Breaking news! #MEAction has just been awarded a 3-year grant by the Long COVID Program of the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) to address the impacts of Long COVID, ME/CFS, and related conditions, across the state and to serve disproportionately impacted communities.

#MEAction’s work will focus on better connecting Minnesotans with ME/CFS, Long COVID, and related conditions to vital home and community-based support services that they often struggle to effectively access. These grant funds will allow us to both hire Minnesota-based professionals, and support current #MEAction staff, to help Minnesotans navigate accessing services to meet their daily needs, and to carefully evaluate the effectiveness of this funded service delivery.

This Minnesota-focused capacity-building grant builds off our ongoing efforts to launch a national Canary Corps program to connect people with ME/CFS and Long COVID to local disability services and supports. We look forward to the opportunity to develop best practice models of care and cross-learning between both our state and national strategies to help meet the needs of our communities. 

#MEAction Minnesota State Chapter has provided ongoing local leadership and tireless advocacy that helped make this grant opportunity a reality. Terri L. Wilder, Minnesota State Chapter Chair said “This funding marks an exciting opportunity to improve the lives of those living with ME/CFS and Long COVID in the state of Minnesota, particularly within disproportionately impacted communities. We are deeply grateful for this support and look forward to the positive impact it will have. Together, we can make a meaningful difference in the health and well-being of our community.”

Now the work starts! We will be rolling up our sleeves to design the most thoughtful program possible. We will keep you posted on our milestones and successes. We are very excited to learn from this state-focused endeavor.