New Castle County is proposing funneling federal coronavirus relief funding to local community organizations.
New Castle County received more than $320 million through the federal CARES Act which passed in March.
Legislation put forth this past week by County Councilman John Cartier would allocate $25 million of those funds to Healthy Communities Delaware—a partnership between the University of Delaware, the state Department of Health and Social Services and the Delaware Community Foundation.
The group works to find funding sources for organizations in Delaware communities with poor health indicators such as life expectancy, child poverty and infant mortality.
“All three entities are a critical part of this,” said Stuart Comstock-Gay, the Delaware Community Foundation President and CEO. “The Department of Public Health obviously knows the data; knows the federal and state programs. The University of Delaware has a long history in supporting positive health outcomes, and our role at Delaware Community Foundation is to make sure that the monies are going out to who they need to go to.”
Comstock-Gay says, if approved, the funds would likely be funneled to many of the same groups sharing more than $722,000 in state funding allocated a couple weeks ago—groups including Central Baptist CDC, Latin American Community Center and Jefferson Street Center.
“One of the most important things we can do during this pandemic is lift up the health of everyone in the state, and we don’t believe that we have the answers on how to do that, we believe we have a structure that can help people find their answers,” he said.
In a statement, the UD’s Rita Landgraf said Healthy Communities Delaware is “open to supporting the county and the state in their efforts, and if we can contribute to the health and wellness of Delawareans, we are willing and able.”
Council does not meet again until late August.
