GRAND RAPIDS — Two teams of nonprofits in Grand Rapids this year received grants from national organizations focused on racial disparity in health outcomes.
In May, a new initiative known as Invest Health announced $3 million in grants, given as $60,000 awards to mid-size cities around the country. In total, 180 teams applied, and 50 were chosen. Grand Rapids was one of four Michigan awardees, along with Flint, Lansing and Pontiac.
Then in August, the Office of Minority Health (OMH) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded a grant of $1.78 million to Arbor Circle. The grant, spread over five years in $356,000 annual increments, is part of the OMH’s new Re-Entry Community Linkages (RE-LINK) program, focused on improving health outcomes for young men of color transitioning from jail back into a community.