A local foundation is encouraging nonprofits in eastern Williamson County to submit proposals in the next few weeks for funding to expand area mental and maternal health services.
The St. David’s Foundation, an equity and communitydriven organization based in Central Texas, is investing up to $5 million in grant funding for “Culturally Responsive Mental Health Support” through organizations with close ties to underserved groups, and up to $7 million in support of “Healthy Births, Healthy Communities,” to promote equitable maternal health initiatives in the region.
“We are really interested in advancing health equity here in Central Texas, and this foundation recognizes the importance of community members in providing accessible and culturally relevant mental-health care and supports within the community in which they are living,” said Abena Asante, a senior program officer. Asante said the ratio of mental-health providers to residents in Williamson County is one to 1,439 people and one to 3,900 people in neighboring Bastrop County.
“That is not right,” Asante said. “So our focus is determining how we can lift up our communities in our service area.”
To counter this, the organization is looking to elevate non-clinical initiatives, such as “Libraries for Health,” a program available through several libraries in the region, including Taylor, Smithville, Bastrop and more, which has been spearheaded by the foundation.
“We want to provide nonclinical mental health support within a library setting that involves engaging and hiring peer specialists to engage with adult patrons around mental health—an individual with the lived experience of successfully navigating mental-health challenges who is able to use them to help support other individuals,” Asante said.
In addition, St. David’s is offering an open call for proposals from support organizations working to improve birth outcomes for women of color in the region.
“In Texas, what we do know is there are significant disparities by race, particularly for women of color,” said Andrew Levack, a senior program officer with St. David’s. “What we do know is the risk of a Black mother dying related to pregnancy is twice that of a White mother.”
Levack said traditional health care providers as well as nonprofit community-led organizations are encouraged to submit proposals to create “an ecosystem that recognizes some of those challenges that women of color have.”
He added, “This represents an ongoing commitment that the foundation has to addressing maternal health and birth equity.”
The initiative for seven years has supported organizations working to improve birth outcomes and ensure expecting mothers have access to “safe, high quality and respectful care,” Levack said.
Both large nonprofits and small grassroots organizations with close ties to their communities are encouraged to apply as early as possible for either funding opportunity using a letter-of-intent process, or LOI, before 5 p.m. July 28.
According to officials, proposals that “strongly align” with the programs’ goals will have until 5 p.m. Aug. 15 to submit a full application.
“Applicants can submit multiple LOIs. However, each LOI must represent a unique program or project,” a release stated.
For more, go to https:// stdavidsfoundation.org/howwe- work/grantmaking/funding- opportunities/healthybirths- healthy-communities/ or https://stdavidsfoundation. org/how-we-work/grantmaking/ funding-opportunities/ culturally-responsive-mentalhealth- support/
