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Date: 3/1/2023
SPRINGFIELD — Mayor Domenic Sarno and his American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) team continue to distribute grant awards to local businesses and nonprofits in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic. Sarno welcomed community leaders for a Feb. 22 press conference announcing the city’s 10th ARPA funding round, which distribute $5.5 million to various businesses, nonprofits and residents.
ARPA funds derive from the $350 billion 2021 federal legislation created to address economic and social conditions exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. All municipal ARPA awards must be committed by 2024 and allocated by 2026.
Once the city received its ARPA funds, Sarno and his leadership team initiated a citywide listening tour session, meeting with over 35 organizations and neighborhood councils to help develop an all-encompassing and comprehensive approach to addressing community needs.
Round 10 of Springfield’s ARPA funding awards $1.37 million across 45 businesses, $1.18 million distributed toward 12 nonprofits and $4.23 million between 3,000 Springfield households.
The household payments assist residents with mortgage, rent and utility bills. Sarno said the city will also be setting up a third-party request for proposal (RFP) to continue helping households in need. Springfield operated a similar partnership with Wayfinders in 2021 to assist residents with housing expenses.
During the press conference, Sarno reflected on the city’s ARPA process as it reaches the “tail end” of its allocated funding. So far, Springfield has distributed roughly $100 million out of the $123.8 million in ARPA funding it received.
Sarno said the city received over 20,000 ARPA requests during its 18-month process. He hopes additional requests can be granted if the city receives some of the state’s remaining ARPA resources of around $5 billion. The mayor formally requested some of that funding in a Feb. 21 letter sent to the city’s seven state legislators.
“I am going to advocate for every dime … We would like to have it flow to the city of Springfield so I can help more businesses, residents and nonprofits,” said Sarno.
In the business sector, the city’s ARPA funding continues to strengthen locally owned and diverse businesses. Approximately 92 of appropriated awards have benefited minority owned businesses, with many of them located within
Qualified Census Track (QCT) — areas where 50 percent of households earn incomes below 60 percent of the Area Median Gross Income.
Sarno welcomed several of the ARPA Round 10 business awardees to speak about the grant funding’s impact. He considered it essential to support the vitality of local businesses, which he considered “the backbone to our neighborhoods.”
Local chef and business owner Wayne Hooker continues to operate the food truck Cajun on the Go as a spinoff of his former famed restaurant space, Chef Wayne’s Big Mamou. He said the $18,000 in ARPA funding he received aided his business’s operations in a post-coronavirus pandemic marketplace.
“It’s helped a lot,” said Hooker.
Throneroom Delivery Service Owner Steven Williams operates the only minority delivery service partner in Springfield. He dealt with arduous challenges in 2021, losing his mother and wife before salvaging business by selling his house. He said he was motivated to save his business to help his employees.
“What was important to me was not just to save the company so we could be a profitable business. My whole thing as a community member who serves the community is to give someone a chance to help their families,” said Williams.
Williams said he was “grateful” to receive $125,000 to support his business.
Sarno considered the city’s nonprofits to be “tremendous community partners.” Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi discussed the nonprofit his department runs with the city, the Hampden County Honorary Deputy Workforce Initiative, that provides workforce training for incarcerated individuals looking to develop a career path.
Cocchi said he previously had difficulty generating funding for the nonprofit. He stressed its services are essential while also considering it a “trailblazing” program in Springfield.
“This is the first in the nation of this type when it comes to correctional institutions, prisons and jails and having the opportunity to employ justice-involved men and women being released the day they are getting released … This isn’t their final stop, it’s their first stop,” said Cocchi.
Medical institutions Baystate Health and Mercy Medical Center also received funding awards. Baystate Health President and CEO Mark Keroack discussed how $950,000 will fund community-based healthcare services in Springfield, including mental health services, for low- to moderate-income population and those disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.
“We’ve committed to the care of 50,000 low-income families, 30,000 live in Springfield themselves, through our Medicaid accountable care organization,” said Keroack.
Mercy Medical Center will receive $250,000 to assist the ongoing development of the Andy Yee Palliative Care Unit. Once completed, the unit will provide affordable end-of-life care services to families of various economic backgrounds.
Sarno concluded the press conference by commending the city’s resilience in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We are resilient … We are coming out of the pandemic bigger, better and stronger,” said Sarno.
Here are the Round 10 ARPA awards.
Businesses
Nonprofits