Talbot County, Maryland

05/21/2024

Category: Partner Agencies County Council

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Assistant Secretary Carol Gilbert visits Chesapeake Multicultural Resource Center in Easton, MD. Photo provided by DHCD.

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Assistant Secretary Carol Gilbert visit Early Head Start renovations in Easton, MD. Photo provided by DHCD.

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From left: Maria McGuire, M.D., Council Vice President Pete Lesher, Superintendent Sharon Pepukayi, Mary Kay Verdery, Assistant Secretary Carol Gilbert. Photo by DHCD.

Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Assistant Secretary, Carol Gilbert, visited Talbot County to tour two recently completed Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) projects in Easton, Maryland. The Asst. Secretary was joined by Talbot County Council and staff, and project partners. Talbot County administers the CDBG grants for Talbot County.

The two projects, a new space for the Family Support Center (Early Head Start) located on the Easton Elementary School campus and a community space and commercial kitchen at Chesapeake Multicultural Resource Center (ChesMRC), were funded by the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), a federal grant program for housing and community development projects.

The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) authorizes the grant for the State and gives eligible local jurisdictions the authority to distribute federal funds to non-profit and public agencies through a competitive grant process. The “Community Development” category of Maryland’s portion of the grant funding is competitive, and applications are accepted once a year.

The Family Support Center and ChesMRC were grant recipients beginning in FY 2021. Both projects aim to serve beneficiaries through improved public facilities which stabilize neighborhoods and improve the overall quality of life of residents, key tenants of the grant’s purpose.

Renovated Family Support Center (Early Head Start)

The Talbot County Early Head Start program is designed to support both children and families by providing health and wellness education, referrals to community resources, home visits, services for children with special needs, and individualized learning plans. Talbot County Family Support Center provides services to children up to three years of age at no cost to enrolled families, with enrollment eligibility based upon age, income, and family circumstances.

Project funding was used to renovate four classrooms, a kitchen area, laundry, changing and bathroom stations at the former Dobson Building, located on the Easton Elementary School campus. The space provides shared, centrally located resources and continuous care for Talbot toddlers and increases overall capacity of the facility.

The project allows the Early Head Start program to serve up to 65 Talbot County infants and toddlers daily. Before the renovation, Head Start served 36 children. The facility not only offers daycare and education for children, but also provides a variety of parental and family development, nutritional, and educational services for family members.

The Family Support Center received $800,000 in CDBG funding, with the County supplementing the additional cost of the $1.5 million project. The project was completed in January 2022, and they opened doors to the new facility on February 1.

The Talbot Health Department manages the Family Support Center and works directly in partnership with Talbot County Public Schools to assist families serving children aged birth to fifth grade on one campus.

Chesapeake Multicultural Resource Center (ChesMRC) – Commercial Kitchen and Community Space

Chesapeake Multicultural Resource Center (ChesMRC), headquartered in Easton, empowers people from different cultures to become successful and engaged members of Talbot County and the Mid-Shore region.

Project funding was used to restore the warehouse located on the back side of the current brick facility on East Dover Street. The full restoration project provides ChesMRC with a much-needed center space that is used for small groups, class opportunities, and community gatherings. The addition of a full commercial kitchen will allow small food businesses to expand their impact on the local economy and provide an appropriate space to create meals and food options for the community.

ChesMRC received $119,000 in CDBG funding  and the County provided in-kind grant administration for the project.  

Both programs celebrated the success and completion of their projects on Friday, May 17, 2024 with the program partners.

"The federal Community Development Block Grant is a proven and successful revitalization program, and the grants administered by the state have supported local projects and activities like these in Talbot County for 50 years," said Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Assistant Secretary Carol Gilbert.  "Responsible and responsive redevelopment needs partnership from all levels of government and local stakeholders, and the State of Maryland will continue to work with our partners to ensure Maryland's communities are strong and resilient with pathways to opportunity for all."

“The CDBG program funds help strengthen Maryland’s communities by expanding affordable housing opportunities, creating jobs, stabilizing neighborhoods, and improving the overall quality of life,” said Mary Kay Verdery, Grants Administrator for Talbot County, “We are grateful to be able to identify and provide monetary assistance to such excellent organizations in our community.”

“Both of these projects are making a positive impact on our community,” said County Council President Chuck Callahan. “With Early Head Start, we are now able to serve children and their families from birth to 5th grade on one campus; and with ChesMRC, we are able to empower small food businesses to grow their economic impact, and allow for more programming in the heart of downtown Easton for residents of our community.  We are grateful for the investment of CDBG funds in our community.”

"Grants like the ones that support the Early Head Start facility are an invaluable resource for promoting healthy communities," said Dr. Maria Maguire, Talbot County Health Officer. "The Community Development Block Grant funds allows us to improve access to services focused on supporting both children and their families by offering education, resources and opportunities that otherwise wouldn't exist."

“Having the support from Talbot County Government and funds from the CDBG program has made it possible for ChesMRC to expand the amount and scope of our services.  Now that this building can accommodate groups, we are excited to expand our services to include regular Citizenship Classes, be home to a local AA group, conduct homebuying and financial counseling, and workshops for small business development.  And with the kitchen, more of our immigrant clients and families will be able to share their culture and foods at all local events,” said Matthew R Peters, Executive Director of ChesMRC.

For more information on Talbot County’s CDBG Grant program, contact Mary Kay Verdery at mkverdery@talbotcountymd.gov, or visit www.talbotcountymd.gov/grants.

state grants funding community department of housing and community development cdbg community development block grant