The $44 million dollar infusion of resources Brookline received through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding has been vital for Town government and nonprofit organizations supporting crucial community needs and addressing disparities that widened during the pandemic.
But what happens after we finish investing ARPA funding? How will we address ongoing and emergent gaps in care, services, and resource equity?
To kick-start a community-wide conversation about how we can collectively sustain the nonprofit momentum ARPA funding helped catalyze, we hosted After ARPA: Strengthening Brookline’s Care Infrastructure, a virtual community conversation on Thursday February 9, 2023.
BCF’s Executive Director Aba Taylor moderated a conversation and Q&A with panelists Sana Hafeez (Black N Brown Club), James Drake (The Brookline Center for Community Mental Health), and Danielle Mendola (Brookline Housing Authority). Through this discussion, we collectively identified three key themes and areas for support and investment:
- Increased investments in cash assistance programs to provide immediate, flexible support to community members
- Sustained, long-term investments in housing, mental health care, and affordable childcare
- Cross-organizational collaborations to expand our reach and collective impact
Watch the full event below and please join us in this important new phase of work: sustaining and expanding the important work ARPA funding has started.