Northern Berkshire United Way Accepting Food & Shelter Program Applications

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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Food and Shelter Program Applications Sought By Northern Berkshire United Way

The Emergency Food and Shelter Program National Board has awarded Berkshire County $67,202 in Phase 38 (FY20) Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP) assistance funding.
 
Northern Berkshire United Way, local administrator of the program, is urging qualifying organizations located throughout Berkshire County to submit an application for supplemental emergency food and shelter and to obtain it at this link: https://www.nbunitedway.org/emergency-food-and-shelte-program
 
 Local organizations chosen to receive funds must be private voluntary non-profits (with a voluntary board) or units of government; have an accounting system; practice non-discrimination; and have demonstrated the capability to deliver emergency food and/or shelter programs.  Applicants must submit their application by email only with their financial audit by midnight on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021 to: Christa Collier at ccollier@nbunitedway.org. Paper applications will not be accepted.
 
The funds are awarded through the Department of Homeland Security and the award is made the Emergency Food and Shelter Program National Board, that consists of representatives from the Salvation Army, American Red Cross, The Jewish Federations of North America, Catholic Charities USA, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA and United Way Worldwide.  Funds pass directly from the Department of Homeland Security to the EFSP program and then to local agencies that are awarded funding through a sub-committee of a local board made up of representatives of organizations that are not requesting or receiving funds determines the actual organizations that receive funding.
 
For Phase 37, EFSP awarded $47,458 which local representatives distributed to eleven Berkshire County organizations: Berkshire Community Action Council, the Berkshire Food Project, the Cheshire Pantry, Child Care of the Berkshires, Construct, Elizabeth Freeman Center, Louison House, Northern Berkshire Interfaith Action Initiative, Salvation Army North Adams, Salvation Army Pittsfield and ServiceNet. 

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Cost, Access to NBCTC High Among Concerns North Berkshire Residents

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff

Adams Select Chair Christine Hoyt, NBCTC Executive Director David Fabiano and William Solomon, the attorney representing the four communities, talk after the session. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Public access channels should be supported and made more available to the public — and not be subject to a charge.
 
More than three dozen community members in-person and online attended the public hearing  Wednesday on public access and service from Spectrum/Charter Communications. The session at City Hall was held for residents in Adams, Cheshire, Clarksburg and North Adams to express their concerns to Spectrum ahead of another 10-year contract that starts in October.
 
Listening via Zoom but not speaking was Jennifer Young, director state government affairs at Charter.
 
One speaker after another conveyed how critical local access television is to the community and emphasized the need for affordable and reliable services, particularly for vulnerable populations like the elderly. 
 
"I don't know if everybody else feels the same way but they have a monopoly," said Clarksburg resident David Emery. "They control everything we do because there's nobody else to go to. You're stuck with with them."
 
Public access television, like the 30-year-old Northern Berkshire Community Television, is funded by cable television companies through franchise fees, member fees, grants and contributions.
 
Spectrum is the only cable provider in the region and while residents can shift to satellite providers or streaming, Northern Berkshire Community Television is not available on those alternatives and they may not be easy for some to navigate. For instance, the Spectrum app is available on smart televisions but it doesn't include PEG, the public, educational and governmental channels provided by NBCTC. 
 
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