Beverly and Addison Gilbert Hospitals Award More Than $100,000 in Grant Funding to Six Community Organizations

Beverly and Gloucester, MA – Beverly and Addison Gilbert Hospitals have awarded more than $100,000 in grant funding to six community-based organizations. As part of an ongoing commitment to the communities the hospital serves, these grants will provide much needed funding for local organizations in support of their shared mission to meet the community’s needs. Particular emphasis for the grant awards are programs and services that focus on addressing mental health, substance abuse disorder, job readiness and the digital divide — need areas which have experienced an increased level of demand due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“As COVID-19 continues to affect our communities, it is critical to address some of the pressing issues that have arisen such as increased needs for mental health services and access to treatment for substance abuse disorders,” said Tom Sands, president of Beverly and Addison Gilbert Hospitals. “By investing in local organizations that share our goal in reaching and supporting the people who need these services, we improve the quality of the lives of our community members and in turn strengthen the communities in our area.”

Grant recipients were selected by the Beverly and Addison Community Benefits Committee, comprised of hospital board members, hospital leaders and community-based organizations from across the service area.

Grant recipients include:

Gloucester Health Department YRBS Online Tool

The Gloucester Health Department administers a Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) to public school students in grades 6-12 to gather information on some of the important issues facing youth in Gloucester such as mental health, substance use, violence and safety. The grant money will help develop an online tool that will replace the current paper version, providing a faster turnaround time of results/data and would build capacity for other schools to join efforts to have a consistent survey tool.

Gloucester Police Department: “Teach to Reach”

Grant funding will support the Gloucester Police Department’s Community Impact Unit in their efforts to launch a new “Teach to Reach” initiative. The project will provide opportunities for members of local community organizations to participate in training to become a certified recovery coach. These vital recovery coach services provide support to individuals in their efforts to stop or reduce their use of alcohol, opiates or other substances. The funding supports the training experience and the 35 supervision-hours needed to obtain certification, and would be offered to local social services agencies.

Greater Lynn Senior Services (GLSS)

Greater Lynn Senior Services (GLSS) last year launched a virtual program to help alleviate social isolation and provide tools for health monitoring, health self-management, education and telehealth visits. The virtual programming is accessed via a device installed on a person’s television that converts into a two way communication tool. Beverly and Addison Gilbert Hospitals provided grant funding last year for the pilot program which helped GLSS serve 75 people; this year’s grant funding for the program will help GLSS reach an additional 25 people.

North Shore YMCA SEAL Program

The Social Emotional Artistic Learning (SEAL) program will teach children core social emotional competencies and coping skills to help them manage emotions, learn empathy and maintain healthy relationships. The goal of the SEAL program is to ensure that children have the coping skills they need to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic by learning how to build resiliency and to express their feelings through art. The grant will allow the North Shore YMCA to provide programming to approximately 1,300 students through their childcare, camps or after school programs.

Pathways for Children

Grant funding will support Pathways for Children’s Nurturing Program, a nationally registered, evidence-based, family education curriculum designed to prevent child abuse and neglect by increasing knowledge of parenting skills, child development, and community services and resources. The program will be offered to at-risk families with children ages birth-12. The funding will allow for two 15-week program sessions at their Beverly location, with one session being offered in English and one session being offered in Spanish.

Wellspring House Pathways to Jobs

Last year, Beverly and Addison Gilbert Hospitals gave financial support for Wellspring House, allowing the organization to provide intensive educational and job training readiness programs to a population of 150 community members who were diverse in age, race, and gender. This year’s grant funding will allow Wellspring House to reach an additional 75 participants for the program.

About Beverly and Addison Gilbert Hospitals

Beverly Hospital is a full-service 373-bed community hospital founded in 1888 that serves more than 13 communities across Massachusetts’ North Shore and Cape Ann. With a medical staff of more than 500 physicians, the hospital provides quality, patient-centered care in maternity, pediatrics, surgical, orthopedics and cardiology, as well as other specialties.

Addison Gilbert Hospital is a 52-bed community hospital located in Gloucester, MA. Since its founding in 1889, Cape Ann residents have turned to the hospital when they needed care. Specialties include radiology, cancer care, pain management, cardiology, chronic disease management, inpatient geriatric services and emergency medicine.

Beverly and Addison Gilbert Hospitals are a part of Beth Israel Lahey Health, a health care system that brings together academic medical centers and teaching hospitals, community and specialty hospitals, more than 4,700 physicians and 39,000 employees in a shared mission to expand access to great care and advance the science and practice of medicine through groundbreaking research and education.