Video: Mayor Joins Barney Frank in Community Rally for CDBG

In a jam-packed room at the yesterday, community members sat together to applaud and support programs that have impacted lives of seniors, children and single-parent families across the city.

The rally and discussion centered around Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) -- federal funding that has helped programs at the , , , , the and the .

According to Newton Mayor Setti Warren, who spearheaded yesterday's rally, Newton faces a significant cut to its $2.4 million CDBG allocation -- a cut that comes as the House voted to reduce the CDBG program funding by 66 percent, Warren said.

"We could lose critical resources for people who are most vulnerable in our communities and for the capacity for people to live in our community and for people to be employed," Warren said.

Director of Senior Services Jayne Colino told the crowded room yesterday that the CDBG funding not only helps programs for seniors, it also helps employ three people in the city who work with the center.

Many seniors who have lost husbands or wives turn to the Newton Senior Center for support and assistance, Colino said, and lives are often turned around with just a simple Tai Chi class or a lesson on how to reached loved ones with a computer.

The Newton Wellesley Weston Committee, which provides assistance and programs for adults with developmental disabilities, also receives CDBG funding on a regular basis.

"(CDBG) is a lifeline for our organization," said Nancy Slamin, the executive director of the Newton Wellesley Weston Committee, adding that "it woudln't be the community we live in today (without the CDBG funding)."

Slamin said that with just a small amount of CDBG funding, the NWW Committee is able to help several hundred adults each year. 

And while it is important to keep funding for CDBG programs, argued that that does not mean increasing the deficit, rather, it means reducing spending elsewhere, such as the military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

"I don’t want to increase overall spending, I want to reduce it, but I want to spend it in good places rather than bad places," Frank said.

Frank added that the CDBG funding also allows residents stay in Newton when they reach a point where they may not be able to afford to live int he city any longer.

"What is a matter of pride for me is the city of Newton takes the funds it gets and keeps the city affordable for people," Frank said.

The Newton Community Development Foundation, which receives funds from CDBG, is "one of the only points of entry for families of modest means for those who want to stay in the city," according to Jeanne Strickland, the foundation's executive director.

As the chairman for the Community Development and Housing Committee for the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Warren said he has held several similar roundtable discussions in Methuen, New Bedford, Pittsfield and Boston.

Warren encouraged the residents to contact State Senators John Kerry and Scott Brown to push them to vote to keep the CDBG funding in place.

"We’ve got to tell this story of where this funding goes and how it has enabled people young and old to not only survive, but contribute to our community," Warren said.