Thrive awarded $94,229 grant to help Rhode Islanders during pandemic

Thrive Behavioral Health has been awarded a $94,229 grant by the Rhode Island Health and Educational Building Corporation (RIHEBC). The funding is being distributed to nonprofit health, education and community service organizations to help them expand their services to better meet the needs of Rhode Islanders during COVID-19 and beyond.

Established in 1966 by the General Assembly of Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Health and Educational Building Corporation is a quasi-public agency that assists the state’s healthcare and private and public educational institutions in gaining access to low-cost financing for facilities construction and renovation. A total of $516,946 in funding will be distributed among seven Rhode Island nonprofits. Other recipients include Comprehensive Community Action Program, The Groden Network, Pawtucket School Department, Rhode Island Nurses Institute Middle College, Scandinavian Communities Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Facility, and the Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has hit Rhode Island’s nonprofit health care and educational organizations hard, but our state needs the vital services they provide and that’s why RIHEBC created the Project Grant program in November,” said RIHEBC Board Chairman Joseph Dewhirst. “These grants will help schools serve more students, mental health providers to serve more patients, nursing homes to better serve their residents, and expand access to dental care for low-income Rhode Islanders. RIHEBC’s mission is to serve our Rhode Island’s nonprofit health and educational organizations, and that’s exactly what we’re doing by stepping up with these grant resources during this very challenging time.”

Since March 2020, the demand for behavioral health services has steadily increased in Rhode Island and across the country. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health levels among Americans have declined dramatically and the number of individuals seeking help for anxiety or depression has skyrocketed. Presently, rates of suicidal ideation are highest among youths, especially those who identify as LGBTQ.

“The behavioral healthcare needs of Rhode Island’s youth and families has outgrown Thrive’s current capacity to provide these services,” said Thrive Behavioral Health’s President & CEO Dan Kubas-Meyer. “Funding from RIHBEC, coupled by a 100 percent match previously received from The Champlin Foundation, will enable our Youth & Family Program to expand its capacity to better assist this population.”

If undetected or left untreated, early behavioral problems in children, adolescents, and young adults can develop into more serious mental health conditions that can impact not just their wellbeing, but their learning and academic achievement. Thrive’s Youth & Family Services department is dedicated to ensuring Kent County’s children and young adult population has access to high-quality behavioral healthcare to aid in their recovery process, strengthen their family support systems, improve their social-emotional health and promote their academic success.

“We are grateful to forward-thinking organizations such as RIHEBC and the Champlin Foundation for providing our community with capital funding opportunities like this one,” stated Michael Raspallo, Chairman of Thrive’s Board of Directors. “These awards enable nonprofits to complete critical updates that are often very difficult to fund through other avenues.”