$180K grants from Kaiser to reduce mental health stigma in county

Kaiser Permanente announced a $90,000 grants to each of two Silicon Valley community outreach groups, Momentum of Santa Clara County, and Caminar of San Jose, part of a $2-million dollar investment in Northern California to support community organizations in their work to reduce the stigma around mental health.

Momentum for Mental health is the largest nonprofit provider of mental health services in Santa Clara County, offering treatment for adults, teens and families experiencing serious mental illness. Caminar of San Jose will use its grant to empower LGBTQ youth and adults to share a message that mental health is part of overall health.

“May is Mental Health Month, so these two grants are very important,” says Chris Boyd, Senior Vice President and Area Manager of the Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara Medical Center. “Only by encouraging people to start talking about mental health issues are we going to overcome the stigmas attached to mental illnesses and finding care.”

Momentum of Santa Clara County and Caminar of San Jose with 23 other Northern California organizations were awarded these anti-stigma community health grants, including school districts, youth and family services and community coalitions that bring together a variety of stakeholders and agencies to serve people that historically shy away from getting mental health services.

“Stigma is influenced by our cultural belief systems and it impacts our decisions to seek care, even in times of crisis,” said Yener Balan, MD, FAPA, executive director of Behavioral Health for Kaiser Permanente in Northern California. “Kaiser Permanente believes that a person’s culture should be at the center of their health care experience, not a barrier to getting the care they need.”

The $2 million anti-stigma investment will support community organizations in developing trainings, public forums and awareness campaigns that are customized for specific populations. This is the first part of a three-year initiative.