Worcester nonprofit Dismas House of Massachusetts, Inc., has received a $185,000 Community Empowerment and Reinvestment Grant to support its Dismas Reentry Initiative.
The Main South Neighborhood Ambassador Program, a pilot program in Worcester put in place by state agency MassDevelopment, is about to lose its funding, unless neighborhood leaders are successful in raising money for the program before the layoffs hit at the end of the year.
In 1936, seven white men judged which neighborhoods of Worcester were not viable for real estate financing using criteria like “industrial workers live in this area as well as a few negroes.” Today, as rising costs overburden half of renters in the city, those impacted the most are from those neighborhoods still suffering from lack of investment.
The three-year-old Main South Business Association is helping small companies in one of Worcester’s most culturally diverse neighborhood overcome unique obstacles