Island towns received grants totaling $2.3 million, given by the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development, to fund childcare and home repair for Vineyarders, according to a press release from Bailey Boyd Associates. The release said Lt. Governor Karyn Polito made the announcement in Randolph.
According to the press release, Edgartown and Oak Bluffs will be the leaders of two other towns
each for the grants. Each group receives $1.3 million to support Islanders.
“The two grants, each totaling $1.3 million, will provide housing rehabilitation funds for over 45
low- to moderate-income homeowners and landlords, along with childcare subsidy funding for
65 low- to moderate-income working families. A 0 percent interest deferred/payment forgivable loan will cover up to $50,000 in home repairs and code violations for eligible residents, and up to $6,000 is available per child to subsidize childcare,” the press release said.
Bailey Boyd Associates president Alice Boyd, whose company has done grant work with the towns of Martha’s Vineyard for 20 years, told the Times the funds will not be distributed to each town. Rather, an organization will be hired to administer the grants for the towns’ residents on a “first-come-first-served basis.”
“What’s cool about this program is the money stays in the community,” Boyd said.
Edgartown town administrator James Hagerty confirmed Boyd’s words, saying the money will be “distributed based on individual needs across the Island.”
For the grant administrator, organizations will need to respond to a request for proposal (RFP). “The RFP should go out in a few weeks,” Hagerty told the Times.