Dozens of nonprofits benefit from nearly $1 million in Scranton ARPA grants

Oct. 13—SCRANTON — A $45,000 grant will support GED programming offered by Outreach — Center for Community Resources, one of dozens of nonprofits to benefit from nearly $1 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds awarded by the city.

Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti announced the nonprofit grants Wednesday at Outreach's North Seventh Avenue center, noting roughly 70% of organizations that applied received all or some of their requested funding. One of several city ARPA-funded grant programs, the nonprofit recovery grants are the first awarded from Scranton's $68.7 million ARPA allocation.

"These grants allow agencies like Outreach, which continued to serve throughout the pandemic, to make up gaps left behind due to changes in our contracts and grants, lack of our fundraising capacity and other areas where nonprofits throughout the city experienced issues in funding," Outreach Executive Director Lori Chaffers said. "Like so many others, Outreach adapted during the pandemic ... to continue to meet the unprecedented needs of individuals in our community and participants in our programs."

Chaffers said the pandemic forced Outreach to pivot with many of its programs, including a GED program it previously offered primarily at Lackawanna County Prison in a group setting. The nonprofit began to offer GED instruction in new and innovative ways, both online and at the North Seventh Avenue center.

"So we really went from offering ... group instruction in the prison to offering to any individual in the community the ability to do their GED at their own pace and with regard to their own schedule," Chaffers said.

In the process, officials identified an unmet and growing need.

"Our staff are experiencing an increasing number of young adults coming through our doors as a result of the difficult school circumstances that many of our youth endured during the pandemic," she said. "We will continue, with the help of this grant, to adapt and grow to ensure that these young adults and individuals receive the tutoring support that they need to become stable and self-sufficient."

Another recipient, Maternal and Family Health Services, will use its $45,000 grant to expand its nursing team to meet additional demand for services for low-income families in Scranton, Chief Operations Officer Shannon Hayward said.

The nonprofit offers various services and programs at its Circle of Care location in the city, including maternity services, reproductive health care services and WIC nutrition and nurse-family partnership programs.

"These programs quite often rely on nurses to deliver the care, a dedicated and committed team, and ... due to the current market and conditions since the COVID pandemic, there's a significant challenge with recruitment and retention of nurses," Hayward said, noting the grant will support those efforts.

A total of 49 nonprofits received city ARPA grants. The Scranton Area Community Foundation administered the grant process. More information on the city's ARPA program is available online at scrantonpa.gov/arpa.

Contact the writer: jhorvath@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9141; @jhorvathTT on Twitter.