Town Awards $800,000 In Human Services Grants

Nantucket’s Health and Human Services Department held a grant awards ceremony last Friday, celebrating the roughly $800,000 awarded as part of the town’s Contract Review Committee’s fiscal year 2026 human services and substance misuse grant program.

The grants went to 17 different non-profits, covering sectors ranging from housing to substance misuse and elder care to child and youth aid. The grants of taxpayer funds are awarded by the Contract Review Committee and the Council for Human Services.

Over the last few years, grant requests to the Contract Review Committee and the Council for Human Services have increased, highlighting the need for the program on Nantucket. If the program receives voter backing at the Annual Town Meeting, it will award around another $800,000 for the fiscal year 2027 cycle.

In addition to the next round of grant funding, they are also looking into a human services needs assessment to better understand how to allocate funds effectively.

Fiscal year 2026 recipients include A Safe Place, the Artist’s Association, Elder Services, Health Imperatives, In the Herd, the Interfaith Council, MVCS, NAMI, Sharing Kindness, Sherburne, South Coast Legal, Nantucket STAR, The Warming Place, Fairwinds, Addiction Solutions, and ASAP.