Bill > H1985

This bill establishes a mental health capacity grant program within the Department of Mental Health to address increased mental health needs in nonprofit organizations at high risk of hate crimes. The program will provide grants to these organizations to increase behavioral health competency of staff, expand supportive programming, and fund initiatives such as mental health first aid training, culturally responsive referral programs, and community education on destigmatizing mental health support. The grants will be distributed in a geographically equitable manner and based on the previous year's hate crime report. The commissioner will file a report detailing the grant program, including the number of applications and grants awarded, the dollar amount per grant, the organizational mission of each grantee, and the type of programming supported by each grant.