CDBG and a peek at COSA in March

HEARING ON FEB 29: The Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) has designated the Town of Amherst a Mini-Entitlement Community that is eligible to apply for up to $925,000 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds. CDBG funds support housing, community development projects, and social service activities benefiting low-and moderate-income citizens.

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Civic Summit on March 12: Should MA drop the MCAS graduation requirement?

Join COSA on Tuesday, March 12 for a zoom with special guest Anne Gobi, Director of Rural Affairs in Governor Healey's administration. Director Gobi will give an overview of the office, what has been worked on, and what is coming next. She will also speak to the rural pieces within the Governor’s budget with a focus on the recently filed Municipal Empowerment Act and the alignment with COSA and Hampshire County. Don't miss this opportunity to ensure that the concerns of western Mass nonprofits and their clients are heard by the current administration.

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Many thanks to our fabulous panel of speakers on Feburary 13: Lev BenEzra (Amherst Survival Center), Koby Gardner-Levine (Office of Congressman Jim McGovern), Rachel Klein (Office of Senator Jo Comerford), and Christina Maxwell (Food Bank of Western Massachusetts). Grab the informative slide presentations from Lev and Christina on the COSA website.

Get the slidedecks here.

The Amherst Survival Center has been awarded $430,000 from the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources to buy local food for the Food Pantry this fiscal year and next! The Local Food Purchasing Assistance Plus Grant, is designed to strengthen the local food system, supporting local farmers and producers and getting food to people experiencing food insecurity.

Transportation is essential. But many of our neighbors face challenges accessing reliable transportation. The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts's RIDE WMA transportation tool maps out public transportation routes, so we can better advocate for better services. Help us identify the transportation gaps in your community at: https://www.pvpc.org/RIDEWMA

Ride WMA

Got a minute? Join or renew with COSA online.

Seeking Volunteers: The Northwestern District Attorney’s Office partners with Communities for Restorative Justice (C4RJ), a community-based restorative justice organization, to divert certain cases out of the court system and into a restorative justice process. This has resulted in positive outcomes in cases in which a defendant/responsible party has been willing to admit to causing harm. In these cases, victims/impacted parties have had the opportunity to participate in determining how the harm can be repaired, including through community service, meaningful apologies, restitution, and other restorative practices. Ultimately, at the conclusion of the restorative process, the criminal case is dismissed.

The work that C4RJ does is primarily volunteer-driven; the organization is looking for new volunteers from the community. C4RJ provides significant training to prepare volunteers to work with restorative justice principles and the C4RJ process. Anyone interested is invited to email C4RJ Program Director, Yael Yaaloz, at yyaaloz@c4rj.org, More information can be found on the website www.c4rj.org.