Town of Brookline Pledges More Than $800,000 Toward Community Aid

*For the latest data on COVID-19 cases in Brookline, click here*

BROOKLINE — The Brookline Select Board is pleased to announce that the Town of Brookline is awarding Community Development Block Grant coronavirus response funding to several organizations that provide direct aid to members of the community.

This Community Development Block Grant is a program of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to support low and moderate-income individuals. The $807,337 in new funding authorized this week will be used to support several programs helping residents, businesses and members of the community impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This includes the Brookline Community Foundation’s Safety Net Fund, which supports members of the community who are experiencing financial hardship and has greatly escalated its efforts as a result of COVID-19.

As part of its pledges this week, the Town has earmarked $325,000 for the Safety Net Fund. This pledge is in addition to an earlier commitment of $175,000 for the Safety Net Fund. Through a combination of town support and the generosity of the community at-large, the Safety Net Fund has now raised nearly $1 million since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis. 

Along with the support for the Safety Net Fund, the Select Board voted unanimously during its Tuesday, May 5 remote meeting to allocate the rest of the grant as follows:

• $10,000 will be given to Family Aid to be used from personal protective equipment (PPE) and sanitization supplies.
• $39,337 will be given to the Senior Center to help fund the food delivery program for seniors.
• $160,663 will be donated to the Brookline Food Pantry to fund food inventory and delivery. Utilization of the Food Pantry’s services has increased by more than 200 percent since the beginning of the COVID-19 emergency.
• $200,000 will be given to the Economic Development and Long Term Planning (EDLTP) division of the Town’s Planning and Community Development department for working capital grants to businesses.
• $72,337 will be given to the Brookline Housing Authority to purchase PPE and other sanitization equipment.

“We are very fortunate to be able to provide this critical funding, which will support so many important needs in our community,” said Select Board Chair Bernard Greene. “These programs have become increasingly important as the situation around COVID-19 has progressed and funding like this ensures residents are able to get the resources they need during these unprecedented times.”

For more information about the Town of Brookline’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak and other available resources, visit BrooklineCOVID19.com.

###