September 18, 2020

City awards Catholic Charities $2.3 million for homeless services; part of CARES act

REGIONAL
Story and photo by Carolee McGrath

Pictured are (left to right) Tim Sheehan, chief development officer for the city of Springfield, and Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno.

SPRINGFIELD – The City of Springfield is awarding $3.5 million to four Springfield agencies, including the Catholic Charities Agency of the Diocese of Springfield, to increase services for the homeless population. The money comes from the federal CARES act funds which allow the city to increase the allocation of Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.

Catholic Charities, which is working with Mercy Medical Center’s Healthcare for the Homeless (HCH) program, will receive nearly $2.3 million dollars for street outreach, social work, placement into hotels for emergency shelter, support and referrals for behavioral health, housing search and rental assistance.

“Homelessness is a very complicated issue from the loss of a job, of your family, your loved one, drug addiction, mental health issues, it encompasses a lot of issues,” Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno, stated at morning press conference, Friday, Sept. 18.

“The police are not there to handle that. We need other agencies to get out there on the streets and assist our police department and help out with the mental health situations, help out with the drug addiction situations, and get these individuals the help they need,” Sarno said.

The other agencies awarded are Clinical Support and Options/Friends of the Homeless, which will receive $342, 531; New North Citizens Council, which will receive $400,00; and the YWCA of Western Massachusetts, which will receive $505,544.

“Catholic Charities Agency is pleased to receive funding through the new Springfield ESG-CV grant contract to continue our efforts to serve the chronically homeless and other high risk clients who are unable to access shelter in Springfield,” said Kathryn Buckley-Brawner, executive director of Catholic Charities.

“In collaboration with the city of Springfield and Mercy Medical we have been providing alternative shelter for this population since May of this year,” she said. “The funding from this grant will build our capacity to  provide outreach and temporary shelter, and expand our efforts to provide case management and clinical support, while securing permanent housing solutions for the homeless population at highest risk .The availability of these funds allows all grantees a unique opportunity to put maximum resources at the service of effectively addressing homelessness in Springfield.”

This grant from the city of Springfield is in addition to a $795,000 ESG grant awarded recently to Catholic Charities by the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) to help provide aid to the homeless during the pandemic.
A video version of this story will be featured on an upcoming edition of “Real to Reel” which airs Saturday evenings at 7 p.m. on WWLP-22 NEWS and in the Berkshires Sunday mornings at 5:30 on Albany’s Fox 23, WXXA.