Project Announcement: Youth Mental Health Access (YMHA) Community Project

We are thrilled to announce two grants of up to $30,000 for "The Youth Mental Health Access Community Project", which aim to reduce barriers to mental health for Black, Indigenous, and Person of Color (BIPOC) children and youth between the ages of 6 – 17.

The Washington State Managed Care Organization (MCO) Health Equity Performance Improvement Project (PIP) Workgroup and Department of Health (DOH) have come together to address the lack of access to mental health care services and promote health equity for low-income children and youth in Washington State.

About the Project

The Washington State Department of Health is seeking applications from Community-Based Organizations, schools, Federally Qualified Health Centers, Rural Health Centers, and other organizations serving children and youth ages 6 – 17 from low-income families to support youth mental health. We will be providing two (2) awards of $30,000 to projects that will serve patients who either have Apple Health or are low-income and need access to mental health services. This opportunity represents an investment in the mental health and resilience of our state, particularly in those communities that have historically faced disparities in access to these essential services.

These projects (3 to 6 months in length) should help reduce the mental health inequities that BIPOC communities experience due to racism and biases in the health care system. The project’s primary activities must be measurable. We will give preference to applicants who submit a project with an adoption strategy and sustainability plans to continue activities. Your project may or may not have some of the following activities: 

• Youth outreach 
• Healthcare navigation
• Community messaging – Parents to Parents
• Youth messaging – Youth to Youth
• Healthy lifestyle promotion
• Peer support 

Examples of possible projects include:

• Projects that help reduce mental health disparities for youth during the project and beyond.
• Projects that connect children and youth from low-income families to mental health resources.
• Projects that prevent future mental health disparities by supporting parents or offer parenting skills.

More details on project requirements may be found in the YMHA Announcement of Opportunity (PDF).