Mayor Martin J. Walsh and the Boston Resiliency Fund Steering Committee last week announced the Boston Resiliency Fund’s 27th funding round. These grants represent over $780,000 in funding to 39 organizations in Boston, serving communities by increasing food and health care access, supporting individuals facing homelessness and assisting seniors.
Since its launch at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, $34 million has been raised, and $30.3 million has been distributed to 366 organizations.
“The Boston Resiliency Fund has been an essential provider to Boston nonprof-its, building a network of support to help the most vulnerable Bostonians. The organizations granted have been vital to ensuring those most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic are supported,” said Mayor Walsh. “Thank you to every or-ganization who has partnered with the City of Boston in providing resources to our community.”
Of organizations receiving funding this round, 51 percent are led by a person of color and 64 percent are led by a woman. In total, since the launch of the Fund, 56 percent of the organizations that received funding are led by a percent of color and 58 percent are led by a woman. Seventy-six percent of organizations serve Dorchester, 70 percent serve Roxbury, 65 percent serve Mattapan, and 56 percent serve Hyde Park, in addition to every other neighborhood in Boston. To learn more about all Boston Resiliency Fund grant recipients and their work, visit boston.gov/resiliency-grantees.
One of the awardees announced on Monday is common cathedral, which is based on Newbury Street in the Back Bay at the Emmanuel Church. The organi-zation is a religious organization, but provides programming such as a Day Shel-ter called BostonWarm.
“Common cathedral not only never closed; common cathedral was one of the very few places where we had a voice in response to what was happening to us all,” said John, a common cathedral community member. “common cathedral and its programs, common art and Boston Warm, gave our community agency over our own lives within the pandemic. We saw these spaces become not just a refuge from the disease, but a place to feel that we were actively fighting back and retaining our identity. Boston Warm will now be expanding to Fridays be-cause the community of people experiencing homelessness requested it, planned it and will be helping to run. We are able to do this meaningful work be-cause of the funding from the Boston Resiliency Fund. We are grateful to the City!”
Local organizations in this round of funding include the following:
•Catholic Charitable Bureau of the Archdiocese of Boston, Inc.: Catholic Charities will use BRF funding to support staff who are packing and distributing food bags to more than 1,500 households at their pantries in Dorchester and in the South End. The two pantries distribute approximately 80,000 pounds of food each week.
•Catie’s Closet, Inc: Catie’s Closet will use the BRF to fund basic essentials, including toiletries, feminine products, socks, underwear and clothing. This will help close gaps in product availability for people of color by improving and meeting the need for culturally-appropriate products.
•Common Cathedral: Common Cathedral will use this BRF grant to expand their Boston Warm day center to include Fridays from January through April. The day center provides people experiencing homelessness access to bath-rooms, food, essential supplies and a safe space to warm up.
•Rosie’s Place: Rosie’s Place will use this BRF grant to continue to serve hun-dreds of women experiencing homelessness each day by providing prepared and to-go meals from their dining room, and a week’s worth of groceries from their food pantry. •St. Stephen’s Youth Programs: St. Stephen’s Youth Programs will use the BRF grant to support families through cash assistance and grocery store gift cards.