The Helping Hands Grants Program provides grants of up to $5,000 to medical schools for mental health and substance use disorder projects, particularly in under-served minority communities. Funded projects are created and managed by medical students and can be conducted in partnership with community agencies, or in conjunction with ongoing medical school outreach activities.
Since 2005, The Helping Hands Grants Program has helped psychiatry students meet these needs in their own communities. The program was established to encourage medical students to participate in community service activities, particularly those focused on under-served populations; raise awareness of mental illness and the importance of early recognition of illness; and build an interest among medical students in the psychiatric field and working in under-served communities. The Helping Hands Grants Program provides grants of up to $5,000. These projects can be conducted in partnership with community agencies or in conjunction with ongoing medical school outreach activities, and must be supervised by at least one psychiatrist.
How do I apply for the Helping Hands Grant Program?
Please follow the application instructions at apply.psychiatry.org. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed. Please contact Camille Bryan at [email protected] with any questions regarding the application.
When will awardees be selected and notified?
In August, the primary medical student author and the Project Administrator will be notified by email and will receive a grant agreement to be signed and returned. If the Foundation does not hear back from awardees within three weeks, grant funds may be forfeited. Grant funds will be processed upon receipt of the signed grant agreement.
Posters and Past Grantees
Recipients of Helping Hands grants are invited to create and present a poster about their project at the American Psychiatric Association's Annual Meeting the year after their grant is awarded. The Helping Hands Grants Poster Session allows the recipients to present their project goals and findings to the psychiatric community at large.
Learn about programs of past years of Helping Hands Grants recipients (.pdf)