The Budget & Finance Committee on Sept. 10 considered Department of Public Health grant funds for two public‑health initiatives: $122,938.71 for winter protocols and temporary placements for fire victims and $139,805 for Mass in Motion active‑transportation work.

Alicia Miller, coordinator for the mayor’s health task force, said the DPH funds are discretionary awards to the city for homelessness‑related or housing‑related costs and will support winter protocols and temporary placements for families displaced by fire. "That money … will be used by the Office of Planning and Development for the winter protocol and to stabilize a few families that are victims of fire in the community for this fiscal year," Miller said.

Councilors raised operational questions and urged stronger outreach. The council president and other members pressed staff for a clearer plan for cold‑weather response and asked why the city’s homelessness coordinator was not present; committee members then moved to table the winter‑protocol item so that the homelessness coordinator could attend and provide detail on implementation, eligibility and the expected number of clients served. The motion to table carried.

Several councilors proposed using part of the DPH funding or partner resources to promote or subsidize renters insurance for residents. One councilor said a one‑year renters‑insurance pilot — possibly funded in part from the grant and implemented through a nonprofit partner such as Lazarus House — could be less costly than repeated emergency sheltering after fires and other displacements. Miller said that the grant’s program budget and DPH parameters would have to be reviewed and that she would raise the idea with director Pimentel for potential inclusion in outreach and wraparound services.

Separately, the committee unanimously voted to forward a $139,805 Mass in Motion grant proposal to the full council with a favorable recommendation. Miller described work to improve active transportation corridors, safe routes to school and park access, including community outreach, walks along Shawshin Road and River Trail and planned pedestrian signage near schools and parks.

What happens next: the winter‑protocol grant item was tabled to allow the homelessness coordinator to appear with implementation details; the Mass in Motion grant will go to the full council with a favorable recommendation.