Belmont Savings Bank Foundation Awards $1,000 Grant to Women of Means

WALTHAM– Belmont Savings Bank Foundation today announced that it has awarded $1,000 in grants to support two Women of Means family shelter-based health clinics in Waltham.   The grant will help these shelters provide medical treatment for homeless women and their children.

Women of Means offers free health care to homeless women and their children in seven Greater Boston area shelters, safe houses and family transition centers including Home Suites Inn and Mary’s House in Waltham. Services to women and children include medical care, advocacy and health education.

"By partnering with Women of Means we are investing in a successful program that has a positive impact on people’s lives," said Robert Mahoney, Chief Executive Officer of Belmont Savings Bank and a member of the Foundation’s board. “Women of Means, in conjunction with Home Suites Inn and Mary’s House, addresses the significant underlying health care needs of those homeless women and their children in Waltham who are often unable to access or navigate the complex health care system."

Longtime family physician and Women of Means medical director Dr. Marcia Tanur and her team staff free, on-the-spot health clinics every Monday and alternative Wednesdays each month at Home Suites Inn and Mary’s House in Waltham.

Women of Means currently deploys 16 volunteer physicians as well as additional part-time nurse care managers who work alongside doctors to provide medical care and ancillary services to 2,000 homeless women and 500 children annually.

“This generous grant made possible by the Belmont Savings Bank Foundation will allow Women of Means to continue meeting the critical health care needs of the women and children we serve in Waltham,” said Dr. Roseanna Means, Executive Director for Women of Means, who  founded the Wellesley-based organization in 1999. “Women of Means works diligently to close the extreme gap in health disparities that plague homeless women and their children by building trust and providing essential medical services. Thanks to the Belmont Savings Bank Foundation, we can continue our work with this most vulnerable population.”

Founded in 2011, the Belmont Savings Bank Foundation provides a formal mechanism for Belmont Savings Bank to contribute to the communities it serves. This grant is one of thirteen that the Foundation has made since its inception. Previous donations include $5,500 to the Waltham Boys & Girls Club and $10,000 to the Waltham YMCA.

Home Suites Inn is located at 455 Totten Pond Road in Waltham. Mary’s House can be found at 62 Church Street, also in Waltham.

For more information on Women of Means please visit www.womenofmeans.org.