Nonprofits urge Manchester for CIP funding across housing, youth and health programs

Todd Fleming, the city’s CIP program administration manager, opened the afternoon session by outlining the fiscal context for the city’s Community Investment Program (CIP), saying the city expects roughly level federal formula funding: Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds of approximately $1,600,000, HOME funds around $1,200,000 and potential Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) funds of about $149,000. Fleming said staff had received 35 requests from outside organizations totaling about $3.2 million and 89 requests from 13 city departments totaling roughly $100 million, which includes $4.4 million in requests for direct city funds. He announced scheduled public hearings in April at three neighborhood centers to gather community input.

The presentations that followed covered shelter operations, workforce and youth programs, interpretation and refugee services, home-delivered meals for older residents, and proposed building additions for clinical and program space. Nonprofit leaders described both service outcomes and funding gaps; several asked the city for level funding or specific bridge grants to maintain operations.

Lamprey Health’s area health education center asked CIP to support scholarships for local residents to take health-care interpretation and legal interpretation training. Jody Harper, associate director at Lamprey AHEC, said the program has trained more than 1,000 people in 43 languages and helps agencies comply with language-access obligations. “Interpretation is very important because it helps the overall quality of health care,” Harper said.

Light of Life Ministries described its Beacon on Brook Street shelter for women, reporting it served 58 people (42 households of women and 16 children) in 10 months and achieved a 45% exit rate to permanent or…