Elizabeth G. Dineen is the CEO of the YWCA of Western Massachusetts.
Republican file photo
SPRINGFIELD — Federal funding for organizations in Massachusetts has been limited over the past year, with many grants and programs canceled.
Because of this, a slate of congressionally directed spending, otherwise known as earmarks, has been especially crucial to many nonprofits.
“The Massachusetts delegation secured over $200 million for hundreds of local projects across the Bay State,” U.S. Sen. Edward Markey said in a press release. “I am proud to have collaborated with my colleagues to secure funding to construct affordable and supportive housing, expand early education programs and buy new equipment to expand patient access to care. With so much federal funding under threat, direct funding to our communities is critical.”
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren said it was “a no-brainer that we’d fight hard to invest in our people.” She cited many of the same earmark priorities as Markey.
Among the earmarks signed into law on Feb. 3 was $1.22 million for the YWCA of Western Massachusetts, a nonprofit organization that provides shelter and programs for women and their children who have experienced domestic violence, sexual assault, teen pregnancy or human trafficking.
The fifth-largest YWCA in the country, the Western Massachusetts organization operates a 63-bed shelter for women and children, which she said is “always full. Someone leaves and that bed is taken within an hour or so.” The organization also has a residential Young Mother’s Program in Holyoke. CEO Elizabeth Dineen said the YWCA collaborates with the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office, the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department, the state Department of Children and Families and Baystate Health to serve people in need.
The YWCA is mainly funded through grants, including from the cities of Springfield and Holyoke, and departments in the state and federal governments. The organization also receives private grants from the Davis Foundation, the Women’s Fund and the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts. “When we see a grant that looks like it lines up with what we do, we go for it,” Dineen said.
However, Dineen explained that most grants are designed to cover program costs, leaving few sources of funding for building repairs and infrastructure costs. For example, she said the parking lot at the YWCA’s headquarters on Clough Street in Springfield needs to be repaired because frost heaves and cracks have made it a safety concern. “Not a sexy project,” she said, adding, “There’s no real grant for that.”
Additionally, new flooring is needed at the YWCA’s facility on Quirk Street in Holyoke, which houses eleven teens and young women and their children. HVAC work is needed agency wide. Most of the remaining items on the list are replacements for vehicles that have reached the end of their useful life. They include two passenger vans for transporting teens to programs, a vehicle for the Holyoke program, two plow trucks and a tractor. Dineen said the Clough Street location has 11 acres of land, and a tractor will allow the organization to be self-sufficient in its maintenance, rather than paying to have it cared for.
Eventually, Dineen said, she would like to see the organization build on the land, expanding its programming and the number of people it can help. When that happens, she fears the existing buildings will be less of a priority. For that reason, she said that she wants to ensure that as many repairs and projects as possible are completed.
“If you don’t stay on top of that, a small leak or a small crack can become catastrophic” financially, she said.
That is why the YWCA applied for the earmark the first time it pursued the funding source. She said that she worked closely with the regional directors from Warren’s and Markey’s respective offices. Dineen praised Markey’s regional director, Jesse Lederman, who was familiar with the Clough Street site from his time on the Springfield City Council. She also said she was impressed that Warren’s regional director, Mark Antonio Williams, toured the site, visited the shelter and became acquainted with the organization’s needs.
“Here are two advocates that are men that helped work with an organization that serves mostly women,” Dineen said.
More information about the YWCA and its programs can be found at ywworks.org.
