Mental Well-being
Watch an informational webinar on the Mental Well-being grant program.
Click here to access the online application for the Mental Well-being grant program.
Important Dates/Deadlines
• Application open date: On or about Monday, March 17, 2025
• Application due date: Monday, May 5, 2025, by 3:00 p.m. (Eastern Time)
• All applicants will be notified of their status: Between August – September 2025
• Required orientation: Between September – October 2025
Florida Blue Foundation’s programs are focused on improving health by impacting food security, advancing mental well-being, growing healthy communities, and addressing health disparities. This funding opportunity is focused on Mental Well-being.
Description of the 2025 Mental Well-being Grant Program
Goal: Advance mental well-being for families and community members to mitigate the stressors associated with issues that often impact entire families and/or communities.
Background
At Florida Blue and the Florida Blue Foundation, we believe there is no health without mental health which guides how we support the people and communities we serve.
The Foundation seeks to fund programs that support children, teens, adults, and/or seniors that are struggling to manage life’s stressors, including social isolation and loneliness; as well as programs that are increasing the pipeline of mental health professionals.
We recognize that mental health is essential to overall health and well-being. Unfortunately, the United States is facing a mental health crisis that affects people of all ages.1
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately one in five adults and one in six youth experience a mental health episode each year, resulting in 20% of adults/seniors and 16.6% of young people facing a mental health issue annually.2
Furthermore, rural communities are disproportionately affected, with approximately one-fifth of the US population living in rural areas, and about one-fifth of those individuals, or around 6.5 million people, struggling with a mental illness.3
This highlights the need for targeted support and resources to address the unique mental health challenges faced by rural communities. Social isolation and loneliness are pervasive problems in the U.S., posing a significant threat to our mental and physical health. In 2023, the U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, declared loneliness a public health epidemic, emphasizing its profound consequences for individual and societal health.4
The mental health crisis is further exacerbated by a severe workforce shortage.5
Dr. Nick Dewan, Vice President of Behavioral Health for GuideWell and Florida Blue, notes that “we do not have enough psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers to efficiently address the current demand, and are facing a significant behavioral health workforce shortage over the next decade.”6
As of December 2023, over half of the U.S. population (169 million people) lives in a Mental Health Professional Shortage Area (Mental Health HPSA).7
Mental Well-being
Florida ranks 35th among all states for prevalence of mental illness and is one of the five worst states for mental health care.8 Moreover, over 6 million people in Florida live in communities with inadequate mental health professionals.9
To make matters worse, Florida has a severe shortage of mental health providers, with a staggering 550-to-1 ratio of residents to mental health providers, ranking 43rd in the nation.10 Rural counties are particularly affected, with a shortage of psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners, psychologists, social workers, and counselors.11
This critical shortage of mental health professionals intensifies the challenges of
accessing care, leaving many Floridians without the support they need to manage their mental health.
In response to these challenges, Florida Blue Foundation is committed to supporting nonprofit organizations that provide mental well-being services or increase the pipeline of mental health professionals. Through our Mental
Well-being grant program, we will award three- and four-year grants to organizations with documented expertise and experience in delivering mental well-being services or training mental health professionals.
1Protecting the Nation’s Mental Health. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). https://www.cdc.gov/mental
health/about/what-cdc-is-doing.html. Accessed August 8, 2024.
2Individuals With Mental Illness. National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). https://www.nami.org/your-journey/individuals-with-mental
illness/#:~:text=If%20you%20have%20a%20mental,to%20let%20it%20stop%20us. Accessed February 7, 2025.
Mental Health: Get the Facts. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) .https://www.samhsa.gov/mental
health/what-is-mental
health/facts#:~:text=Myth:%20Mental%20health%20issues%20can,bipolar%20disorder%2C%20or%20major%20depression. Updated April
24, 2023.
3A call to action to address rural mental health disparities. Journal of Clinical and Translational Science Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration (SAMHSA). https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7681156/. Published May 4, 2020.
4New APA Poll: One in Three Americans Feels Lonely Every Week. American Psychiatric Association.
https://www.psychiatry.org/news-room/news-releases/new-apa-poll-one-in-three-americans-feels-lonely-e. Published January 30, 2024.
5Behavioral Health Workforce. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Health Workforce Brief.
https://bhw.hrsa.gov/sites/default/files/bureau-health-workforce/Behavioral-Health-Workforce-Brief-2023.pdf. Published December 2023.
6Dewan, N. (2023, May). Mental Well-being Drives Our Ability to Flourish. Op-Ed. Multiple media outlets.
https://www.floridablue.com/blog/mental-well-being-drives-our-ability-to-flourish.
7Behavioral Health Workforce. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Health Workforce Brief.
https://bhw.hrsa.gov/sites/default/files/bureau-health-workforce/Behavioral-Health-Workforce-Brief-2023.pdf. Published December 2023.
8Behavioral Health Data Profile for Florida. Data Brief. Florida Hospital Association.
https://fha.org/common/Uploaded%20files/FHA/Health%20Care%20Issues/Increasing%20Access%20to%20Behavioral%20Health%20Care/
Issue%20Brief%20on%20Behavioral%20Health%20Data%20Profile%20for%20Florida%202024.pdf. Published May 2023.
9Mental Health in Florida Fact Sheet. National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).
https://www.nami.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/FloridaStateFactSheet.pdf. Mental health statistics as of 2021.
10 Policy Document, Behavioral Health Profile. Data Brief. Florida Hospital Association.
https://www.fha.org/common/Uploaded%20files/FHA/Health%20Care%20Issues/Updated%20Briefs%200525/Issue%20Brief%20on%20Be
havioral%20Health%20Data%20Profile%20for%20Florida%20FINAL.pdf. Published May 2023.
11 Behavioral Health Workforce. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Health Workforce Brief.
https://bhw.hrsa.gov/sites/default/files/bureau-health-workforce/Behavioral-Health-Workforce-Brief-2023.pdf. Published December 2023.
