RAPID CITY, S.D.— The Monument Health Foundation has received a grant to help create a safe, peaceful space for mental health patients. Black Hills Community Bank presented the foundation with a $70,000 check at Monument’s Behavioral Health Hospital. The money comes from a matching grant through the Federal Home Loan Bank’s Member Impact Fund.
The fund matched two and a half times the bank’s $20,000 donation. President & CEO of Black Hills Community Bank Jack Lynass says, “I just feel so thrilled that I could stand up here and say that we got it done. It wasn’t easy. They gave us two weeks to get the grants put in, and then they made a decision within the next 10 days, and they called us up and said, every one of your grants that you wrote in that two week period got approved, 100% so we got a lot more checks to give.”
$30,000 will be used to improve the hospital’s outdoor space — including fencing and other upgrades to create a safe place for patients. Director of Monument Health Behavioral Health John Hagy says, “They have plenty of opportunities in group, individual therapy and time with their docs to really drill into the issues why they’re here, but this will be a place for them to maybe just decompress and be able to focus on just relaxing.”
The remainder of the grant will go towards Monument Health Foundation’s Children’s Campaign and the Spearfish Expansion.