Baystate Issues Request for Proposals for Better Together Grants Program

SPRINGFIELD — Baystate Medical Center, in partnership with its Community Benefits Advisory Council (CBAC), is issuing a request for proposals (RFP) for the Better Together Grants Program.

Baystate is calling for proposals that advance youth well-being through strategic interventions that seek to decrease adverse youth mental-health outcomes. The hospital recognizes that addressing youth mental health is not limited to clinical settings or traditional medical treatment; thus, this grant opportunity encourages proposals that target social determinants of health and other community/cultural factors that improve people’s overall well-being and make communities healthier places to live.

Applicants can submit one proposal with the proposed project aligning with at least one of the hospital’s priority focus area strategies:

• Destigmatizing and normalizing projects have a clear focus of eliminating mental-health stigma and advancing youth well-being through creating environments, programs, and/or supports that allow youth to feel empowered to discuss their mental well-being.

• Social-connection projects have a clear focus of eliminating social isolation by facilitating opportunities for social connection among youth and their families, peers, schools, culture, activities, and/or places of living.

• Social-emotional learning (SEL) skill-building projects utilize the SEL framework and curriculum design as a means to equip youth with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to support emotional and behavioral health, overall well-being, and productivity in school and society.

• Social-media projects leverage social-media strategy as a tool to foster a healthy view of youth mental well-being, addressing both benefits and harms of technology.

Applicants are asked to carefully review the RFP grant guidelines prior to submitting their round-one application, which is due Wednesday, March 27. Finalists will be notified and invited to the application interview stage by Monday, April 8.

A virtual general information session will be held today, Feb. 14, from 1 to 2 p.m. All interested organizations and applicants are encouraged to register for the information session. For those who cannot attend, the session is being recorded and will be available for access on the Baystate website at baystatehealth.org/applyforfunding.