HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) – Harrisonburg was given financial support from the American Rescue Plan Act. Harrisonburg City Council wanted to include the community in their decision and they sent out surveys to find out what locals want.
United Way of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County has been watching the process carefully and was one of a few agencies that wanted the community’s needs to be prioritized.
“We saw several things including housing, childcare, and nonprofits, supporting mental health in our community as being priorities, as identified by the community, and we just want to make sure that City Council remembers as they decide how to use the rest of the ARPA funds,” United Way of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County Director of Community Impact Jo Benjamin said.
Ideas have been narrowed down to five options:
Invest in Community Mental Health Improvements – The pandemic presented additional mental health challenges to our community and made evident a crucial growing need for support. We seek to invest in community mental health improvements, especially for youth and the homeless.
Increase Affordable and Accessible Childcare – The pandemic made evident how crucial having affordable and accessible childcare is to the functioning of our community and the social well-being of our children. We seek to increase support for workers and working families related to childcare.
Expand Accessible, Affordable Housing – Many struggled with housing insecurity during the pandemic. We seek to expand accessible, affordable housing.
Improve Neighborhoods – The pandemic highlighted how important neighborhoods are to daily well-being, and a sense of belonging. We seek to improve the beautification of neighborhoods in ways that promote safety and connection and yield additional environmental benefits.
Enhance Community Space – The pandemic highlighted just how vital community spaces are for connections and wellbeing. We seek to enhance more equitable distribution of accessible parks and recreation services and amenities across the city.
So far, funds have been spent on road improvement, and there’s a desire to put in more support for the city parks. United Way’s director, Amanda Leech understands it is a process but knows the budget is meant for what Harrisonburg needs most.
“There’s no price tag for how we fix all of these things, so can we just make sure we’re advocating for there to be dollars left in those areas so that fly and spend those monies how they need to,” Leech said.
As of right now, nothing has been finalized. Harrisonburg’s United Way officers encourage those who want to share their opinion to do so before it’s too late.
“This is the process they committed to and if anyone else in the community is watching this process play out and wants to make sure that their voices heard between now and the work session is happening at 5:30 on December 13, this is your opportunity to provide input,” Benjamin said.
The matter of what the rest of Harrisonburg’s ARPA funding will be used on comes down to the discussion at the work session. The work session is open to the public.
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