Three Waltham organizations receive grants from Mount Auburn Hospital

Mount Auburn Hospital has awarded grants to three organizations in Waltham as part of its commitment to the health of people residing within its service area.

Waltham Fields Community Farm received a $12,000 grant to support its produce prescription program for up to 30 participants and their families. The initiative involves education and a free 20-week share of produce from the farm’s community-supported agriculture program. Patients who have been identified as high risk for developing a chronic disease through a partnership with Charles River Community Health can enroll in the program.

The Community Day Center of Waltham received a $12,000 grant for a program to address substance use in the homeless community. The grant funds a part-time, in-house substance use counselor to provide focused support to two key client groups with active alcohol and substance use challenges: individuals seeking housing who are not yet “housing ready,” and newly housed clients at risk of losing their apartments. This program will offer clients further pathways to recovery and peer support to enable them to become housing-ready.

Mount Auburn granted $20,000 to Adolescent Consultation Services, based in Waltham and Cambridge, for mental health services for teens. The funding will support ACS’s group treatment program, THRIVE (Teen Health, Relationships, Independence, Vision, Empowerment). This is ACS’s primary mental health treatment group designed for teens who are at elevated risk for court involvement or are already court-involved.

The grants are part of Mount Auburn’s Community Benefits Program and are intended to support programs that address community health priorities and meaningfully affect populations and community members within the Mount Auburn service area. 

Two organizations in other communities also are grant recipients: De Novo Center for Healing and Justice, and Lamplight Women’s Literacy Center. 

Ed Huang, MD, president of Mount Auburn Hospital, said, “We are proud to support our community partners in their efforts and to put our resources behind their work to have a greater impact on the communities we serve.”