Boston has opened applications for Black men’s health funding of up to $1 million. Mayor Michelle Wu and the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) issued a request for proposals on Tuesday, Oct. 6, to fund community programs aimed at a nine-year life expectancy gap between Black men and other men in the city, according to a City of Boston announcement.
How the $1 Million RFP Works
Up to four organizations can receive as much as $250,000 each, the city said. BPHC committed the $1 million earlier this year, and the city said an annual $1 million will continue to come from the fund created under Boston’s declaration of racism as a public health crisis. The program is part of the city’s Live Long and Well agenda.
Proposals must address one or more of four priority areas: prevention, mental and behavioral health, economic mobility, and social networks and community connections. Eligible applicants are Boston-based community organizations, nonprofits, coalitions, faith-based groups, partnerships, and organizations that serve Black men or communities of color and have experience addressing health inequities, according to the announcement.
The Life Expectancy Gap in Boston
Between 2022 and 2024, Black men in Boston lived an average of 71.8 years, 9.3 years fewer than other men in the city, according to the city’s summary of BPHC data. The commission’s report, Closing the Gap: An Examination of Life Expectancy Among Black Residents in Boston, found that Black residents have the lowest life expectancy of any racial or ethnic group in the city. The city cited high rates of preventable illness and early death from screenable cancers, cardiometabolic disease and unintentional overdose, and said projections show the gap would stay the same through 2035 without further action.
The priorities were shaped in part by BPHC’s first Black Men’s Health Activation Summit, held in June, where community leaders discussed issues affecting Black men, the city said.
What City Officials Said
“We’re focused on closing the life expectancy gap facing black communities,” Wu said in the announcement. Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, Boston’s commissioner of public health, said the funding “puts resources directly into the hands of trusted community partners.” Frank Farrow, executive director of the city’s Office of Black Male Advancement, called the money “an important step” toward closing the gap.
Three city councilors were quoted in the release. At-large Councilor Henry Santana said access to affordable, culturally competent care “is quite literally a matter of life or death.” District 4 Councilor Brian Worrell pointed to barriers in reaching care, pharmacies and healthy food. District 7 Councilor Miniard Culpepper said the investment puts resources behind “the communities that have carried the heaviest burden.”
The city’s announcement did not list a proposal deadline or the date awards are expected. Organizations interested in applying should check BPHC’s funding opportunities for the full RFP terms.
Related Boston Public Health Grants
The RFP follows other recent BPHC funding rounds, including $700,000 in overdose response grants for six groups. For more on city efforts in Roxbury and other neighborhoods, see our coverage of the Nubian Square council resolution and the city’s lawsuit over a $20 million Roxbury streets grant.