CDPH Grants $13 Million To Help Combat Mental Health Disparities

The California Department of Public Health will award $12.99 million to 11 organizations to provide mental healthcare services to underserved communities throughout the state.

            The money is going to non-profit community organizations, most of which have budgets of $500,000 a year or less but have a track record of providing services to the mentally.

The grants, which are valued at $1.18 million apiece and will be provided over the course of 5.5 years, will go to organizations that serve the African-American, Asian-American, Latino and LBGTQ communities. Among them are the California Black Women’s Health Project in Los Angeles; the Integral Community Solutions Institute in Fresno; the Hmong Cultural Center of Butte County; and the Gay & Lesbian Center of Bakersfield.

The money comes from the California Reducing Disparities Project, funded through Proposition 63.

“The California Reducing Disparities Project recognizes that many of the promising mental health services in our most diverse communities need additional support in order to improve their effectiveness,” said CDPH Director Karen Smith, M.D. “CDPH is committed to funding organizations that are doing meaningful work in their communities to reduce mental health disparities but are not often considered for large grants.”