Select Board approves $62,150 in human-services grants recommended by advisory committee

The Town of Dennis Select Board on a unanimous vote tentatively approved the Human Services Advisory Committee's FY26 grant recommendations, allocating $62,150 across 11 local nonprofit programs aimed at food, shelter, mental-health and substance-use supports.

Christina Catarino, chair of the Human Services Advisory Committee, told the board the panel reviewed 11 funding proposals and prioritized services that address immediate needs: food and shelter, support for children and adolescents, services for the elderly and disabled, and continuing opioid-addiction and mental-health programs. "This year, the total comes to $62,150," she said during the presentation and outlined award recommendations for each applicant.

Committee recommendations included $10,000 for Calmer Choice (school-based mindfulness programming), $6,000 for Independence House (counseling and housing-stabilization assistance), $3,500 for an aid-support harm-reduction program, and targeted awards for other providers including Big Brothers Big Sisters, Capabilities, Children's Place, Hands of Hope, Sidewalk Services, South Coastal Counties Legal Services and the Family Pantry. The committee cited applicants' service histories, severity of need, and administrative overhead in prioritizing funding.

Christina noted the committee calculated per-person and per-service metrics when possible to judge cost reasonableness. For example, Calmer Choice's cost-per-student was reported around $65 with an anticipated reach across four local schools; Sidewalk Services reported high direct-service percentages and significant dependency on town funding for operating costs.

After questions from board members and brief praise for the committee's work, a motion to tentatively approve the human-services line at the committee-recommended total carried unanimously. The approval was recorded as a tentative budget action to be incorporated into the upcoming FY26 budget process.

The board's vote followed the committee's statement that funding decisions remain contingent on budget approvals and that some agencies may receive follow-up requests for additional documentation before final payments are issued. The committee emphasized the awards were intended to sustain direct client services rather than increase administrative overhead.

The Select Board will consider the tentative budget line as part of further FY26 deliberations and the Finance Committee's review schedule.