Helmsley Charitable Trust

08/18/2026

Over the last 16 years, Helmsley and the American Heart Association have partnered together to bring a robust system of stroke care to seven states across the U.S. From symptom recognition to post-acute rehabilitation, Mission: Lifeline Stroke has impacted the lives of over 60,000 patients.

Yesterday marked an important moment in our continued partnership and commitment to the American Heart Association’s mission — the expansion of the Mission: Lifeline Stroke initiative to Wyoming.

In rural areas like those across Wyoming, any delay in response can mean the difference between life and death, which is why the strength and coordination of systems of care is vital in saving lives from stroke. It's not just about one hospital, but the collaboration between many hospitals, EMS networks, public awareness, post-acute care facilities, and more.

Head to the comments for more information on the statewide initiative coming to Wyoming.

Photo credit: copyright Adam Dyess.

08/13/2026

New York City's natural areas — complete with forests, grasslands, salt marshes, and wetlands — are surprisingly abundant.

These pockets of true, wild nature offer vital benefits for our health. Reducing stress, uplifting moods, and supporting mental health.

Yet the Center for an Urban Future's latest research, supported by Helmsley, found that the over 12,000 acres of natural landscapes are largely invisible and widely underused.

Read about the new report, as featured by Jeanmarie Evelly in City Limits, to find out what's contributing to the disconnect and how more New Yorkers can connect with nature:

A new report from Center for an Urban Future urges the city to do more to raise awareness about, and increase access to, its "wild" spaces—what researchers say could improve residents' mental and physical

08/12/2026

A new resource, “Leveraging Partnerships to Navigate Emerging Diabetes Coverage, Access, and Affordability Challenges,” from the Center on Health Insurance Reforms (CHIR) explores emerging challenges in diabetes coverage, access, and affordability.

With input from health care policy and diabetes experts, as well as people with insulin-requiring diabetes, the resource identifies considerations for patient advocates, providers, and policymakers to protect affordable care access in the shifting insurance landscape.

Read the full report: https://bit.ly/4zfqNwY

08/05/2026

“T1D care may begin in the clinic, but it succeeds in the community.”

That’s the belief at the heart of Health Poverty Action’s work in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — supported through Panorama Global’s T1D Community Fund with seed funding from Helmsley. Health Poverty Action is reaching 2,500 people with diabetes education, training 60 health workers, and helping 50 families afford the ongoing costs of care.

Find out what community-centered type 1 diabetes care looks like in our new post from Delina Abadi — link in the comments.

07/28/2026

PEN-Plus is going from pilot to policy.

The model, which brings care closer to home for people living with and other severe chronic noncommunicable diseases, has grown to 20 countries in the Africa region. At this year’s International Conference on PEN-Plus, participants committed to calling on governments to finance and run the model themselves for the long haul.

Helmsley’s James Reid and Delina Abadi joined World Health Organization African Region and NCDI Poverty Network to celebrate the progress and chart what’s next.

Read our takeaways: https://helmsleytrust.org/news-and-insights/african-governments-advance-pen-plus-at-icppa-2026/

07/24/2026

Kyle Banks and his team are making sure young people with type 1 diabetes have the knowledge and support they need to manage their disease. Learn about how Banks’ diagnosis led him to found Kyler Cares in this segment from WWLTV.

To facilitate accessible care within communities, Kyler Cares launched the Diabetes Management Crew, which supports school nurses in NYC Public Schools caring for students with type 1 diabetes.

“We help make sure kids are able to stay in class and manage the disease properly while they’re in school,” says Banks, who is working on bringing a similar program to schools in his hometown of New Orleans.

Watch the full segment to learn more:

Empowered by a life‑changing conversation with doctors, a Broadway ...

07/23/2026

Fourteen months after transplantation and without immunosuppressive drugs, gene-edited donor islet cells are still surviving and producing insulin in a person with type 1 diabetes. The cells remained responsive to meals, producing more insulin following eating.

This new follow-up data, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, comes from a study led by Uppsala universitet Hospital. While this is still early evidence from one participant, and the low-dose study was not designed to eliminate or reduce the need for insulin therapy, this is meaningful progress toward cell therapies that could restore the body’s ability to produce insulin in people with type 1 diabetes.

Read more about this Helmsley-supported study: https://bit.ly/4fEkpGW

07/22/2026

Groundbreaking is underway for a new outpatient behavioral health facility serving the Rosebud Sioux Tribe in South Dakota.

Supported by Helmsley and the Thomas W. Haas Foundation, the center will expand access to community-led mental health care, including su***de prevention, crisis intervention, and substance use treatment for the Sicangu Lakota Oyate.

The project reflects a long-term investment in culturally grounded care — integrating behavioral health services with traditional healing practices to support the well-being of individuals, families, and the broader community.

Learn more here in the comments.

07/21/2026

07/21/2026

New research published in EBioMedicine explores whether medications used to manage type 2 diabetes could help restore the body’s glucagon response during low blood sugar in people with type 1 diabetes.

This Helmsley-supported clinical study points to a new direction in addressing impaired hormone signaling to reduce hypoglycemia risk. Read more: https://bit.ly/4gPOC7X