2025-2026 Community Grants

We approved 86 grant applications for a total of $1,790,000 in Round 2 (awarded in October 2025)

1. 7th Step Society of Nova Scotia — 7th Step Troubled Youth Outreach

2. 7th Step Society of Nova Scotia — Peer-Support Workers and Programming for Criminalized Individuals

3. A Roof Over Your Head — Together Under One Roof: Building Mental Wellness Supports for Vulnerable Nova Scotians

4. A Team Coaching — A Team Coaching - Black Girls Pillow Talk and Mind & Muscle

5. Acadia University — Red Spruce Mental Health Centre

6. Acadia University — Black Student Wellness Retreat

7. After Trauma Empowerment Network — Thrive Thursdays: Teen Connection & Growth Circle

8. Alice House — Sustaining Rebuilding Lives

9. Alzheimer Society of Nova Scotia — Dementia-Informed Mental Health Counselling

10. Antigonish Women's Centre & Sexual Assault Services — The Inspire Program

11. Arisaig Parish Community Center Society — Arisaig 2025/2026 Senior's Exercise Program

12. Autism Nova Scotia Society — Healthy Relationships, Sexuality & Autism: Gender Based Violence/Intimate Partner Violence Module.

13. Be the Peace Institute — Care for the Carers in the GBV Sector

14. Beacon House — MHFNS Counselling Support on site for Beacon House Shelter

15. BGC Greater Halifax Clubs — Good Vibes Youth Resilience Program (requested $20k)

16. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Pictou County — Creating Sparks- Igniting Youth Potential

17. Boys & Girls Club of Preston — Self-Love Program for African Nova Scotian Youth

18. Canadian Mental Health Association — Halifax Dartmouth - Digital Inclusion for Mental Health and Wellbeing

19. Canadian Mental Health Association – NS Division — Thrive Learning Centre for Mental Wellness and Well-being

20. Canadian Mental Health Association – NS Division — Tools for Wellness: Enhancing Mental Health Training Through Companion Workbooks

21. Chebucto Community Development Association — Open Minds

22. Chebucto Links Senior Support Association — Bridges of Care - Connecting caregivers to community

23. Couch of Hope (Healing Opportunities for People Everywhere Counselling Services Society) — Empowering Tomorrow’s Therapists: Comprehensive Training & Leadership Growth

24. Cumberland Homelessness and Housing Support Association — Building Together - Creating best practices for Mental Health and Addiction support in Supportive Housing Organizations - Year 2

25. Dalhousie Social Work Community Clinic — Creative Conversations and Creative Outings

26. Direction 180, Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Centre — Blooming Minds

27. Dr. Lee-Baggley and Associates Inc. — Building Resilience Together: Trauma-Informed Strategies for Safer, Stronger Abuse Shelter Environments

28. Eastern Shore Musquodoboit Valley Well-Being HUB Assn — Building Community Mental Wealth

29. Eating Disorders Nova Scotia — Care of Me: Dispelling Stigma, Creating Hope Video Project

30. Fennel Films Inc. — Be Better - TV Series

31. Filling The GAP Nova Scotia Society — Filling The GAP: Gender Affirmation Program

32. Find Your Voice Music Therapy — Trans-Formative Voices: Transgender and Non-Binary Youth and Adults Voice Therapy Program

33. Find Your Voice Music Therapy — Adaptive Music Lessons to Support Neurodivergence

34. FireLoch Retreat & Gathering Place — Tending the Spark: building a burnout and resiliency framework for healthcare sector workers and volunteers

35. Fountain of Health — Kindness: How Self-Compassion Can Improve Mental Health

36. Front St Community Oven — Rekindling Connection

37. GEO Nova Scotia — e-Mental Health Pocket Guide Expansion: Connecting More Nova Scotians to Digital Mental Health Resources

38. Health Arts Society of Atlantic Canada — Concerts in Care Phase Three

39. Hope Blooms — The Joy Table

40. Hope for Mental Health — Families Matter in Mental Health

41. Hope for Mental Health — The Biology and Management of Trauma and Depression and Supporting Self Advocacy

42. Hospice Halifax — Pregnancy and Infant Loss (PAIL) Program

43. Kids Help Phone — RiseUp Nova Scotia - Texter Matching

44. Kings County Family Resource Centre — Building Resilience Through Mental Health Literacy

45. Laing House Association — Laing House - Last Chapter Group

46. Landing Strong Cooperative — Opening Doors to Deeper Connection: Mens Anger Management & Healthy Intimacy in Relationships Program (s) Creation

47. LOVE Nova Scotia — LOVE Leadership Retreat Camp

48. Maritime Play Therapy Centre — Circle of Security Parenting Group

49. Memory Cafe NS  (Town of Wolfville) — The Memory Cafe NS Project: Towards Social Inclusion and Quality of Life for Nova Scotians Living with Dementia

50. Metro Community Housing Association — The Explorers Club: Discovering Self Beyond the Walls

51. Mi'kmaq Circle of Hope Society — “Kepmite’lsi”  Be proud and honour yourself for who you are

52. Mocean Dance Society — Communities in Mocean

53. New Dawn Community Development Educational Foundation — Anchor Youth Space Sydney, Just Be You Peer Support Program

54. New Leaf Global Services Inc., DBA The BraveArt Project. — The BraveArt Project

55. North End Opportunities Fund — North End Opportunities (NEOF)

56. Northwood Bedford Incorporated — Harmony In Care-Northwood Bedford Campus Music Therapy Program

57. Nova Scotia Health - Inpatient Psychiatry — “Where wellness is a canvas, recipe and a journey”

58. NOVA SEVEN ARTS COUNCIL — S.P.A.C.E. - Safe Place for All to Create and Express in support of positive mental health and inclusion for neurodivergent youth

59. NSH Mental Health Day Hospital - WZ — Mind & Motion Grant

60. Our Health Centre — Thrive Tuesdays

61. Raising the Villages Project Cooperative Ltd. — Gathering for Community Well-Being

62. reachAbility Association — BERY: Building Emotional Resilience in Youth

63. Resilient Youth — Resilient Youth: Mental health and trauma literacy programming for students and educators

64. Sackville Minor Hockey Association — Beyond the Game: SMHA's Commitment to Mental Health

65. Samuel R Balcom Centre — Caring For the Carers

66. Schools Plus - HRCE — Light Spectrum

67. Scotia Winds of Change Foundation — Engaging African Nova Scotian Men and Boys around Domestic Violence

68. Second Story Women's Centre — Community Support

69. Spectrum Therapeutic Solutions — Safe Shores Community Counselling

70. Spider Video Inc. — Halifax Story Slam “View”: Person Stories on Mental Health Wellness

71. St. Francis Xavier University — EDIA Peer Mentoring Project

72. St. Stephen’s Parish (Growing Friends Project) — I'm a Star!  (Teaching ukulele to seniors and adults with mental challenges and creating concert opportunities)

73. Strongest Families Institute — Familles Francophones Fortes (Strong Francophone Families)

74. Survivors of Abuse Recovering (S.O.A.R) society — S.O.A.R. Peer Support Training

75. Tajikeimik - Mi'kmaw Health and Wellness — Beading is Healing

76. The Association of Black Social Workers — Association of Black Social Workers Africentric Clinical Specialization Cohort Therapy & Counselling Clinic

77. The Flower Cart Group — Together in Mind- a community of care for all abilities.

78. The John Howard Society of NS — Holistic Responses

79. THE NOVA SCOTIA YOUTH PROJECT SOCIETY — Lucky 13: Queering Harm Reduction

80. The Plant Space — Horticultural Therapy for Healthy Aging in the Annapolis Valley Region

81. The Tema Foundation — The Backpack: An Interactive Resilience Manual for Children of First Responders and Healthcare Families

82. Venus Envy Gender Journeys — Gender Journeys

83. We Worthy Women — New Roots: Building Stronger Futures in New Communities in Rural Nova Scotia

84. West Hants SchoolsPlus — AV Connects

85. Western Area Women's Coalition — Ringing Out - Cultivating Empowerment Through Bell Choir

86. Yarmouth Life Skills — Yarmouth Life Skills: Empowered Programs

We approved 72 grant applications for a total of $1,490,408 in Round 1 (awarded in April 2025)

1. 7th Step Society of NS — 7th Step Troubled Youth Outreach

2. 7th Step Society of NS — Peer-Support Workers and Programming for Criminalized Individuals

3. Adsum Association for Women & Children — PeerWorks Program

4. Aging Well Nova Scotia Association (Community Links Association) — Building Community Capacity:  Addressing the Mental Health Needs of Older Nova Scotians

5. Aidaen Mae Fund — Help Keep Our Youth Alive

6. Anahata Integrative Sex & Relationship Therapy Inc. — Men Building Healthy Relationships

7. Annapolis Valley Regional Centre for Education — AVRCE GSA Health Summit

8. Annapolis Valley Regional Centre for Education — GuysWork Blitz at West Hants Schools

9. Arts Health Antigonish (AHA!) Society — Antigonish Comedy Club

10. Autism Nova Scotia — Pictou County Weekend Recreation and Respite

11. Berhan Cultural & Education Center (BCEC) — Ethiopian Parents & Youth Guide to Online Bullying and Mental Health

12. Brigadoon Children's Camp — Camp BELIEVE

13. Brunswick Street Mission — Breakfast Program - Social Work

14. Canadian Blk Women in Excellence Society — Thrive in Black

15. Canadian BLUE Wellness Association — Mental Health Through Mindful Movement Pilot Project

16. CMHA-NS Division — Learn to Live Life to the Full  

17. CMHA -NS Division — Suicide Safer Communities with ASISTance

18. Cape Breton Regional Hospital Foundation — The Mental Health and Addictions Patient Care Fund

19. Cecilia Concerts Society — Sensory Accessible Concerts - Season 5

20. Chebucto Family Centre — Empowering Mothers through Wellness and Support

21. Chester Municipal Heritage Society — If I Knew Then

22. CNIB — CNIB’s Life After Vision Loss

23. Common Roots BiHi Park — Gather & Grow: “Sharing Experiences in Gardens and Life”

24. Common Roots Woodside — Growing Mental Health 2025

25. Coverdale Justice Society — Trauma Informed Justice Support Program

26. Cumberland Public Libraries — Staff Training to Serve our Most Vulnerable Populations

27. Direction 180, Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Society — MENding Minds

28. Diverse Roots Therapy — Gender - Affirming Care Clinic for Gender Marker & Name Changes

29. Elizabeth Fry Society of Mainland Nova Scotia — The Abundance Thrift Store

30. Esinam Counselling Inc. — Three-part series of group counselling

31. Evangeline Recreation Society — Berwick Community Mental Wellness Hub Initiative

32. Family SOS Association — Healthy Kidz and Healthy Teenz Afterschool Programs, Lunchbox Project

33. Find Your Voice Music Therapy — Trans-Formative Voices: Transgender and Non - Binary Youth and Adults Voice Therapy Program

34. Flourish 55+ Healthy Activity Society — Let's Talk Senior Suicide

35. Forging Forward Counselling Services — Forging Forward Brief Solution Focused (BSF) Counselling Program

36. Fountain of Health — The Art and Science of Aging Well for NS Seniors

37. Friends United — HEART (Healing Education Around Reconciling Together) to Heart Talk

38. Good Neighbour Builders Society — Yarmouth Good Neighbour Project

39. Halifax Sexual Health Centre — Collaborative SGRH Primary Care Social Work Support

40. Halifax Theatre for Young People — HTYP Youth Acts! Program for Queer & Trans Youth

41. Hope Blooms — Hope Blooms: Growing Together for Better Mental Health

42. Hope for Mental Health — One to One Peer Support for Individuals living with Psychotic Disorders

43. Hope for Mental Health — Anchored Families: Hope's One-to-One Peer Support for Families

44. Hope Project Addiction Recovery Services — "A Healing Reconnection with Arts, Animals, and Nature"

45. Hospice Halifax — Sustaining Grief and Bereavement Support through Individualized Counselling

46. Kids Help Phone — Increasing Mental Health Awareness in Service Deserts

47. Landing Strong Cooperative — Landing Strong - Community Connections - Phase 2

48. Landing Strong Cooperative — Landing Strong - Catching Those Who Fall:  Equine Assisted Therapy

49. LOVE Nova Scotia — LOVE Weekly Programming & Free Flow Fridays

50. MacPhee Centre for Creative Learning Society — Portapique Arts & Wellness: A Sustainable Creative Path for Youth

51. Northwood Support Services: Seeds of Success Mental Health & Wellness Program — Roots of Resilience

52. Nova Scotia Brotherhood — Barbershop Talks and Reignite the Run/Walk

53. Prescott Group — Caregiver Community Connect

54. Rainbow Refugee Association of Nova Scotia — Rainbow Art Connections for 2SLGBTQIA+ Newcomers

55. Regional Independent Students Association — Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds

56. Riverview Home Volunteer Association — Activity Therapy to Improve Mental Health

57. Roots of Empathy — Breaking Intergenerational Cycles of Violence by Building Empathy

58. SchoolsPlus Windsor — "C₃”: Creating Community with Caregivers

59. Shoreham Village — Between The Mountains - Music Therapy                                                                            

60. Société Mi - Carême — Entre, c'est débarré

61. Spencer House Seniors Centre — Art & Soul: Finding Mental Wellness by Creating Art Together

62. SSRCE - SchoolsPlus — Connecting Families:  Concurrent Interventions for Intergenerational Trauma

63. Stepping Stone Association — Stepping Stone’s Holistic Addictions Program (HAP)

64. Strongest Families Institute — Parents Empowering Kids: Bilingual Support for Families

65. The African Nova Scotian (ANS) Hope Within Society — Renew and Thrive

66. The East Preston Day Care and Family Resource Centre — Empowering African Nova Scotian Adults: A Mental Health & Wellness Initiative

67. The Marguerite Centre — Beyond Trauma: Connecting mental health and healing

68. The Tema Foundation — Bridging Strength: Virtual Wellness for the Frontline

69. TREY - Trauma Recovery for Exploited Youth — Outreach Support Program

70. Unity Charity — The Source: Inclusion & Connectivity for ANS Youth

71. Venus Envy - Gender Journeys — Gender Journeys: Out and About

72. YWCA-Halifax — Mental Health Hour