The background
According to an April 15 news release, that dollar amount includes direct services, community investments, development of community partnerships and advocacy initiatives designed to strengthen communities and positively affect systemic change around South Texas. This dollar amount is a 21% increase from MHMST's 2023 investment, the release states.
Officials with Methodist Healthcare Ministries said the $181.1 million investment includes $54.5 million in community grants awarded to more than 170 nonprofit organizations and municipalities. The idea here, officials with MHMST said, is to help create and sustain healthy communities by supporting groups that address social determinants of health—the community conditions in which a person is born, grows up, lives and works.
Representatives of MHMST said grant recipients are built to addressing access to one or more priorities in their respective community, including:
- Medical care
- Mental and behavioral health
- Digital equity
- Food security
- Affordable and stable housing
- Education
- Workforce development
What they’re saying
Jaime Wesolowski, president and CEO of Methodist Healthcare Ministries, said MHMST has a mission of "serving humanity to honor God" through the programs and services they offer across the San Antonio area and to surrounding communities.
"This investment is a clear reflection of the various ways our board of directors and our 500-plus team members are broadening the definition of health care every day for patients, clients and communities we serve,” Wesolowski said in a statement.
SA Digital Connects is one of this year’s recipients of MHMST grant funding. The organization received a $110,000 grant to help close the local digital gap and ensure residents in low-income San Antonio neighborhoods have access to affordable, reliable, high-speed internet service and digital devices.
Rhia Pape, SA Digital Connects executive director, said the grant will go a long way toward supporting her organization’s mission.
“There are many layers to this work, and it’s only with coordination and collaboration between organizations that we will see success in closing the digital divide in our community,” Pape said in a statement.
