Elevance Health Foundation commits $13 million to substance use disorder programs

The Elevance Health Foundation today announces the commitment of $13 million in grants to promote equity in mental health, particularly for people with substance use disorders. Each program will focus on one of the following goals: prevention and early intervention of risk factors that lead to substance use disorders, improved access and quality of treatment to reduce morbidity and mortality of substance use disorders, and community support to promote lifelong recovery. These grants are part of up to $30 million the Foundation plans to invest over the next three years to make significant progress toward reducing substance use disorders and their health impacts.

For more than 20 years, the Elevance Health Foundation — formally Anthem Foundation — has supported nonprofits across the country that share its mission to improve lives and communities. With one in five Americans experiencing some type of mental health condition every year, the Foundation has made substance use disorder a key area of focus along with maternal, food as medicine, and disaster relief. These four pillars make up Elevance Health Foundation’s overall commitment of up to $90 million over the next three years to improve critical health and health equity challenges in communities today.

“Today, 9.5 million adults in the U.S. report having both a substance use disorder and a mental illness, and substance use disorders alone affect over 20 million Americans aged 12 and over. These startling figures drive home our commitment to partnering with organizations who are delivering solutions on a local and national level,” said Shantanu Agrawal, M.D., Chief Health Officer of Elevance Health. “By acknowledging the physical, behavioral, and social drivers of health as they relate to substance use disorders, the Elevance Health Foundation — along with its recently awarded grantees — is positioned to provide meaningful solutions in achieving better health and advancing health equity.”

Fifteen organizations will receive $13 million over the next three years as the first round of substance use disorder grantees. Organizations include:

• Shatterproof
• Mental Health America
• Emergency Medicine Foundation
• Faces and Voices of Recover
• Prevention Action Alliance
• Duke University
• Signature Health, Inc.
• Fletcher Group, Inc.
• Youth First, Inc.
• Star House Foundation
• Chris Atwood Foundation, Inc.
• Young People in Recovery
• YWCA Northeast Indiana, Inc.
• 3Trect, Inc. dba My Recovery Day
• 24/7 Gateway LLC

Each grant program will focus on at least one of the following themes: youth prevention and early intervention; access to care (e.g., reducing stigma among providers serving socially vulnerable populations, emergency room department enhanced education, etc.); and quality of treatment (e.g., supporting quality recovery housing, etc.). Collectively, these grants have the potential to reach 42 million Americans.

The Foundation’s efforts in its four key focus areas will help the organization continue to foster its longstanding and deep presence in local communities while strategically aligning with Anthem’s focus on community health and becoming a lifetime, trusted health partner.