Southcoast Health has announced the results of its Community Benefits Impact Opportunity program grants for fiscal year 2017, and two tri-town organizations are recipients. This grants focus on addressing unmet health needs on the South Coast.

The Healthy Tri-Town Coalition, which works to “provide tri-town families with a foundation for lifelong health and wellness through collaboration with all community members,” was one of the awardees.

The $3,000 grant, in collaboration with Asst. Superintendent Elise Frangos, Mattapoisett Library Director Susan Pizzolato and Mattapoisett Public Health Nurse Amanda Stone, R.N., will be used for training through the RAD program. RAD stands for rape aggression defense and is a national training program that seeks to give everyone from children to adults the tools to protect themselves from violence.

The Marion Council on Aging also received a grant, which will be used in its Waterfront Memory Cafe, a program that provides activities for people with early to moderate dementia and Alzheimer's disease as well as their caretakers. For more information, call 508-748-3570.

“As a not-for-profit health system, we are driven by our mission of promoting the optimal health and well-being of individuals in the communities we serve. Safeguarding and improving the health of hundreds of thousands individuals and families in the South Coast region is a passion and commitment that we take very seriously,” said Keith A. Hovan, president and CEO of Southcoast Health. “We work collaboratively with many community partners, and we are happy to be able to support this work through our new grant process.”

Southcoast Health had an overwhelming response to its request for proposals and was able to provide funding to 31 nonprofit organizations throughout the region. Southcoast Health awarded a total of $132,500 in its second annual Community Benefits Impact Opportunity program grants. During its first two years, the program has awarded 53 community impact grants totaling more than $250,000.

Grant recipients’ goals are aligned with Southcoast Health’s community benefits priorities, including the reduction of chronic disease; reduction of racial, ethnic, income-based and education-based disparities; reduction in risk behaviors among youth; developing healthy systems and environments and more.

Visit www.southcoast.org/communitybenefits to learn more about the grants.