Healthcare District Board awards $1.2 million to aid food assistance & children's mental health services

The Desert Healthcare District & Foundation Board approved on July 22 allocating $1 million to continue work that began with five Coachella Valley nonprofits three years ago. 

These funds will be available to support a soon-to-be-released Request for Proposals (RFP), "Empowering Resilient Youth and Families: Advancing Mental and Behavioral Health Support." 

In early December 2024, the District & Foundation hosted a lunch-and-learn session with staff from the five organizations that received funding through the initial RFP. It was an opportunity to reflect upon outcomes, lessons learned, insights and feedback they provided. A significant takeaway from that event was the need to continue supporting the effort and build upon its successes. 

The District & Foundation staff requested an allocation of $1 million in grants over the next two years through this new RFP, and the Board approved it. 

This week, the Board also approved these grants: 

• Grant #1511: $193,145 for Visión y Compromiso to expand access to mental health services for children and families in the Coachella Valley. Funds will directly support the salaries of the two new promotoras, aka community health workers, as well as partial salary support for a project coordinator. Other uses include tablets for program delivery, wellness materials for family engagement activities, mileage for community outreach, printing of educational materials, and indirect expenses to support overall project implementation.
• Grant #1519: $75,000 for Alianza Nacional de Campesinas to address food insecurity within farmworker communities in the Coachella Valley that are in food-deprived areas. Recognizing food insecurity as a social determinant of health, the grant supports the delivery of boxes of food and essential items to underserved families in mobile home parks, farmworker camps, and other traditionally vulnerable communities. 

These grant opportunities bring the total funding approved in July by the Desert Healthcare District & Foundation Board to $1,268,145. 

The Board also discussed at its recent meeting a proposed three-year grant for $5,263,551 to address a physician shortage that's affecting the Coachella Valley, particularly Spanish-speaking communities in the eastern valley. This grant would fund the development of a Federally Qualified Health Center teaching program and a family medicine residency program -- both accredited through the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education -- at Innercare in Coachella. Innercare was formerly known as Clinicas de Salud del Pueblo. 

After thoughtful consideration, with all Directors weighing in, and hearing from several community members who encouraged approving the grant application, the Board tabled the matter for future discussion. 

Interested in applying for a District & Foundation grant? Learn more about the grants program at dhcd.org.

About the Desert Healthcare District & Foundation

The Desert Healthcare District is a local government agency formed in 1948. Its mission is to achieve optimal health at all stages of life for all District residents. The District includes more than 400,000 residents and encompasses the entire Coachella Valley. The District and Desert Healthcare Foundation, together, are one of the largest funders in the valley. These funds are used to assist residents — especially the underserved — in accessing vitally needed resources, such as primary and behavioral healthcare. Learn more.