Community Funding Projects

Community Funding Projects

All requests submitted by Congresswoman Cherfilus-McCormick to the House Appropriations Committee are posted below. In compliance with House Rules and Committee requirements, Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick has certified that she, her spouse, and her immediate family have no financial interest in any of the projects she has requested. Submission of a project does not guarantee that the project will be funded.

House Appropriations Committee Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) announced that the House of Representatives will accept Member requests for Community Project Funding (CPF) in appropriations bills for the fiscal year 2023. Community Projects Funding is congressional provisions that direct funds toward a specific project within a community. Community Project Funding allows Members to put their deep, first-hand understanding of the needs of their communities to work to help the people we represent and will make Congress more responsive to the people. 

Each Member is limited to no more than 15 Community Project Funding requests across all subcommittees for the Fiscal Year 2023 and there is no guarantee that all requested projects will be funded. The FY 2023 CPF process has a limited scope with combined earmarks capped at 1% of all discretionary spending and eligible accounts restricted to those listed in the table below. Projects are restricted to a limited number of federal funding streams, and only state and local governments and eligible non-profit entities are permitted to receive funding.

Projects Requested

Listed below are the projects Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick has submitted on behalf of her community to the House Committee on Appropriations. 

(The projects are listed in alphabetical order by project name)

Name of Project: Broward Health Mobile Clinic

Address: 1800 NW 49th Street, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309

Description: The funding would be used to improve access to care in Florida’s 20th Congressional District utilizing a three-pronged approach; expansion of primary care, obstetrical/gynecological care, and pediatric services, increased utilization of mobile health services, and improved transportation services for patients and their families.

Amount: $3,000,000

Financial Disclosure

Name of Project: Catholic Charities - Rental Assistance

Address: NE 26th St, Wilton Manors, FL 33305

Description: Rental assistance to provide rent/mortgage assistance, utility assistance, and food vouchers.  Residents of Broward County experiencing a financial crisis may receive the assistance of up to 6 months of rent/mortgage, utility costs, and/or food vouchers.

Amount: $3,860,461

Financial Disclosure

Name of Project: Catholic Legal Services - Legal Assistance

Address: 28 West Flagler Street, 10th Floor, Miami, FL 33130

Description: To provide pro bono legal services to immigrants from the Republic of Haiti, Jamaica, Guatemala, Honduras, and nationals from other parts of Central America.Requests funding to establish an office within CLS to address the new immigration issues to educate the immigrant communities, offer consultations for immigrants under existing laws, and represent individuals facing deportation in an effort to keep families together. The unity of families is at stake, and the time to act is now. Catholic Legal Services in the Archdiocese of Miami (CLS) provides immigration services to South Florida's refugees and immigrants. The mission of CLS is to provide: (1) legal representation and immigration services; (2) assistance to those who cannot afford to obtain legal help; and (3) services to all those who need it. CLS focuses exclusively on helping poor immigrants obtain asylum, establish legal residency, become citizens, and reunite families.

In recent years, CLS has had a 50% increase in those seeking immigration assistance. More significantly, the nature of the requests has changed. Individuals are now seeking help to prepare for the possibility of deportation, including custody of their children. Currently, there are not enough resources within CLS to have an attorney focusing exclusively on family unity.

Amount: $750,000

Financial Disclosure

Name of Project: City of Miramar - Public Safety and Mental Health Program

Address: 340 Royal Poinciana Way, Suite 317-301, Palm Beach, FL 33480

Description: 

To ensure trained crisis mental professionals are working in collaboration with law enforcement to reduce deadly encounters.

Amount: $100,000

Financial Disclosure

Name of Project: City of Tamarac First-time Homebuyers Program

Address: 7525 NW 88th Avenue Tamarac, FL 33321

Description: Affordable housing is becoming increasingly scarce in the Broward County FL region, and Tamarac remains one of the few places with an affordable housing inventory.  Affordable homeownership helps build generational equity, provides security for retirees, stimulates the economy, and stabilizes it in the long run. Great demand exists for the City’s qualified first-time very-low,  low, and moderate-incomehomebuyer assistance program with approximately 500 aspiring homeowners submitting applications this year. The program gives closing costs and down payment assistance for qualified first-time homebuyers earning up to 120 AMI to purchasing a home within the affordable price range.  This project is outlined as one of the strategies in the City’s State Housing Initiative Partnership Local Housing Assistance Plan (LHAP) that was officially adopted by the Tamarac City Commission and approved and accepted by the State of Florida.  With existing funds, the City is only able to assist 5-7 households per year. The requested funding will enable the City of Tamarac to triple the number of households assisted by the program.

Amount: $350,000

Financial Disclosure 

Name of Project: Compass Housing for LGBTQ

Address: 201 N Dixie Highway Lake Worth Beach, FL 33460

Description: The use of the Federal Community Project Appropriations with fund 4.75 Full Time Employees (FTE) including a full time onsite LCSW Therapist, two contract (specialty) therapists, program specific supplies, Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) staff training, and square footage methodology allocation for youth, family members, educators and therapists to meet in the Compass Community Center for life-saving social and support services.

Amount: $523,345.00

Financial Disclosure

Name of Project: Figgers Tablets for Telemedicine

Address: 3810 Inverrary Blvd., Suite 401, Lauderhill FL, 33319

Description: The funding would support the manufacture and distribution of 15,000 enhanced telehealth-enabled tablet computers to low-income senior citizens, particularly senior veterans, and families of children with disabilities in Florida’s 20th United States Congressional District.

The tablets will be FQHC telehealth compatible and can be configured to an individual patient’s personal physician or will link to a pool of available doctors within two minutes of a patient’s request. Each tablet will have enhanced talk to text, inverted screens, audio controls to aid navigation, oversized buttons to allow for use by patients with limited eyesight and/or small-motor acuity, and durability to withstand dropping

Amount: $5,000,000

Financial Disclosure

Name of Project: Florida Memorial University Entrepreneurship

Address: Sistrunk Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311

Description: "Provide business support services and development to local businesses and other organizations through continuing education, undergraduate seniors, and MBA interns teamed up with experienced FMU business faculty. Provide professional development and industry certifications. Contribute to economic development, vitality, and management assistance by providing business services to ongoing small businesses in Opportunity Zones (zip codes 33014, 33054, 33055, 33056, 33152, 33169)

Provide substantial assistance to local small businesses at the Center for Entrepreneurship.

•        FMU business students (seniors and MBA) will develop business solutions for small businesses in the local community. 

•        Enhance students’ critical thinking and entrepreneurial skills.

•        Strengthen the local economy. 

Access to expert business faculty and highly trained business interns. 

•        Business ideas and solutions.

•        Build professional skills relevant to managing and elevating business ventures.

•        Economic development and vitality.

•        Comprehensive written report detailing findings with action plan.

Amount: $1,500,000

Financial Disclosure

Name of Project: Healthy Babies and Healthy Mothers Doula

Address: 340 Royal Poinciana Way, Suite 317-301, Palm Beach, FL 33480

Description: For Doula-based project to decrease Black Maternal deaths.  

Amount: $305,313

Financial Disclosure

Name of Project: Helping Abused Neglected Disadvantaged Youth (HANDY)

Address: 1717 North Andrews Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311

Description: "HANDY/HOMES Inc's two-acre campus is located at 690 NE 13th Street, Fort Lauderdale Florida 33304. This campus will encompass 30 newly constructed garden-style apartments. The mix will include 15 zero-bedroom studios w/1 bath and 15 two-bedroom, 2-bath units. Six of the units will serve Extremely Low Income (ELI) residents earning <=28% AMI. Young adults formerly in foster care who are eligible for services under Section 409-1451 F.S. Upon completion, Scholars' Village will accommodate up to 45 youth that age out of foster care with affordable furnished apartments and wrap=around support services. HANDY's role will be to coordinate, operate, and supervise the programming for the youth living in Scholars' Village. 

Southeast Architects Services of Broward County did a preliminary design, an investigation of the zoning and discussed the potential project with city planning. The site plan can be provided upon request.

In the first four years, after aging out of foster care, approximately 20% of former foster youth will experience homelessness and nationally, approximately 29% of youth without housing between the ages of 13 and 25 have spent time in foster care. Of the youth aging out of foster care in the United States, 50% who are reunified with prior caregivers (often family) ultimately become homeless, reporting they were subjected to abuse and/or neglect post-reunification. Of those foster youth experiencing homelessness, 61% are likely to become incarcerated compared to 46% of homeless youth who have been in the child welfare system. These statistics are daunting and will be addressed by Scholars' Village. This apartment complex will provide housing and supportive services to these youth to ensure the necessary skills are obtained to acquire self-sufficiency through evidence-based curriculums and programming. Additionally, each young person receives intensive case management and employment readiness training from a social work professional to provide support daily based on the unique needs of the youth. "

Amount: $250,000

Financial Disclosure

Name of Project: Morse Life - Workforce Training Program

Address: 4847 David S. Mack Drive, West Palm Beach, FL 33417

Description: "MorseLife's Western Palm Beach Workforce Training Program will marry the severe employment needs in Western Palm Beach County (Belle Glade, Pahokee, and South Bay) with the growing personnel needs of non-profit Health Care System, MorseLife, dedicated to providing care to frail seniors. The funding request is to support trainers, curriculum materials, mentors, and transportation to this underserved population. 

Currently there is a national crisis in the nursing industry.  The  healthcare worker shortage has reached an equally critical situation in western Palm Beach County, an area characterized by high levels of unemployment and a myriad of social problems.  This project directly targets this community by providing two distinct employment pathways, one in clinical services and the other in hospitality.  The program embraces the concept that employment is the best route to escape the cycle of poverty."

Amount: $500,000

Financial Disclosure

Name of Project: Promise Fund -  Breast Cancer and CervicalScreening

Address: 340 Royal Poinciana Way, Suite 317-301, Palm Beach, FL 33480

Description: Breast and cervical screening for low-income families

Amount: $894,100

Financial Disclosure

Name of Project: Salvation Army - Housing Expansion Project

Address: 1445 W Broward Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312

Description: "Adding 8,900 sq. ft. to more than double the capacity for overnight shelter.  Adding 20 more beds, expanding meeting space, adding beds, and replacing the roof at the Adult Rehabilitation Center at 1901 W. Broward Blvd. Adding Transitional Housing at both locations.  

The Food Pantry Program experienced a 300% increase in serving OVER 11,000 households in Broward from last year supplying fresh food, dairy products, and other staples.

Amount: $3,000,000

Financial Disclosure

Name of Project: Sojourner Breast Cancer Screening for Women of Color

Address: PO Box 9134 West Palm Beach, FL 33419

Description: To expand current financial support for early detection screenings for women of color between the ages of 25 to 40.

Amount: $167,500

Financial Disclosure