ARPA: Support for Hartford’s Library Branches

Mayor Luke Bronin and the City of Hartford are allocating $10.5 million to its public library system, in funds made available through the revenue replacement provisions of the ARPA. The city will relocate a public library branch to a new site within the Swift Factory, a community and entrepreneurial center in Hartford. The new space will be state-of-the-art, comprising over two stories and including a new job search center. The library is expected to revitalize the community and spur economic development. Additionally, the city will also renovate an additional branch to incorporate the nearby historic Northwest Jones School building. By uniting the two buildings, the expanded branch library will be able to provide more services to residents.

ARP: Hartford expand Reentry Welcome Center to Support Individuals Returning to Society After Incarceration

Mayor Luke Bronin and the City of Hartford utilized $900,000 in ARPA grant funding to expand and open a new location for their Reentry Welcome Center, which supports individuals returning to society after incarceration in their transition back into community life. The Reentry Welcome Center, a collaboration between the city and Community Partners in Action, first opened in 2018 at City Hall and has assisted more than 1,000 people. With the new location, which includes community meeting space and a computer lab, the Reentry Welcome Center will have the capacity to help even more people — including those on probation and parole — and add additional programming for pre-release services.

ARP: HartLift Program Supports in New Small Businesses

Hartford, CT Mayor Luke Bronin partnered with the Hartford Chamber of Commerce created the “Hart Lift” Program to support the activation of storefronts left vacant during the COVID-19 pandemic.  With the assistance of American Rescue Plan funding, this $6 million program provides funding available for retail spaces both in downtown and on neighborhood commercial corridors. Property owners with vacant storefronts are eligible for grants up to $150,000 with matching landlord/tenant investments. Grants can be used for interior and exterior buildout costs for new businesses opening in new or existing ground floor retail spaces. To date, there have been sixty recipient businesses in neighborhoods across the city.

ARP: Hartford CT, Expands Youth Programs to Address Learning Loss and Isolation

Youth Service Corps

Hartford Connecticut Mayor Luke Bronin used $1.5 million in ARPA funding to grow the city’s Youth Service Corps (YSC) which connects young people to part-time, year-long employment opportunities with flexible scheduling. Since its launch in July 2016, the Youth Service Corps has provided over 1,500 Hartford youth with an opportunity to earn a paycheck while engaging in community service-based projects, such as lawn care services, snow removal for senior citizens, and the refurbishment and distribution of donated computers. The ARPA Funds have allowed 100 additional participants per year, allowing the program to serve 350 young people annually.

 

UNITY Grants

To combat the isolation young people faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayor Bronin launched the UNITY (Understanding the Needs In Today’s Youth) grant program to support a wide variety of youth programming services and events. Over $3.3 million in ARPA funding has been invested in programs working with youth who are justice-involved, disengaged, or disconnected from their community, through everything from youth sports and the arts to civic engagement, work skills development, computer literacy, mental health and wellness, and mentoring and tutoring.

ARP: Fergus Falls MN, Advances Revitalization Project

Fergus Falls Mayor Ben Schierer utilized American Rescue Plan funds to advance a key project in the city’s master plan to transform the downtown and riverfront areas. The city leveraged ARPA funds to secure additional private investments for the Downtown Riverfront Improvements Project, which completed its first phase to improve and replace critical infrastructure around the area. With the infusion of ARAP dollars, the city will break ground in spring 2023 on its second phase to revitalize and enhance the public space and access to the river. Mayor Schierer shared that this $5.2 million project would not be possible without the $713,000 in ARAP funds, which helped build out the scope of the transformation, which will result in increased pedestrian and bicycle access, provide more recreational spaces (including a community splash pad), and tie together with other projects to improve downtown Fergus Falls. Mayor Schierer views this effort as an investment in the next generation, stating it shows “a commitment to the next generation and an investment and a belief in what we might be.”

ARP: Shelby County TN, Grant to Bolster Healthcare Workforce

Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris announced a $14 million Public Health Workforce and Infrastructure Grant from the American Rescue Plan to upskill and retain its public health workforce. This grant will allow the Shelby County Health Department (SCHD) to develop and implement a workforce development plan, including educational opportunities for employees to expand their education in graduate and certificate public health programs (3 doctorates, 5 masters, and 5 certifications). Additionally, the grant will help SCHD perform ongoing data assessments to monitor workforce needs, enhance diversity among its workforce, and partner with community organizations for competency training to better address health inequities and disparities in the community.

ARP: Colorado’s “I Matter” Program Support Student’s Mental Health

In 2021, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed a bill to establish the “I Matter” program, which provides up to six free therapy sessions for Colorado youth. Originally part of the Governor’s Colorado Comeback Roadmap, which dedicated $9 million to the program to address any needs that may have resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the program launched, more than 6,000 Colorado youth have received one or more free therapy sessions, and the program was renewed to run  through at least June 2023.

ARP: Lincoln NE, New Workforce Training Opportunities

Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird is supporting workers through over $12 million in additional Workforce Development Grants that went to helping low-wage workers and youth enter into sectors with a clear connection to workforce demands. These programs have served over 350 persons collectively, with only a quarter of the funds have been spent so far. Other program highlight include a strong interest in the Child Development Associate Credential program; nursing students impacted by the pandemic receiving scholarships to complete their degrees; and 75 high school students have accessed Future Ready skills. Gaylor Baird anticipate these programs will be growing exponentially in 2023 and has partnered with University of Nebraska Public Policy Center to analyze the first year of data collection to improve the impact of the program.

“Ensuring workers have access to rewarding and financially secure careers that enable them to provide for themselves and their families is a top priority,” said Gaylor Baird. “Ensuring businesses and organizations can secure the workforce they need to be successful and grow our local economy is an equally important priority. Backing these priorities with significant funding from the American Rescue Plan is a win-win for Lincoln’s workers and employers. These awards represent major investments in workforce development for key industries in our community including childcare, the health sciences, information technology, manufacturing, welding, and youth employment.”

ARP: Boise ID, Provides Direct Assistance to Child Care Workers

Boise Mayor Lauren McLean approved sending nearly $2 million of the city’s ARP funds directly to childcare workers in the form of $1,500 childcare incentive checks. Providers used the money to cover everything from supplies and operations expenses to medical bills and groceries. This positively impacted 1,220 individuals who were working in Boise facilities during the pandemic, representing well over 90% of all eligible providers in the city. Additionally, the Mayor’s Office is working to reduce childcare facility and licensing times and costs. To better serve in-home providers and the families who depend on them, the city is making several process improvements that will reduce licensing time by 60 days and save providers $230 in fees.

Impact Testimony: “There was such uncertainty during the worst of COVID.  Should or would my little school remain open?  What protocols and equipment would be best to use in order to make it as safe an environment as is possible?  How would I budget for these things when it was unclear whether there would even be tuition?  There were so many variables that I considered and struggled with, it has all become such a blur.  This check for $1500 was a tremendous boost.  I know that in hindsight it has helped tremendously to cover many of the expenses that I do not normally have.  I am grateful for it and send huge thanks.“

 

ARP: Key to Chester County’s Recovery is Building Affordable Housing

Chester County Commissioner Josh Maxwell invested nearly $7.4 million in American Rescue Plan funds in housing initiatives to build more affordable housing units. A critical piece to the county’s recovery is increasing affordable housing options for people to live and work in Chester County, leading to the funding of projects like the construction of the Willows at Valley Run Housing and Habitat for Humanity’s Coatesville rehabbing effort to provide over 250 affordable units over the next three years.

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