Kaiser Permanente commits more than $1.3M for community health in Md., DC and northern Va.

Rockville-based Kaiser Permanente Friday announced it has awarded $1.38 million in grants to 22 community organizations and nonprofits in 2023 throughout Maryland, northern Virginia and the District of Columbia.

These investments, which advance access to health care and promote health equity in the region, support programs and resources for critical community organizations, allowing them to expand the impact of social services.

Recipients of these grants were chosen because the organizations share Kaiser Permanente’s dedication to improving conditions for health and equity in the community by addressing the root causes of health, such as economic opportunity, affordable housing, safe and supportive schools, and a healthy environment.

The grants will support the following organizations and initiatives in Maryland:

• Conscious Venture Lab Inc.:Aims to support and improve the mental and emotional health of 3,500 K-8 students in Prince Georges County by offering schools licenses, training, professional development, and on-going technical assistance to implement the Clymb app. The $50,000 grant will support implementation of the Clymb app, which will allow students an opportunity to learn and identify their emotions using age-appropriate emojis and provide customized support via the app. This grant seeks to increase the students’ social and emotional skills, support mental wellness, and ultimately lead to better academic outcomes.
• Greater Washington Community Foundation: Aims to provide a permanent source of philanthropic capital and help build thriving communities in the Greater Washington region. This $81,000 grant will support a Project Manager for the Medical Respite for Prince George’s County initiative, which seeks to establish a facility in Prince George’s County for people discharged from the hospital with no safe place to heal due to housing insecurity.
• Legal Aid Bureau Inc.:A statewide non-profit law firm with a mission to provide high quality, effective civil legal assistance for low-income persons throughout the state of Maryland. This grant will enable Maryland Legal Aid (Legal Aid Bureau, Inc.) to assist hundreds of Marylanders facing medical challenges whose housing is at risk with legal counseling.
• Montgomery Housing Partnership: Applies a holistic approach to the preservation and expansion of housing, including acquiring, rehabilitating, building, and managing quality affordable housing; developing and implementing community life programs; and enhancing the vitality of affordable housing neighborhoods in Washington and suburban Maryland. The grant will be used to acquire and rehabilitate Rollingwood Apartments, a 283-unit Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing Property located along the Purple Line Corridor. MHP intends to maintain the current workforce housing mixture while increasing the overall affordability of the community, restricting 100% of units for residents earning at or below 70% Area Median Income.
• Pickett Fences Senior Services Inc.:Aims to improve the quality of life for senior citizens in D.C. and Maryland by providing education, resources, caregiver support, and connecting seniors with services needed to safely remain in their homes. This $20,000 grant will allow Pickett Fences to leverage the Unite Us technology platform to provide complex case management and connection to social health resources for 60 seniors in Prince George’s County.
• Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Mobile Integrated Health (MIH) Program: Aspires to provide and improve the wellness and healthcare delivery to Prince George’s County residents by extending the fire department’s reach into the community in a non-emergent capacity. This includes community paramedicine, telemedicine/telehealth, care coordination and community resource referrals. The $75,000 grant will provide capacity for the MIH program to enhance and expand services aimed at preventing unnecessary emergency room utilization, as well as leveraging the Unite Us technology platform to connect residents to social health resources.
• South Baltimore Learning Corporation (SBLC): A community-based nonprofit organization providing functional literacy and life skills training and career preparation services to residents in the Baltimore Area. The $50,000 grant will help SBLC train front line staff to deliver financial coaching and ensure they are equipped to address common financial barriers for participants.

Investing in communities across the region is a key piece of Kaiser Permanente’s mission of improving health. In 2022, Kaiser Permanente invested more than $169 million in communities across the Mid-Atlantic region. Additionally, in 2022, charitable contributions from the region’s largest health system supported 89 organizations and impacted more than 158,000 people in the mid-Atlantic.