Town Awards $825K In Grant Funding To Human Services Agencies

Nantucket’s Health and Human Services Department last Friday celebrated the distribution of grants totaling $825,000 that were awarded by the town’s Contract Review Committee as part of its fiscal year 2027 grant cycle.

The grants, which went to 17 organizations operating on Nantucket, are awarded by the Contract Review Committee and the Council for Human Services. The funding comes from Nantucket property taxes, and represents the town's annual contribution toward providing social services on the island.

A recent human services needs assessment commissioned by the Contract Review Committee and the Council for Human Services found gaps in the services available on Nantucket and the awareness of those services, prompting Select Board member Bob DeCosta to call for a significant increase in the funding allotted to the Health and Human Services Department. The $825,000 in grant funding represented a 5.3 percent increase above the $783,000 allocated last year.

Many grant applicants did not receive funding or received less funding than they requested, underscoring the robust need for human services funding on the island.

Funding recipients this year included A Safe Place, the Artists Association, Elder Services of Cape Cod and the Islands, Fairwinds, Health Imperatives, In the Herd, the Interfaith Council, the Lighthouse School, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the Memory Cafe at Sherburne Commons, Nantucket STAR, Palliative and Supportive Care of Nantucket, Nantucket Community Television, Small Friends, the Warming Place, Addiction Solutions, and—for it’s work supporting Nantucket families—Martha’s Vineyard Community Services.