Support Public Health Efforts
We strive to build a solid constituency for public health in Brookline, MA. This includes backing activities of Brookline’s Public Health Department.
Address Community Needs
The Friends identifies and provides support for innovative public health programs that reduce racial and economic disparities, address climate change and promote health. Mini grants are available to fund projects.
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Recognize Public Health Leaders
& Innovative Programs
The Brookline Public Health Leadership Award, named in honor of Brookline Public Health Director Alan Balsam in 2016, has been awarded since 1999 by the Friends of Brookline Public Health to an individual who has shown extraordinary leadership in the field of Public Health, both locally and nationally.
Previous recipients include: Former Governor Michael Dukakis, Paul Epstein, MD, MPH, Bernard Lown, MD, Judith Kurland, Paula A. Johnson, MD, Alan Balsam, PhD, Larry Madoff, MD and Brookline Department of Public Health and Human Services.
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The ​Herb Carlin Community Health Award has been awarded since 2000 by the Friends of Brookline Public Health to an organization or individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the public health of Brookline.
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Previous recipients include: Steps to Success, Brookline Medical Reserve Corps (MRC), Brookline School Nurses, Zipcar, Hebrew Senior Life, Chobee Hoy, Rene Feurman - Executive Director of the Brookline Food Pantry, and Brookline Commission on Women, Bonnie Bastien for Mutual Aid Brookline, and Brookline Thrives, among others.
Organize Annual Public Health Forum & Additional Educational Programs
The annual Public Health Policy Forum regularly draws 150 - 200 Brookline residents. Each forum addresses a topic of interest and offers the community the opportunity to learn from a panel of experts.
Previous forums have discussed:
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Achieving Access to Healthcare and Prescription Drugs
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Hospitals, Nursing Homes, Home Health: At Capacity and At Risk
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Crisis in Massachusetts Health Care: From the White House, to the State House, to your house.
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Advancing Equity: Health & Wellbeing for LGBTQ+ Youth
With the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, we developed a campaign in collaboration with the Health Department to educate and inform citizens with a series of Zoom lectures dedicated to COVID-19; including:
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COVID-19 Vaccine Update (February 2021)
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Mental Health in the Time of COVID-19 (March 2021)
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Get the Facts, Get the Vax; Vaccine Hesitancy and Myths (April 2021)