AMHERST — Services provided by two local nonprofit agencies will be impacted by a drop in funding from the town’s Community Development Block Grant.
Town Manager Paul Bockelman earlier this month submitted funding requests to the state’s Department of Housing and Community Development that includes $165,000 for five agencies, but Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hampshire County, a program of the Center for Human Development, which requested $40,000 for mentoring area children, was not supported, and the Amherst Survival Center, which had sought $65,000 to continue its food pantry, had its funding cut to $40,000.
Senior Planner Nathaniel Malloy said that the recommendations for which agencies to fund, and at what levels, came from the CDBG Advisory Committee. Malloy said that both Bockelman and the Select Board trusted the process.
The advisory committee focused on “basic human needs” this year, such as job training, literacy and food, Malloy said. The main issue, he added, is that state rules limits to five agencies to fund, but some cities and towns choose not to dedicate any of their CDBG money to social service programs.
“Losing Amherst CDBG funding for the coming year certainly presents a big challenge for us,” said Jessie Cooley, director of Big Brothers Big Sisters.
About 100 children, identified as at risk by the Amherst Regional Public Schools’ Family Center, may not get the mentoring they need.
To counter, Cooley said the organization is making appeals through Valley Gives and the annual Daffodil Run April 29, which raises money from participants and sponsors.
“We are also looking for new grants and other opportunities to fill the gap in funding,” Cooley said.
At the survival center, the food pantry may not be able to meet the needs of all low-income families who depend on the food service. The food pantry serves 13 towns, with about 52 percent of those who use it from Amherst.
One of the center’s major fundraisers takes place Monday evening when it stages its 10th annual Empty Bowls Dinner at The Pub.
Agencies funded included Amherst Community Connections, at $40,000, Family Outreach, $35,000 for its community housing support program, The Literacy Project, which would get $30,000 for adult literacy classes and job readiness skill building and the Center for New Americans, which would receive $20,000 for immigrant education to get people to economic self-sufficiency.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.