Health funding alliance announces 2026 grants

HUNTINGTON, Ind. - Sept. 14, 2026 - Fourteen organizations will receive a total of more than $63,000 in grants from Huntington County Healing Partners to support projects improving public health.

Healing Partners, an alliance between Parkview Huntington Hospital and the Huntington County Medical Society, announced that 16 programs have been selected to receive funding for the coming year.

Thanks to an endowment gift of more than $1.28 million from the medical society, the alliance was created in 2021 to target the most pressing health needs in the county. Funding for the grants comes from interest generated by the Huntington County Physicians' Legacy Fund and an annual gift from the hospital's Community Health Improvement funds.

The annual grants support programs and equipment related to public health priorities identified in the Huntington County Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA). Conducted by Parkview Health every three years, the needs assessment identifies trends in health among Huntington County residents. The most recent assessment, for 2025 - 2028, has established county health priorities that include access to mental health care and addiction services, child abuse and neglect, and obesity, among other findings.

"A lot of great work is being done in our community by organizations focused on practical and effective ways to improve lives," said Doug Selig, vice president of patient care services, Parkview Huntington and Parkview Wabash hospitals. "Healing Partners supports and encourages these efforts to move the needle for people who need essential and life-changing services, especially now, in this challenging economic environment."

The 2026 grants, totaling $63,702.91, were awarded to:

Blessings in a Backpack
Purpose: Programming to combat food insecurity.
Priorities addressed: Mental health

Boys & Girls Clubs of Huntington County
Purpose: Funding for Fit For Life, a structured athletic and wellness program using regular movement, teamwork and sedentary behavior reduction to help young people develop lifelong healthy habits.
Priorities addressed: Mental health

Christian Life Tabernacle of Huntington
Purpose: Funding GriefShare programming.
Priorities addressed: Mental health

HOPE (Huntington Outreach for Prevention and Education)
Purpose: Supporting community conversation on the Mental Health & Suicide Initiative, which includes a September 2026 summit to be held in conjunction with the Huntington County Health Department.
Priorities addressed: Mental health

Huntington County Child Advocacy/McKenzie's Hope
Purpose: Supporting trauma-informed child advocacy and family support services.
Priorities addressed: Child abuse and neglect

Huntington County Council on Aging
Purpose: Transportation support.
Priorities addressed: Mental health

Huntington County Health Department
Purpose: Addressing public health concerns of cardiovascular disease and nicotine addiction. Encouraging healthy behavior change by establishing American Heart Association Community Heart Hubs (with blood pressure monitoring equipment) in local libraries and creating vaping "quit kits" to be available at recovery homes, the Youth Services Bureau, local schools and other community partners.
Priorities addressed: Substance use and abuse

L4L Community Studios Inc.
Purpose: Supporting L4L Journey: Small Practices, whole-person growth programming.
Priorities addressed: Mental health

McMillen Health
Purpose: Providing preventive health education programming.
Priorities addressed: Substance use and abuse

New Life Ministries
Purpose: Supporting Women's Life House, Men's Life House and Children's Life House, transitional housing programs offering shelter, education and daily structure.
Priorities addressed: Substance use and abuse, Child abuse and neglect

Parkview Huntington Family YMCA
Purpose: Providing active older adults (age 65-plus) programming that supports mental and physical health through community building.
Priorities addressed: Mental health

Place of Grace
Purpose: Supporting the Family Housing Program, a new recovery-supportive housing initiative designed to help women who have completed a residential recovery program reunify with their children while building long-term stability through financial literacy, economic self-sufficiency and skills to maintain recovery.
Priorities addressed: Substance use and abuse

United with Love of Huntington County
Purpose: Building capacity for better nutrition for individuals and families experiencing food insecurity. Funding will enable the purchase of three convertible refrigerator/freezer units and a variety of protein-rich cold-storage foods.
Priorities addressed: Mental health

Youth Services Bureau of Huntington County, Inc.
Purpose: Supporting the Comprehensive Assistance for Recovery and Empowerment (CARE) program.
Priorities addressed: Substance use and abuse

Local 501(c)3 not-for-profit organizations will be able to apply for funding again in 2027. Information on the timing of the next grant cycle will be available early next year. For more information on Huntington County Healing Partners, visit huntingtonhealingpartners.org.