State Provides $750K For Framingham-Area Inmate Reentry Services

FRAMINGHAM, MA — The state Office of Housing and Economic Development announced more than $20 million in grants on Thursday to aid communities with high rates of poverty and recidivism, including two grants that will help people in the Framingham area.

The Community Empowerment and Reinvestment program grants were given out to 65 different cities and towns on Thursday to "develop, strengthen, and invest in community-led efforts to bring positive economic outcomes to communities that face historically disproportionate challenges to economic growth," the state said in a news release.

The South Middlesex Opportunity Council will get a little over $50,000 to hire a specialist at the downtown Framingham Common Ground Resource Center to support up to 30 people returning to the area after an incarceration.

A larger $700,000 grant went to Boston-based New Beginnings Reentry Services. The nonprofit will use the money for a new project for 30 women at MCI Framingham.

"The project includes informal informational sessions to educate clients about post-release services, including formal interviews to determine acceptance of clients into programs before release, and the provision of programming in the jail," a news release said.

The grants awarded Thursday are good for one year. The state grant program didn't actually use all of the money set aside for the community empowerment grants. The state had $22.5 million total, but only received about $20.8 million worth of grant requests.