Local humanitarian and educational projects championed by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) will receive a total of $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 Nurses Association hubs in Freehold and Red Bank, respectively, and $400,000 for mental health services at the Lakewood Community Services Corporation.
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.
Another $400,000 will go to the Lakewood Community Services Corporation (LCSC) to expand its mental health services.