Wheeler Health Expands Services for LGBTQ+ Community with $110,000 Grant from the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation
Grant to extend “Walk With Me” program and services to all Wheeler Health Family Health & Wellness Centers
Wheeler Health, a Connecticut-based nonprofit that provides individuals, families, and communities with accessible, innovative care, today announced a $110,000 grant from the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation. The funds will support the “Walk With Me” program at its Family Health & Wellness centers in Hartford, New Britain, Plainville, and Waterbury, Connecticut, and extend the program and its services to Wheeler’s Bristol, Connecticut, center.
“Walk With Me” is a therapeutic treatment track for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, nonbinary, and questioning (LGBTQ+) patients of all ages and provides services such as individual, family, and group therapy, affirming psychiatric evaluation and care, behavioral health services, inclusive and affirming peer support services, primary care, sexual health screenings and treatment, Pre- and Post-Exposure Prophylaxis prescriptions, and gender-affirming hormone therapy for patients aged 18 and over.
“Walk With Me” was launched in 2021 in Plainville through a $100,000 philanthropic investment from an anonymous donor and reached approximately 200 patients this year. Thanks to the generous support of the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation, the program will now be available at the organization’s Bristol center, marking the expansion of “Walk With Me” to every Wheeler Family Health & Wellness Center.
“Walk With Me” seamlessly integrates with Wheeler Health’s full continuum of health care services offered at the organization’s Family Health & Wellness Centers, including primary care, behavioral health, treatment for substance use disorder, and more. “Walk With Me” services are typically covered by public and private insurance. A sliding fee scale is also available to patients who may face additional barriers to treatment payment, as Wheeler Health does not turn anyone away.
“There is a critical lack of inclusive and affirming services to support the LGBTQ+ community in West Central Connecticut,” said Sabrina Trocchi, PhD, MPA, and Wheeler’s president and chief executive officer. “We are grateful to the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation for its support as we expand the ‘Walk With Me’ program—and its specialized, live-saving support services—to reach more people and create a healthier, more inclusive Connecticut.
Wheeler Health's two full-time peer specialists will support its five health centers (Bristol, Hartford, New Britain, Plainville, and Waterbury), and they will share their lived experience with patients and families and provide referrals to care and services. The grant also provides additional support for specialized staff training on serving the LGBTQ+ community.
Wheeler is nationally recognized for its LGBTQ+-responsive services. In 2024, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) rated Wheeler as a “Leader” in its Healthcare Equality Index, achieving the highest score of 100 on the national benchmarking tool for equity for LGBTQ+ patients, visitors, and employees. Wheeler was the only community health center in the state to achieve the recognition. In 2022, HRC rated Wheeler as a “Top Performer,” with a score of 95. The improvement in 2024 was due to Wheeler’s investment of time, funding, and resources to update its policies and procedures, and provide substantial staff training to improve its inclusive and affirming care for LGBTQ+ individuals.
Wheeler’s Family Health & Wellness Centers
Wheeler’s Family Health & Wellness Centers are community health centers that provide integrated primary care and behavioral health for all ages, as well as dental care, nutrition services, chiropractic care, and referral and linkages to specialty services. Its flagship health center, the Wheeler Family Health & Wellness Center in Bristol, opened at One Hope Street in July 2024. It is Wheeler’s first newly constructed facility since its original outpatient site in 1972.
Wheeler's Family Health & Wellness Centers are funded in part by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an operating division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Wheeler is a Health Center Program grantee under 42 U.S.C. 254b and a deemed Public Health Service employee under 42 U.S.C. 233(g)-(n).
Medicaid, Medicare, and commercial health insurance welcome. No patient will be denied health care services due to an individual’s inability to pay for services.
