovery, we have an opportunity—and an obligation—to rethink how our systems support healthy aging and older people. Communities that are welcoming for older adults are welcoming for young families and everyone in between.”

The grants, totaling $1.95 million, aim to increase access to healthy food, housing, technology, and other supports. They invest in community-led efforts to promote systems change and encourage collaboration.

“Older people were among the hardest hit by the pandemic, especially older people of color, immigrants and those living with or those caring for someone with dementia,” said Nora Moreno Cargie, president of Tufts Health Plan Foundation and vice president for corporate citizenship at Point32Health, the parent organization of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Tufts Health Plan.“ These investments will support community resiliency and build on what we’ve learned in the past 16 months—that collaboration across organizations and sectors strengthens communities and result in better outcomes.”

Six Collaboration and Community Engagement grants go to:

• Agency on Aging of South Central Connecticut, Inc. (North Haven, Conn)
  One-year grant for $70,000
  Planning grant supporting all five Connecticut area agencies on aging as they move from a regional system for delivering aging information and assistance/referral services to a unified statewide system that offers navigation services for older adults and makes it possible to access resources via a single point of entry
• Housing Navigator Massachusetts, Inc. (Boston, Mass.)
  Two-year grant for $100,000
  To develop an affordable housing search tool informed by diverse older adults and to provide training and education resources to older adult service providers (Citizens Housing and Planning Association serves as the fiscal agent)
• HousingWorks RI at Roger Williams University (Providence, R.I.)
  Two-year grant for $120,000
  To develop a comprehensive, 10-year strategy to address housing needs and challenges for older adults across Rhode Island
• Massachusetts Association for Mental Health, Inc. (Boston, Mass.)
  Three-year grant for $225,000
  To strengthen and expand coalitions focused on older adults and behavioral health, including engagement of stakeholders from multiple disciplines and agencies in Massachusetts
• Massachusetts Councils on Aging (Easthampton, Mass.)
  Three-year grant for $225,000
  To support community dementia-friendly initiatives in Massachusetts, including raising awareness of the needs of people living with dementia, and the impact of social isolation in the context of COVID-19
• Massachusetts Healthy Aging Collaborative (Lawrence, Mass.)
  Two-year grant for $175,000
  To continue the state’s leadership in the age- and dementia-friendly movements through collective action, convening, and community engagement (Elder Services of the Merrimack Valley and North Shore serves as the fiscal agent)

Ten Systems and Best Practices grants go to:

• Alzheimer's Association MA/NH Chapter (Waltham, Mass.)
  Two-year grant for $140,000
  To expand access to essential care and supports in under-invested communities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire
• DataHaven (New Haven, Conn.)
  One-year grant for $37,000
  To support the creation of actionable health equity data on older adults in Connecticut
• Friends of 2Life Communities Inc. (Brighton, Mass.)
  One-year grant for $50,000
  To support a model for meeting the technology needs of diverse older people with low incomes
• Greater Lynn Senior Services, Inc. (Lynn, Mass.)
  Two-year grant for $100,000
  To unite multiple programs, through a comprehensive food hub, and address the nutrition and social needs of older adults with low incomes living in Lynn
• Groundwork Lawrence, Inc. (Lawrence, Mass.)
  Two-year grant for $170,000
  To implement the City of Lawrence’s healthy aging action plan with a resilience framework lens
• Jewish Family & Children's Service (Waltham, Mass.)
  Two-year grant for $77,539
  Expand Dementia Friends programming and supports into communities of color and pilot a Community Lead partner role with community organizations
• Little Brothers - Friends of the Elderly (Boston, Mass.)
  Two-year grant for $70,000
  To develop and launch Digital Dividends, an intergenerational technology training program for older adults with low incomes
• Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts (Springfield, Mass.)
  Two-year grant for $160,000
  To foster an age-friendly ecosystem utilizing a health equity approach to change policies and practices in Springfield and Hampden County
• Rockingham Nutrition and Meals on Wheels Program, Inc. (Brentwood, N.H.)
  Two-year grant for $99,000
  To assist the greater Rockingham region in becoming age-friendly, including helping municipalities conduct assessments and launch pilot projects
• SeniorCare, Inc. (Gloucester, Mass.)
  Two-year grant for $130,000 grant
  To update and implement the Age- and Dementia-Friendly Cape Ann age-friendly action plan to reflect community needs that emerged during the pandemic

About Tufts Health Plan Foundation
Established in 2008, Tufts Health Plan Foundation supports the health and wellness of the diverse communities we serve. The Foundation has given nearly $50 million to nonprofits in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. Our focus is healthy living with an emphasis on older people and moving communities toward age-friendly policies and practices that are relevant, focus on older people, and include them in community solutions. In 2021, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Tufts Health Plan combined under a common parent organization, Point32Health. Moving forward, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Tufts Health Plan Foundations will work as one to benefit community. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.