BROOKLINE — Chair Heather Hamilton and the Select Board are pleased to announce that the Select Board has authorized more than $22 million in federal coronavirus relief funding to support key community projects and organizations.
The allocation represents slightly less than half of the approximately $43 million in federal funds provided to the Town of Brookline following the passage of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) in 2021.
On Tuesday, the Select Board adopted the recommendations of Brookline’s ARPA Submission Review Subcommittee, which evaluated submitted proposals and requests for funding and determined how to best allocate the funding to maximize its impact and benefit for the community-at-large.
The subcommittee was chaired by Select Board members John VanScoyoc and Miriam Aschkenasy.
The Select Board authorized allocating just over $22.4 million in funding to several organizations and projects, including:
- $198,000 for a pedestrian safety study
- $1 million for the Brookline Center for Community Mental Health to establish urgent care stabilization and recovery services
- $1 million to support the Brookline Community Foundation’s Safety Net Fund and grantmaking to local nonprofits and organizations
- $6 million to support maintenance and capital needs at the Brookline Housing Authority’s Egmont Street Veterans and Trustman Apartments
- $3.5 million to address a Public Schools of Brookline operating budget shortfall due to lack of additional federal funding under the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Program
- $1.4 million toward the Davis Footbridge’s design and construction
- $300,000 for the Brookline Food Pantry to expand and maintain its operations
- More than $257,000 for Women Thriving, Inc., which will provide three, eight-month training programs in work skills, personal finance, health and wellbeing, and more for immigrant women
- $500,000 for the Brookline Teen Center for its equitable recovery and program expansion
In addition to these programs, the Select Board authorized funding for multiple arts programs, transportation programming, education, services and supports for vulnerable populations, as well as support for critical infrastructure work and other economic recovery efforts.
“Each of these organizations and projects is worthy of funding, which will help meet the needs of a diverse community that has been and continues to be broadly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Hamilton said. “I am grateful to all of the members of the ARPA Submission Review Subcommittee for their thoughtful and engaged efforts to evaluate proposals and award funding in a way that’s equitable and impactful.”
In some cases, funding awards were made with the expectation that organizations would reapply and potentially have their full funding requests met over the course of both rounds of funding.
For a full list of projects that were funded during the first round of awards, click here. For a broader look at the town’s work related to ARPA, click here.
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