Small and Mighty: Steel Smiling
Steel Smiling
The Pittsburgh Foundation awarded a Small and Mighty grant of $10,000 in 2017 to Steel Smiling. Steel Smiling is a volunteer-run organization formed in early 2016 to provide African Americans in low-income neighborhoods with basic needs and referrals to quality, affordable mental health services.
More than 40 residents in 12 predominantly African American neighborhoods have received financial assistance for basic needs and access to mental health care referral from Steel Smiling. This grant provided at least 50 Arlington Heights residents with three new services: a mental health advocate who will be the first point of contact in determining needs; a social worker to engage one-on-one with residents; and eight hours of mental health "first aide training" including warning signs, crisis response and how to connect people to initial supports.
The Small and Mighty grants program, an outcome of the Foundation’s 100 Percent Pittsburgh organizing principle, has awarded $308,821 in 2018 to 22 local nonprofit organizations with budgets of less than $600,000.
In the first round of Small and Mighty funding, announced in March 2017, a total of $230,000 was awarded to 18 organizations. To date, Small and Mighty has awarded $879,000 in grants to 40 organizations.
To learn more about Steel Smiling, visit https://www.steelsmilingpgh.org/
