Local humanitarian and educational projects championed by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) will receive more than $3 million in modest but critical federal funding to boost health care, autism and food assistance services and to help schools expand educational programs in the Fourth Congressional District.

            A large portion of the funds secured by Smith will help expand essential services offered by several local health care programs—including $1.1 million for dental and primary care centers at the Visiting Nurse Association of Central Jersey Community Health Center hubs in Freehold and Red Bank, respectively, and $400,000 for mental health services at the Lakewood Community Services Corporation.

            “The modest but meaningful federal support for local health centers will go a long way toward increasing their capacity to provide vital care to residents and help our families get access to the services they need,” said Rep. Smith. “Local organizations run on grassroots, volunteer and charitable donations and make a big difference in our community.  The federal support and partnership will help stretch scarce funds and provide even more assistance.”

            Smith, the author of four major laws to combat autism, said Autism New Jersey will also receive $200,000 to expand its statewide caregiver assistance hotline that connects hundreds of parents with children with autism across the state with providers of effective services each year. The Shore Center for Students with Autism in Tinton Falls will also receive $60,000 to expand their vocational training and household management programs teaching students critical life skills so they can live as fully and independently as possible.

            Additionally, Seeds of Service—a Catholic diocese-affiliated community outreach center located in Brick that serves nearly 4,000 local households—will receive $500,000 for necessary electrical and plumbing upgrades and reconfigurations to help them attend to more citizens and keep up with demand for food services and increased donations from local grocers and restaurants.

            The remaining funds secured by Smith will help schools in the area provide critical educational programs to students—especially as they recover from challenges faced during the pandemic—and offer new competitive learning opportunities.

            “Our children deserve the best education they can receive,” said Smith. “These additional funds will help expand afterschool programs geared towards helping students make up for lost time outside of the classroom and give them more opportunities to pursue competitive degrees that will help them earn good paying jobs when they enter the workforce.”

            One program receiving funds is the Learn, Grow, Thrive Program at the Hamilton YMCA designed to help students at local schools recover from any academic, social or emotional loss resulting from virtual learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The afterschool program will receive $200,000 to hire teachers and provide food and supplies to participating school children.

            Brookdale Community College will also receive $450,000 to help with the establishment of a new Center for Excellence in Cybersecurity Education which will develop and offer new courses and training programs in cybersecurity and computer protection—which are increasingly in demand among students and employers. The funds will go toward hiring a director for the Center as well as purchasing virtual lab licenses and hardware along with other needed equipment.

            ANTI-SEMITISM LEADER. Smith also helped secure $150,000 for Lakewood’s Beth Medrash Govoha, the largest Talmudic institution of higher education in the U.S. and the second-largest in the world, for much-needed security upgrades in a time when violent attacks against Jewish communities are exploding—with more than 60 percent of all anti-religious hate crimes in the U.S. directed against Jews.

            Smith, the author of two laws to combat anti-Semitism, said the critical funds will help ensure the safety of approximately 7,000 students and faculty and staff members in the event of an active shooter or other act of terror amid the alarming rise in anti-Semitic hate across the United States and throughout the world.