The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Torrington, Litchfield nonprofits get $1.2M in state grants
Two nonprofit organizations from Litchfield County have been chosen to receive a total of $1.279 million through the state’s Nonprofit Grant Program, according to an April 10 press release from the office of Gov. Ned Lamont.
In Litchfield, Connecticut Junior Republic Association will receive $959,000 in three separate grants. McCall Foundation in Torrington will receive $320,000.
In all, $35.5 million was earmarked for 94 separate grants statewide “for capital improvement projects that support each respective organization in their mission of delivering services to some of the state’s most vulnerable residents,” according to the release.
According to Connecticut Junior Republic Association’s website, it “provides residential, education, community and home-based services for at-risk, special needs, and troubled children, youth and families of any race, color and national and ethnic origin.”
Grants to CJR include $239,000 for IT equipment replacement, $400,000 for electronic card key access and panic button system, and $320,000 for vehicle replacement.
Trish Shishkov, CJR’s chief financial officer, applied for the nonprofit grants because other state contracts “do not generally provide funding for capital improvements or equipment replacement,” she said.
Calling the grants “enormously helpful,” she continued, “Both the information technology and automobile replacements will enable
CJR to update older equipment that is gradually becoming obsolete. Finding private funding sources to support for such projects is difficult yet the need is critical.”
She noted that many of CJR’s wellness center clinicians meet with children and parents in the evening. “Having an electronic access system creates a sense of comfort for staff and clients who are working evening
hours,” the statement said.
The McCall Foundation provides rehabilitation and counseling services with outpatient and residential programs. The $320,000 to McCall will go toward facility upgrades, renovations and improvements at the Hotchkiss House residential site at 25 Hotchkiss Place, Torrington.
Joy Pendola, chief clinical officer
at McCall, said Hotchkiss House provides temporary housing for up to 13 people re-entering the community after incarceration.
“We provide case management and clinical services through our outpatient program and obviously a place to stay while they’re getting reintegrated to the community. So they’re getting a job, they’re getting services, and they’re building their capacity (to move) back into the community,” she said.
She said the grant will allow McCall to repair windows and update the heating and cooling system, among other improvements.
“These are folks that are coming out of incarceration,” she said. “They’re not always accustomed to being treated with the utmost respect to their humanity, and we want to make sure that the environment is conducive to (their) understanding that we care.”
McCall receives state and federal funding and insurance reimbursement for clinical services, she said. “For Hotchkiss specifically, we receive grant funds through the state of Connecticut’s judicial branch,” she said. Those funds, however, do not cover repairs or renovations, she said.
“It certainly will go a long way,” she said of the grant. “They don’t offer it every year. So again, we’re just really grateful we were able to receive any funds this year.”
The state’s Nonprofit Grant Program began in 2013 with the approval of $20 million “as a way of helping nonprofit health and human service agencies ensure that their funding goes towards assisting those most in need of their services by supporting capital purchases that enhance service delivery, efficiency and effectiveness,” according to the state’s website. The program is administered by the state Office of Policy and Management.
The program “has provided more than $130 million to the state’s nonprofit organizations, supporting about 750 projects,” according to Lamont’s office.