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New Canaan Human Services reports rising need, outlines outside-agency funding and pantry demand
Summary
Mercy Rand told the subcommittee that Human Services is seeing rising caseloads and strong food-pantry demand (945 individuals year-to-date) and outlined outside-agency grant allocations including $50,000 for Get About (split with a Connecticut DOT grant), $40,000 for an urgent assessment program and other funded requests; Rand said some budget lines read lower because alternate grant sources cover portion of awards.
Mercy Rand, representing New Canaan Human Services, presented caseload data, program updates and outside-agency funding requests to the Health and Human Services Subcommittee on Jan. 30, 2026.
Rand said the office’s caseload is increasing and reported 229 adult and senior clients year-to-date. She described popular weekly offerings (a life-reimagined program and grief-support groups at Lapham), planned new supports such as a Parkinson’s support group, and said that while the total roster is higher, active monthly caseloads are smaller.
On food pantry demand, Rand said the pantry has served 945 individuals year-to-date and that she expects that total to rise toward the end of the year. The presenter referenced larger totals for prior years during the presentation, but the transcript’s formatting of those earlier totals is unclear and those prior-year totals are not specified here.
Rand outlined outside-agency grant allocations and funding sources included in her budget summary: she said Get About will receive $50,000 in total funding (describing a split of $25,000 from New Canaan and $25,000 from a Connecticut DOT grant), domestic-violence services will receive $10,000 from the town, New Canaan Cares requested $22,000 and Rand said $18,000 was approved (she described $2,000 on the town budget line with additional grant funding covering the remainder), Meals on Wheels will receive $5,000, and an urgent-assessment program will receive a $40,000 award that Rand described as $15,000 from New Canaan and $25,000 from opioid-settlement funds.
Rand noted that some outside-agency lines appear lower in the town budget because awards include external grant funding (for example opioid-settlement funds and a Youth Services Bureau grant). She said the food pantry’s operating costs are donation-supported and therefore are not on the town budget, and she described a new household-goods closet at Human Services that is stocked by donations and available to residents every other month.
On Narcan training, Rand said Human Services purchased Narcan and supported a training run by New Canaan Cares; she suggested opioid-settlement funds could be used to purchase additional kits and she recommended coordination with EMS for any townwide rollout.
Rand’s presentation encompassed a number of allocated awards described as approved in her summary; those allocations were presented as budgeted amounts in her overview but the transcript does not record separate formal votes or roll-call approvals for those allocations during this meeting.
Next steps: the committee will include these departmental summaries in the town’s budget process; members requested follow-up on program metrics and capacity thresholds.
