Senate adds funds for tourism, traffic lights, and low-income residents

During recent Senate debate on the state budget, the body adopted several items of specific interest to Waltham.

One amendment, added by Waltham’s State Senator Mike Barrett, provides $46,790 to the WATCH Community Development Corporation. WATCH CDC assists tenants with threatened evictions, health code violations, applications for public housing, fuel assistance, and food stamps.

The CDC’s Housing Advocacy Clinic is currently staffed by Brandeis student volunteers, which allows the program to be open two evenings per week. Each year, they serve roughly 250 tenants, whose average annual income is under $17,000. The money added to the budget would primarily go to hiring a new part-time staff person to keep the clinic open during the day.

A separate measure provides money to the Waltham Community Day Center. The Day Center works with homeless clients on housing, mental health, and substance abuse problems.

The new funds would go to hiring a full-time therapist trained in dealing with people who have both mental health and substance abuse challenges.

“Staff of these organizations stretch themselves thin,” said Senator Barrett. “They give and give and give. I’d like to see the state pitch in.”

The Senate also included $75,000 to assist the efforts of the Waltham Tourism Council.

The council promotes and sponsors many community events each year. Much of the money allocated by the Senate would go towards promoting celebrations such as the annual Riverfest and Steampunk Festival. “The Tourism Council plays a key role to getting the word out about Waltham’s amazing civic calendar,” Barrett said.

Barrett directed praise at State Reps. Tom Stanley, D-Waltham, and John Lawn, D-Watertown, for successfully pushing for the amendment during the House budget debate.

The Senate budget also includes $156,000 for a wireless traffic light coordination system in downtown Waltham, thanks to an amendment offered by Barrett.

Currently, the Central Business District experiences a lot of congestion during weekday rush hour. Barrett’s amendment would allow traffic lights to be coordinated, easing bottlenecks and gridlock. Senator Barrett points out that less traffic means less pollution, so it’d be an environmental win, too.

On matters of statewide interest, the Senate adopted several amendments offered by Barrett to fund programs that assist people living in especially difficult circumstances.

One initiative, run by the Robert F. Kennedy Children’s Action Corps, aims to prevent troubled young people from re-entering the juvenile justice system. The Senate voted $500,000 for the Corps’ Detention Diversion Program.

“Programs that keep kids out of lock up make a difference,” Barrett said. Even a short time spent in juvenile detention damages educational and job prospects. RFK provides 24/7 case management for kids while they await trial, including coordination with probation staff, curfew checks, and weekly family check-ins.

“I see the effects of detention on the lives of children all the time,” said Dorchester Juvenile Court Judge Leslie Harris, Ret. “This is the only program in the Massachusetts courts that addresses the problem.”

A second Barrett amendment adds funds for the Secure Jobs Initiative, which connects low-income parents in homeless shelters and emergency housing to job training and job placement services, including follow-up support for a full year.

Barrett also increased funding for the Disabled Persons Protection Commission, charged with preventing abuse against persons with disabilities. DPPC runs a hotline to accept reports of abuse, oversees investigations, and develops plans to protect victims from further harm.

Budget cuts in recent years have forced the agency to reduce staff. Barrett’s amendment boosts funding by $250,000 to pay for three new staff members.

The Senate budget also includes:

· $4.63B in Chapter 70 education aid, a $116.1M increase benefiting every school district, including a minimum increase of $55 per pupil;

· $136.4M for substance abuse prevention and treatment, allowing for 150 new residential treatment beds and other lifesaving programs;

· $6.2M for the Alternative Housing Voucher Program to provide nearly 200 new vouchers for low income people with disabilities and help them transition from nursing homes to independent housing;

· $15M for the Massachusetts Cultural Council to support the state’s thriving creative economy.

The next step is a conference committee to reconcile differences between the House and Senate versions of the budget.