A grant of $500,000 was recently awarded to Ocean Tides School in Rhode Island by the Federal Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. The money is coming from the Federal Government’s Economic Stimulus Fund which was approved by Congress last year.
According to President/Executive Director Brother Brendan Gerrity, the funds will be used to expand the existing job training program at the Narragansett residential campus into the Providence campus which includes four new full-time positions and the purchase of new equipment for those programs for both campuses, along with auto-detailing and landscaping equipment. A small amount will be used to start a program for selling firewood. The money will also fund two four-day summer sailing trips for 25 students per outing to learn skills including handling sails, maintenance, and emergency procedures. Some grant money will subsidize stipends for working students.
The expansion is currently underway. Some equipment from the Narragansett campus is presently being shared with the Providence campus, along with donated equipment. The new equipment has been ordered and is expected to arrive in a couple of weeks. The terms of the grant requires that the entire amount be spent within one year.