Town of Randolph Commits Over $1.5 Million in ARPA Funding to Social Services through Resilient Randolph Fund

RANDOLPH, Mass. – The Town of Randolph created the Resilient Randolph Fund in March 2020, at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, to ensure residents facing financial hardship had access to resources. Since then, and with the help of partners United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley, Neighborworks Housing Solutions, and South Shore Stars, the Resilient Randolph Fund has distributed over $1 million to Randolph residents. This funding helped residents facing eviction, foreclosure, food insecurity, and utility shut offs. Along with financial support, the Randolph Resiliency Committee has provided resources and follow-up to over 600 applicants.

“Randolph was extremely hard hit by the pandemic. As a town we have been able to make a fierce comeback with high vaccination rates and strong public health initiatives,” said Town Manager of Randolph, Brian Howard. “We have also been focusing on assisting our residents financially and are excited to be able to transfer this large sum of $1.5 million ($500,000 per year for three years) in ARPA monies into the Resiliency Fund in order to ensure food and housing security for our residents.”

“Randolph has a longstanding history of providing access to a wide range of social and financial support to our community,” said President of the Randolph Town Council, William Alexopoulos. “The creation of the Resilient Randolph Fund, the additional support that has been given from Cares Fund and now Randolph’s ARPA funding, along with the vast amounts of charitable work from the Resiliency Committee volunteers are a testament to the the Town Manager and the Town Council’s dedication to ensure financial stability to our residents.”

Randolph’s Resilient Fund partner agencies have created a network of support and stability for many residents. United Way procured funding for housing and utility assistance, and also organizes the Thanksgiving Project meal distribution for residents with over 600 recipients yearly and facilitates multiple grants for youth programs in town.

“The Resilient Randolph Fund has supported residents throughout the pandemic, providing financial assistance for housing, food, utilities, and other basic necessities, all while uniting the community to support their neighbors in need,” said Bob Giannino, President and CEO at United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley. “We applaud the Town of Randolph for investing ARPA funding into the Resiliency Fund over the next three years, continuing and strengthening this partnership to ensure we quickly and equitably deploy resources to our most vulnerable individuals and families.”

“As a longtime partner of the Town of Randolph, South Shore Stars is honored and delighted to help facilitate the distribution of these much-needed funds,” said Jennifer Curtis, Ed.D., Executive Director of South Shore Stars. “The collaboration and support from town officials and community stakeholders has created an impactful program that merits replication across the Commonwealth.”

“Randolph is an incredible and resilient community. The pandemic has hit all of us incredibly hard, but Randolph has strong leadership, great community partnerships and a hardworking community,” said Robert Corley, CEO of partner organization, NeighborWorks Housing Solutions. “We are honored to do what we can to help support Randolph’s continuing success and ensure that everyone has the resources they need to stay in their homes and in their community.”

Along with this financial support, the Town of Randolph has also hired two social workers to support residents with social service applications, connecting them to resources, and gathering data for potential grant applications. ARPA funding will be utilized for one of these social workers’ contracts with the second social worker being funded through an earmark set forth by Rep. Bruce Ayers and Rep. William Driscoll. Social workers will be based out of the Randolph Intergenerational Community Center (RICC) and will be doing outreach hours in the community. To get in touch with a social worker for help connecting to resources please call the RICC at 781-961-0930. To apply for financial assistance or contribute, visit the Resilient Randolph Fund webpage. Questions about the Resilient Randolph Fund and Randolph social services can be directed to Liz LaRosee at elarosee@randolph-ma.gov.