The Minnesota Department of Health is requesting applications for its Infectious Disease Trusted Messenger Program for People Experiencing Homelessness.
Donor Name: Minnesota Department of Health (MDH)
State: Minnesota
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 06/02/2023
Size of the Grant: $100,000
Grant Duration: 6 months
Details:
The purpose of the Trusted Messenger program is to equip people living and working in homeless or congregate living settings to learn and communicate with their peers about COVID-19 and other routine vaccinations to prevent infectious disease.
Participating organizations will select Trusted Messengers from their programs, either clients or staff, who will share their own experiences, and provide a non-medical, non-threatening perspective to aid their peers in making decisions about vaccinations and other preventative measures. Participating organizations can apply for funding to provide peer education and outreach within their own organizations or to work in other settings in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH).
Grant Priorities
- Health Equity Priorities
- It is the policy of the State of Minnesota to ensure fairness, precision, equity, and consistency in competitive grant awards. This includes implementing diversity and inclusion in grant-making. The Policy on Rating Criteria for Competitive Grant Review establishes the expectation that grant programs intentionally identify how the grant serves diverse populations, especially populations experiencing inequities and/or disparities. This grant will serve people experiencing homelessness or living in other congregate settings like supportive housing and re-entry programs. Because of structural racism, Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color are much more likely to experience homelessness, as are people with disabilities and people who identify as LGBTQ. In Minnesota, the vaccination rates for people experiencing homelessness are much lower than the general population The low vaccination rates combined with high rates of chronic health conditions and the greater potential for transmission in congregate settings puts people experiencing homelessness at increased risk of hospitalization or death from COVID-19.
- Other Competitive Priorities
- Applicants must service people experiencing homelessness or living in congregate settings. This RFP will give further priority to applications that demonstrate an ability to reach the following groups:
- People 50 years of age or older
- People with chronic health conditions that increase the risk of hospitalization or death from COVID-19
- Black, Indigenous, People of Color
- People living in areas with lower COVID-19 vaccination rates, such as Central and Southern Minnesota.
- Applicants must service people experiencing homelessness or living in congregate settings. This RFP will give further priority to applications that demonstrate an ability to reach the following groups:
Funding Information
- Estimated Amount to Grant: $150,000
- Estimated Number of Awards: 2-10
- Estimated Award Maximum: $100,000
- Estimated Award Minimum: $10,000
- Project Dates: July 1, 2023-December 31, 2024.
Eligible Projects
All applicants will need to identify, train, support and compensate Trusted Messengers to provide COVID-19 vaccine peer education and outreach for people experiencing homelessness or living in congregate settings. Trusted Messengers can be compensated as staff, consultants, or independent contractors. Stipends are an acceptable form of compensation. Applicants can also apply for funding to:
- Support vaccine ambassadors to help with promoting vaccine clinics and provide outreach and support on the day of clinics
- In conjunction with COVID-19 vaccine education and outreach, provide vaccine education and outreach for other routine vaccinations (e.g., influenza, Hepatitis A, Mpox (formerly Monkeypox), shingles, MMR)
- Develop and share vaccine educational materials for homeless programs and congregate facilities
- Conduct focus groups and listening sessions on vaccination barriers and strategies to overcome them
- Provide training and coaching to grantees on Motivational Interviewing
- Incentives to support vaccination activities.
Eligibility Criteria
This opportunity is open to non-profit organizations, local governments (city and county), community health boards, and tribal nations working with people experiencing homelessness. Organizations can apply on their own or as part of a multi-organization collaboration.
For more information, visit MDH.
