PV Family Center lands grant to help mission
BOSTON — The Children’s Trust, a statewide public-private organization dedicated to preventing child abuse and neglect in Massachusetts, has awarded $71,428 to Pioneer Valley Family Center which will address core service funding gaps to support center-based activities.
Among those activities are plan and learn groups, support groups, special family events, and staffing for provision of individualized family support. Funds may also be used for food, child care and transportation, as needed.
This funding comes as part of the Children’s Trust’s efforts to strengthen family support programs facing challenges because of continued federal funding cuts. In total, the Children’s Trust has provided $500,000 in funding to Family Centers across the commonwealth.
The funding comes from the Children’s Trust Massachusetts SAFE Child Communities program. Children’s Trust Family Centers are community hubs where parents go to get support navigating the joys and challenges of parenting. They can tap into community resources, learn new parenting skills, get individualized family support during times of stress, meet other families, and participate in activities and programs that support them in their caregiving role.
Local Farmer Awards accepting applications
Farmers in Western Massachusetts are invited to apply for the 12th year of the Local Farmer Awards, which provide grants of up to $2,500 to support critical capital improvement projects on local farms.
The awards help farmers invest in equipment and infrastructure related to planting, growing, harvesting, and processing — tools that strengthen farm operations, improve efficiency, and enhance competitiveness in the marketplace.
The Local Farmer Awards is a program of the Harold Grinspoon Charitable Foundation (HGCF), in partnership with Big Y, the Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture, the Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation, and other funders. Now in its 12th year, the program has supported more than 320 farmers and funded 788 projects across the region.
Past awards have enabled farmers to make meaningful upgrades, such as installing irrigation systems, purchasing no-till and cultivation equipment, improving fencing and livestock infrastructure, upgrading wash and pack station, and expanding milk storage and bottling capacity.
To be eligible, farms must be located in Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin, or Berkshire counties and have gross annual farm sales of at least $10,000. A full list of eligibility requirements and application details is available at www.farmerawards.org.
The application deadline is Jan. 31.
88-unit senior housing community opens in Holyoke
HOLYOKE — WinnCompanies, a national owner, developer, and manager of high-impact apartment communities, has completed a $55.3 million adaptive reuse that transformed a long-vacant, historic mill complex into 88 affordable apartment homes for seniors ages 55 and older.
The project in downtown Holyoke created Residences on Appleton, featuring new loft-style apartments created within three interconnected, 111-year-old industrial buildings that had been vacant for decades. The community reached full occupancy in December, less than three months after it opened.
All 88 apartments are reserved for low- and moderate-income seniors, with 12 units reserved for households below 30% of area median income (AMI), 63 for those below 60% of AMI, and 13 for households below 80% of AMI. Eight of the units are available to eligible households through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Project Based Voucher program. Five units are set aside for Massachusetts Department of Mental Health clients through the Facilities Consolidation Fund.
The community offers four studio, 75 one-bedroom and nine two-bedroom apartments. Resident amenity spaces include on-site management offices, a fitness center, a resident lounge, an outdoor recreation area along the adjacent canal, laundry facilities, and 109 parking spaces. A new construction community building that was built as part of the project is connected to the residential space via a closed skybridge spanning nearby railroad tracks.
Once the largest alpaca wool mill in the world, the brick mill complex is one of Holyoke’s most prominent historic properties and is located across the street from a state park dedicated to showcasing Holyoke’s industrial and cultural heritage. The complex has been largely vacant since the 1970s and has been a priority for redevelopment since the city took title to the property 12 years ago.