Our Annual Highlights 2020 is now published, and we invite you to give it a read. Not surprisingly, the key theme is about adapting to a world thrown off kilter by COVID-19. In several featured profiles, we celebrate the creativity and dedication of our grant partners. The design of the Annual Highlights features Liz Tower's art.
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MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS MONTH PROFILE
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In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, we would like to take an opportunity to spotlight the work of the Children’s Mental Health Campaign (CMHC), a Massachusetts-based initiative.
CMHC was created in 2007 as a partnership between the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (MSPCC) and Boston Children’s Hospital. The idea was to create a broad coalition of organizations dedicated to accessible, quality mental health services for children and families. The network both advocates for systems and policy change and supports innovative pilots and scaling solutions that work. Now over 200 members strong, CMHC has built an executive committee that includes the two original founders and leaders from the Parent/Professional Advocacy League, Health Care for All, Health Law Advocates, and Massachusetts Association for Mental Health.
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COVID-19 RESPONSE GRANT OPPORTUNITY
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This summer, the Tower Foundation is offering an additional opportunity (and hopefully the last one specifically related to COVID-19!) to apply for funding to support organizations that have continued their work in the face of challenges tied to the pandemic. Organizations with existing programming in the Foundation’s funding geography expressly serving young people with intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities, mental illness, and/or substance use disorders and their families are eligible to apply for unrestricted grants of up to $25,000. Applications are due by July 7, 2021.
Please click the button below to access our "Apply for a Grant" page on our website for more information about this grant opportunity.
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In late 2019, Wilder Research conducted another round of surveys as part of the Foundation's TowerDATA Project. Parents of young people living with intellectual and/or learning disabilities were sent surveys to understand how their needs differed from the rest of the community, and how the community can help them. Then the COVID-19 pandemic struck.
To understand how the pandemic affected these families, the Tower Foundation surveyed the same parents in the Fall of 2020, well into the social isolation period of the pandemic. Based on the findings of the two surveys, the Tower Foundation learned that young people living with an intellectual or learning disability faced increased barriers to socialization and education services over the course of the pandemic, as well as fewer opportunities for employment.
The summary of these findings is now available. Click the button below to access it to learn more.
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