AMHERST — At Wildwood School, 19 students are getting support and mentorship from the expansion of the Lunch Buddies Program by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hampshire County.
Across Amherst, 50 households made up of 135 individuals that are at risk of being evicted from their homes are receiving assistance from Family Outreach of Amherst, a program of the Center for Human Development.
And in neighborhoods where some families have limited transportation options and grocery stores are distant, the Amherst Mobile Market is bringing fresh, culturally relevant produce directly to them.
These are among the recipients of Community Development Block Grant for social services whose work is continuing in town.
The CDBG Advisory Committee recently got updates on the various initiatives in advance of the next cycle of requests, with applications due Jan. 23. The town will take applications from individuals, nonprofit organizations, private companies and municipal officials interested in using a portion of an $875,000 CDBG grant for endeavors that will improve the quality of life for residents.
Amherst is receiving the block grant from the state’s Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities after being designated a mini-entitlement community.
Amherst Planner Walker Powell explained that the money in the next cycle will become available July 1. A larger chunk of the grant, though, will be directed toward non-social-service projects.
In recent years, these have included the ongoing culvert work and stream bed restoration on South East Street and construction of a multiuse path on North Pleasant Street.
Susan Nicastro, director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hampshire County, said more youth than ever are being served by bringing together case managers caregivers and “bigs,” who help the “littles,” ages 6 to 18.
“We’re really proud to be serving the children of Amherst and providing enduring mentorships with caring adults,” Nicastro said.
Since July 1, 79 new and existing matches are being supported, with 60 community matches, including through University of Massachusetts Amherst students, and the remaining 19 site-based matches through the Lunch Buddies program at Wildwood. There are also Amherst youth on a ready to match waitlist.
For the Amherst Mobile Market, board president Rossana Salazar said food is brought directly to various neighborhoods, reaching 4,296 individuals with 14,000 units of fresh fruits and vegetables.
Andres Cucalon, the market coordinator, said the most items bought were tomatoes, potatoes, plantains, mangos and yucas.
“Those were the highlights of the market, what most families bought,” Cucalon said.
Francine Rodriguez, program manager for Family Outreach, said the community housing support program helps families at risk of losing their homes.
In the first quarter of the year, 50 households and 135 beneficiaries were served, with 10 households getting emergency funds that helped them avoid going to housing court, and seven households were accompanied to housing court and were able to retain housing by reaching court agreements, working closely with landlords in Amherst.
Rodriguez said the organization’s focus is on finding solutions that work, observing that in one recent incident the sheriff was already at the home with the landlord, but Family Outreach staff got there in time to stop the eviction, which was eventually paused by housing court.
Rodriguez said Family Outreach was also able to come up with an agreement to cover the $1,450 sheriff fee cancellation.
At the Amherst Survival Center, interim Executive Director Carleen Basler, said demand is continuing to increase.
“Of the 3,500 residents who used the pantry since July, over 400 of those individuals were seniors, and 798 of those individuals were brand new to the pantry,” Basler said.
Another 23 Amherst residents are being given help with their prospective businesses through Valley Community Development, which is also partnering with Center for New Americans to educate on business skills for newcomers.
Sarah Sargent, program director at Valley CDC, said since July 1 the organization has offered small business program technical assistance and small business advising to 23 clients.
Valley CDC has also developed a small business fundamentals program for English language learners, with Center for New Americans, one was beginner based for Haitians and a second was for a mix of cultures. Nine people from Amherst are participating in that cohort.
The CDBG Committee is keeping its priorities intact for both non-social services and social services.
The statement for non-social services is to “continue meeting the goals of the community’s master plan, community development strategy and community priorities by focusing efforts on target areas (areas in which 51% or more of residents are low- and moderate-income) including the town center, East Amherst village center, and the East Hadley Road/Pomeroy village center.”
This also identified as “infrastructure, buildings, housing rehabilitation, and small business assistance,” though Powell noted that housing rehabilitation has not been done like in other communities, due to being onerous and trying to find properties that would qualify.
For social services, the various priorities are household stabilization, support services for those experiencing homelessness, youth development, services that help develop economic self-sufficiency (adult education & job training and food and nutrition programs.
The town typically doesn’t get applications for low-cost accessible comprehensive health services/insurance navigation, support services for seniors and transportation services.