Mayor Linda Tyer with Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity's Dubois Thomas and board President Mark Harris. Habitat received the largest allocation of the city's ARPA funding at $800,000. Tyer announced the ARPA grant awards for social services on Thursday.

Mayor Linda Tyer announces awards totaling $5.9 million for social service organizations. The city received $41 million in ARPA funding.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Several rounds of applause filled council chambers on Thursday when Mayor Linda Tyer announced America Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) community awards totaling $5.9 million.

The 18 recipients were granted funds ranging from $50,000 to $800,000 to support services for childhood development, youth intervention, mental health and substance use disorders, disabled elderly and veterans, community-based initiatives, and cultural organizations.

Pittsfield was allocated about $41 million in federal ARPA funds that must be spent by 2026.

"As it was intended by the American Rescue Plan, each of today's recipients reflects a diverse array of strategic and meaningful initiatives and projects that align with our guiding principles and the American Rescue Plan criteria," Tyer said.

"Together we will be serving a wide spectrum in our community and meet many of the needs that we heard and that were voiced during our community engagement experiences, we are eager to get these funds into your hands so you can begin doing the work that you do to make the city of Pittsfield a great place to live and to work and to visit."

A new program titled Second Streets Second Chances received $700,000 in ARPA funding to help assist formerly incarcerated Pittsfield residents in re-entering the community.

The initiative will offer a wide array of post-incarceration services, case management, and workforce training from the former jail on Second Street, a symbolic location. The goal is to provide essential tools needed for success.

It is spearheaded by Berkshire Community College, the Berkshire County House of Correction, and the Berkshire County Sheriff's Office.  

"We're so grateful for Mayor Tyer and her staff to award us with that, and it's just a service that we feel is extremely needed," the new organization's Executive Director Jason Cuyler said.

"I always say that in order for us to have a whole community we have to help everyone and this is a way for us to reach out to people that have paid for their crimes, now it's our job to help them correct and move on with life,"

"The most important thing, in my opinion, speaking as a parent, the most important thing is a trickle-down effect that this is going to have on future generations, so we can help the men and women that get out of facilities, and we can help them find jobs and opportunity and provide them with counseling services that they need, that'll trickle down to their family."

Earlier this year, SSSC also received a $240,300 grant through the state's Community Empowerment and Reinvestment Grant Program.

The Berkshire Family YMCA was awarded $250,000 to assist with the renovation and expansion of child-care services.

The facility is undergoing a $12.4 million overhaul that expands its child-care program, improves the athletic facilities, and updates its facade.

CEO Jessie Rumlow reported that construction is going well on the facility after it launched late last year.

"We actually just opened up phase one of the project, the fitness center is open with all new equipment in it and the only thing that's missing are the windows," she reported. "But child care is moving along."

The expanded child-care facility will provide 25 additional spots for children. There will be a new infant room and additional toddler room as well as an expanded pre-school area.
 
The new child-care section will also include a science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) space and a gross motor skills space.

To fund renovations to the North Street facility, the YMCA started a Full of Possibilities Campaign.  In January, four new grants were announced totaling $1.125 million. Officials are hoping to have the renovation finished by the end of the year.

Tyer revealed that the city received 22 applications after the city released invitations for proposals in late January.

She said the city will work with four proposals that did not meet ARPA criteria to seek other funding sources, recognizing that they were great ideas.

Because of the outpouring of responses that were received after the invitation for proposals, the city ended the rolling application process and made a final deadline of May 1.

"The recipients of today's awards are respected community leaders," Tyer said. "All of you provide great programs resources and access to people who need our help the most."

The first $20 million in ARPA allocations was announced last fall. The city held four single-topic public hearings to get the community's input on how the funds should be allocated and distributed a survey during the early planning process.

The community ARPA allocations are:

• Arts in Recovery for Youth (AIRY): $50,000 for an arts and skills-based suicide prevention program targeted toward Pittsfield youth ages 13-24.

• Barrington Stage Company: $125,000 for the replacement and upgrades of the HVAC system at the St. Germain Stage and Boyd-Quinson orchestra pit to provide healthy spaces for one of Pittsfield's most visited performing arts theater.

• Berkshire Black Economic Council (BBEC): $700,000 to establish organizational operations and capacity for BBEC to offer technical assistance, educational workshops, and networking sessions for Pittsfield's black entrepreneurs and black-owned businesses.

• Berkshire Community Action Council (BCAC): $500,000 to increase capacity of BCAC's Weatherization Remediation Assistance Program (WRAP) by assisting under-resourced Pittsfield residents with home weatherization and heating system needs.

• Berkshire County Head Start: $700,000 to provide free transportation and full-day childcare and early education for Pittsfield families deemed ineligible for state-subsidized daycare.

• Berkshire Family YMCA: $250,000 for the renovation and expansion of childcare facilities.

• Berkshire Immigrant Center: $80,000 for the expansion of legal and educational services for immigrants living in Pittsfield.

• Berkshire Museum: $250,000 to create mobile museum units to offer classroom-based portable programming in the Pittsfield Public Schools.

• Boys & Girls Club of the Berkshires: $500,000 for the installation of a new HVAC system for youth and families to enjoy healthy recreational spaces.

• Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity: $800,000 for the expansion of the navigator network and to provide resources to support Pittsfield residents, households and small businesses impacted by the pandemic.

• George B. Crane Memorial Center: $90,000 to offer recovery programs, support, and life skills for people struggling with substance use disorders.

• Goodwill Industries of the Berkshires: $200,000 for the roof replacement at the Tyler Street headquarters where workforce training and support services are offered to Pittsfield residents.

• IS183 Art School: $80,000 for a multi-pronged approach to bolster and sustain artists in after school, summer and in-school art classes at the Pittsfield Public Schools.

• MassMoCA/Assets for Artists: $100,000 to establish and deploy a Pittsfield-based Asset for Artists program.

• Rites of Passage & Empowerment Program: $550,000 to increase organizational capacity and expand programs for young women of color ages 12 to 18 to access college tours, travel opportunities, scholar stipends, and advancement of skills and professional development.

• Second Street Second Chances: $700,000 a collaborative one-stop facility to support successful re-entry of formerly incarcerated Pittsfield residents into the community and the workforce.

• South Community Food Pantry: $50,000 to address a systemic gap in food insecurity by renovating the food distribution space and expand the home delivery program.

• Volunteers in Medicine: $200,000 to respond and support the medical needs of under-resourced Pittsfield residents.

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