Brookline Organizations Funded In $3.82B ARPA Spending Package

BROOKLINE, MA — Several Brookline organizations are slated to receive funding as part of the $3.82 billion American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) spending package that the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed Friday.

The ARPA bill supports local programs and economic, racial, and social justice initiatives across the state, including housing, economic development, health and human services, education, and more.

The Brookline delegation, including Reps. Tommy Vitolo, Mike Moran, Ed Coppinger, and Nike Elugardo, worked to include funding for the Brookline Senior Center, the Brookline Teen Center, Women Thriving, and Brookline GreenSpace Alliance.

“I am excited to see an ARPA spending package that prioritizes communities of color, low-income communities, and those most impacted by COVID-19,” said Vitolo in a statement. “I am grateful to my colleagues in the House who worked hard to fund progressive policies and programs that will continue to support our most vulnerable residents as we recover from COVID-19.”

The budget includes $100,000 for the Brookline Senior Center to respond to COVID-19 related transportation, IT, food, and social work needs, $100,000 for capital improvements and the expansion of programming space at the Brookline Teen Center, $50,000 for Women Thriving to expand COVID-19 resiliency workshops for women who experience social, racial, and economic disparities, and $50,000 for the Brookline GreenSpace Alliance to fund their Neighborhood Initiatives for Parks grant program.

“These local earmarks are essential to ensuring that Brookline, and communities across the Commonwealth, have the resources they need to assist residents throughout the remainder of the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond,” said Coppinger in a statement. “I am grateful to my constituents and local partners who support this work and am excited to see these projects and programs come to fruition.”

Statewide, the spending package invests $600 million in affordable housing and housing stability, $777 million in economic development initiatives, and aims to distribute $500 million in the form of $500-$2,000 bonuses for low-income essential workers who worked throughout the Governor’s State of Emergency.

Also included was $765 million for hospitals, behavioral health programs, and community health centers , $265 million for disparities in public school infrastructure, special education programs, and assisting Black, Indigenous and other educators of color seeking licensure, and $78 million for food insecurity.

The spending package now heads to the Senate before a conferenced version goes to the Governor’s desk.