H 4667

HOUSE . . . . . . . . No. 4667
   The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
  ________________________________________
  HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, November 5, 2025.
    The committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery, to
whom was referred the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 2207) of
Brandy Fluker-Reid for legislation to establish a grant program for
increased mental health needs in nonprofit organizations at high risk of
hate crimes, reports recommending that the accompanying bill (House,
No. 4667) ought to pass.
  For the committee,
  MINDY DOMB.
  FILED ON: 10/23/2025
 HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4667
  The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
  _______________
  In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
  (2025-2026)
  _______________
An Act building resilience and increasing access to mental health services.
  Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1SECTION 1. Notwithstanding any special or general law to the contrary and subject to
2 appropriation, the department of mental health shall establish a mental health capacity grant
3 program for the purpose of addressing increased mental health needs in nonprofit organizations
4 at high-risk of hate crime and nonprofits that serve populations at high risk of hate crimes, as
5 defined in section 32 of chapter 22C of the General Laws for the purposes of this act.
6The program shall make grants available to said nonprofit organizations at high risk of
7 hate crimes and those that serve populations at high risk of hate crimes to increase behavioral
8 health competency of staff who have frequent interactions with targeted communities and to
9 expand supportive programming for said staff and said communities. The grants shall be used to
10 support programming determined by an organization’s specific needs to address mental health,
11 including, but not limited to: (a) mental health first aid training; (b) culturally responsive referral
12 programs; (c) community education and destigmatization of mental health supports; or (d) any
13 other programming shown to positively affect mental health.
  1 of 2
14The department shall promulgate regulations and may issue further guidance regarding
15 grantmaking; provided, that grants shall be distributed in a geographically equitable manner
16 across the commonwealth and distributed in a manner that correlates with bias types included in
17 the preceding year’s annual hate crime report by the executive office of public safety and
18 security.
19Not later than 12 months from the distribution of the first grant and annually thereafter,
20 the commissioner of mental health shall file a report with the clerks of the senate and the house
21 of representatives, the joint committee on mental health, substance use and recovery, the joint
22 committee on racial equity, civil rights, and inclusion and the house and senate committees on
23 ways and means detailing the grant program activities, which shall include, but shall not be
24 limited to: (i) the number of applications received; (ii) the number of grants awarded; (iii) the
25 dollar amount per grant; (iv) the organizational mission of each grantee; (v) the programming
26 supported by each grant; and (vi) priority populations based on annual state reporting on hate
27 crimes and the regional distribution of such funds.
  2 of 2