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Helping Our Women

DOGE DISRUPTION

AmeriCorps Grants Reinstated by Judge’s Order — for Now

Compliance with executive orders on gender and D.E.I. is still required

By Tyler Jager Jun 11, 2025

PROVINCETOWN — A federal judge in Maryland on June 5 blocked the Trump administration’s cuts to AmeriCorps, the community service agency, in 24 states including Massachusetts — reinstating, at least for now, $530,000 in grants to two organizations working on the Outer Cape: AmeriCorps Cape Cod and Helping Our Women (HOW).

In an opinion accompanying her order, U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman wrote that the cuts violated notice-and-comment procedures and would be devastating for states, leaving them without staff to perform essential health, conservation, and educational work.

The AmeriCorps grants had been terminated by the Dept. of Government Efficiency on April 25 and April 27. On Outer Cape Cod, AmeriCorps members serve in roles including emergency disaster relief, forest fire management, health services, and marsh restoration. AmeriCorps Cape Cod hosts members through a county-run program, and HOW, working in Eastham and Provincetown, receives grants as a nonprofit sponsor.

Misty Niemeyer, program manager of AmeriCorps Cape Cod, and Gwynne Guzzeau, executive director of HOW, confirmed on June 6 that their grants were reinstated that day.

“We’re back in business — wow,” said Guzzeau, who was on the phone with the Independent when she learned of the reinstatement. “That’s crazy. This thing is crazy.”

The sudden reversal has generated as much confusion as clarity among service providers. Niemeyer said officials had been working to separate the county program from AmeriCorps entirely, tentatively dubbing it “Cape Cod Corps” as they searched for new funding. The new name had been announced on May 8.

“There’s still a lot of things we need to figure out,” said Niemeyer. Only the funds for the current service year have been reinstated, and the county has not secured funding for future years, she said. But the change means members can now receive federal benefits that the county couldn’t fully replace, like education awards credited to student loans. AmeriCorps members Brendan Williamson and Anthony Baez told the Independent that they rely on those awards for student loan repayments.

Guzzeau said the reinstated grants for her programs are expiring on July 26. She was preparing a renewal application when the cuts were announced in April. She said her renewal request is still frozen in an online portal — so “we can’t proceed with this application” for next year.

Since the Independent reported the cuts, Guzzeau said, HOW has hired one of its two AmeriCorps members as a regular employee: Pam Mahoney, whose service year ended in June, is now a full-time program manager.

AmeriCorps Cape Cod has nine active members this year, three of whom live in Wellfleet with a program supervisor. The grants to Helping Our Women, meanwhile, would fund six full-time positions: two in staff at HOW and four planned at partner organizations including Sustainable CAPE, Truro Community Kitchen, and the Family Table Collaborative, all related to food access.

Town Officials’ Concerns

Helping Our Women was asked to report on its terminated grants at a June 4 roundtable of health and service organizations in Provincetown, Guzzeau said. The meeting, which was not public, was hosted by Provincetown Health Agent Lezli Rowell and included the AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod and Outer Cape Health Services among other providers, according to Guzzeau.

Rowell said she was prompted to convene the session after the select board on May 27 discussed federal funding shortfalls and their effect on local health-care providers.

“Have we looked at what things we get from the state in terms of funding and grants that come from federal sources?” asked select board chair Dave Abramson at that meeting. “We’re at a time now where this town is going to need to figure out how we continue to protect the health and safety of its residents.”

“The board of health has discussed some of the impending cuts at the state level as a result of federal action,” Town Manager Alex Morse told the board. “We’re committed to working with the select board, staff, and volunteers to make sure we maintain the health-care coverage and resources that our residents have always relied on.”

“Everyone’s alarmed about federal budget cuts,” Rowell said on June 9.

Guzzeau reported that HOW currently serves 149 Provincetown residents ranging in age from mid-30s to mid-90s. Nearly half receive monthly financial assistance and live at or below 210 percent of the federal poverty rate. Some of HOW’s programs rely on AmeriCorps members’ labor, such as grocery and soup kitchen meal deliveries to Provincetown households.

In addition to the direct federal grant of $30,000, she wrote to Rowell, HOW indirectly benefits from the stipends that AmeriCorps pays to supplement members’ living expenses. Guzzeau estimated the annual stipends amount to $27,000 for each of the six full-time positions.

All told, the potential cuts next year at HOW would amount to an estimated $192,000 of direct and indirect funding lost.

Compliance Still Required

Judge Boardman’s ruling dealt with President Trump’s Feb. 11 executive order on “government efficiency” used to justify the cuts, but it did not challenge his Jan. 20 orders restricting programs related to “gender ideology” and D.E.I. for recipients of federal funds. That means Cape Cod’s AmeriCorps partners must return to obeying those rules to keep their reinstated grants.

So long as funding is attached to those orders, the Wellfleet hospice Lily House will continue not to participate in HOW’s AmeriCorps placements, Executive Director Dawn Walsh said on June 9. When Lily House received news that all sites would need to comply with Trump’s orders, its board declined to renew the contract and its AmeriCorps member left.

“I don’t want to lose the thread of what’s at stake here in terms of capitulating,” Walsh said. The orders, she said, were “endangering the safety and dignity of our community.”

That choice is not without costs: Walsh said she and two other staff are trying to absorb the work of the full-time volunteer and outreach coordinator they lost. But the choice was still worth it, she said.

“We made a decision based on values,” she said, “and that takes precedence over the hardships that may ensue.”

NO SERVICE

DOGE Cuts Cancel Grants for AmeriCorps

County officials and nonprofits scramble to preserve jobs

By Tyler Jager May 14, 2025

WELLFLEET — AmeriCorps, the federal agency that funds community service projects, has terminated $530,000 in grants for work on the Outer Cape undertaken by AmeriCorps Cape Cod (ACC) and through Helping Our Women (HOW), the Eastham and Provincetown nonprofit. The two groups received news of the cancelations on April 25 and April 27.

From left, AmeriCorps Cape Cod members Anthony Baez, Samantha Wilmot, and Brendan Williamson and supervisor Henry Torpey at the Wellfleet house where they have been living. “It was kind of like watching a boulder roll downhill towards you,” said Wilmot of her reaction to the terminated grants. (Photos by Paul Kopicki)

The action by DOGE, the so-called Dept. of Government Efficiency, has sent county leaders and organization directors scrambling to preserve the jobs of AmeriCorps members who work on projects ranging from cemetery cleanups to compiling air quality data to natural disaster relief preparedness. The ACC program is administered by the Barnstable County regional government.

The Barnstable County commissioners voted unanimously on May 1 to fund AmeriCorps Cape Cod through the current service year, which ends in August. The canceled $500,000 federal grant provided about half of ACC’s annual operating expenses, program manager Misty Niemeyer told the Independent.

The regional government plans to rehire the current members as “temporary emergency employees” until August, she said, paying them $15 per hour. But the county has not yet secured funding for the next service year, Niemeyer said. For the next three months, the program will be called “Cape Cod Corps,” she added.

Mass. Attorney General Andrea Campbell has joined 23 other state attorneys general in a lawsuit to reverse the AmeriCorps grant cancelations.

Jobs Are Cut at HOW

Helping Our Women is searching for alternative sources of funds for its terminated grant, said Executive Director Gwynne Guzzeau. The organization’s board voted in April to add a budget line that might cover the cost of two AmeriCorps members.

Gwynne Guzzeau, executive director of Helping Our Women, and AmeriCorps VISTA member Pamela Mahoney, who serves as volunteer resource manager, at the organization’s Eastham headquarters.

“I believe we will find donor support to offset it,” Guzzeau said.

HOW provides transportation, financial assistance, and food access support to women with chronic health conditions. The number of clients has ballooned to more than 300, Guzzeau said, since it started hosting AmeriCorps members in 2017.

HOW received a $30,000 award through AmeriCorps VISTA, a separate program that directs funds to nonprofits and public agencies. In an April 25 email, AmeriCorps interim head Jennifer Bastress Tahmasebi told Guzzeau that “effective immediately, the above-referenced AmeriCorps award is being terminated. … It has been determined that your award no longer effectuates agency priorities. You must immediately cease all award activities. This is a final agency action and is not administratively appealable.”

The terminated grant paid for two full-time VISTA members at HOW, Guzzeau said: community food project coordinator Maddie Kahle and volunteer resource developer Pam Mahoney. HOW’s full-time staff dropped from five to three.

Guzzeau said the award funded six placements in all: the two HOW positions and another four at other local community service organizations. HOW acts as an intermediary for them.

Past hosts include the Lily House hospice in Wellfleet and Sharing Kindness, a grief support group. Three other HOW partners were preparing to host AmeriCorps members in the next year: Sustainable CAPE, Truro Community Kitchen, and the Family Table Collaborative.

“The AmeriCorps worker would have enabled us to create more partnerships and get more food to more people,” said Sustainable CAPE Director Francie Randolph.

“We were just about to post the position, and then the program was cut,” said Wendy Lurie, co-founder of Truro Community Kitchen.

Kahle, 25, lives in Wellfleet. She moved to the Cape as an AmeriCorps member in 2023 and manages the organization’s mobile food pantry, a program Guzzeau said could not exist without her.

“We didn’t have that before the VISTAs came,” Guzzeau said. “It’s grown tremendously because of Family Pantry of Cape Cod. They deliver to Provincetown or Eastham, and our volunteers bring it to people’s homes.”

Kahle and Mahoney received emails on April 28 saying that their AmeriCorps placements were on “administrative hold.” They were given until May 19 to secure “suitable reassignment” to a project that had not been canceled. If they did not find reassignment, “your AmeriCorps service will be terminated,” the emails said.

Kahle said she had been preparing for the news and was “disappointed, but not necessarily surprised.”

“The cuts affect everyone in our community,” said Lurie, “because we planned to use that money to work with other local agencies to figure out where there are gaps in services on the Outer Cape,” work that they had already begun in Truro. “That’s why it’s so heartbreaking.”

HOW is trying to fund Kahle’s and Mahoney’s positions, Guzzeau said. That would mean adding $37,000 to its annual budget. The nonprofit has not found replacement funds for the other four “subsite” positions.

“We’re not going to let this screw key programs,” Guzzeau said.

The ACC members on the Outer Cape are Samantha Wilmot, 27, Brendan Williamson, 29, and Anthony Baez, 23; their supervisor is Henry Torpey, 24. The three members work at the Cape Cod National Seashore, the Marine Fisheries Research program at the Center for Coastal Studies, and the Nauset Regional Middle School, respectively.

They live in Wellfleet in a house owned by the Cape Cod National Seashore, which has allowed the Barnstable County regional government to lease it.

Compliance Didn’t Matter

One reason Kahle wasn’t surprised by the cuts, she said, was a notice that HOW received in February directing the nonprofit to comply with President Trump’s executive orders related to gender and diversity.

On Feb. 19, Guzzeau received an email saying the organization needed to comply with the Administration’s Jan. 20 executive orders on “defending women from gender ideology extremism” and “ending radical and wasteful government D.E.I. programs” to continue receiving funds.

Guzzeau said she reluctantly complied with the order and removed a statement on HOW’s website that said, “We serve women and anyone who identifies as a woman, nonbinary, or trans.”

“It didn’t feel good at all,” Guzzeau said. “Nobody said I had to. But my job as the executive director is to figure out, based on the policy and the guidance of the board, how do we navigate and thread this needle?” Ultimately, she said, the funding from VISTA programs was too vital to the organization to risk losing through noncompliance.

Like HOW, the Family Table Collaborative and Sustainable CAPE complied with the orders, but the funding for their VISTA placements was still terminated.

The board of one of HOW’s partners, however, chose not to comply. Lily House, which provides end-of-life care, declined to renew its contract with HOW to avoid having to comply with the executive orders.

“There’s no question for us that we could not comply,” said Lily House Executive Director Dawn Walsh. “It’s 100-percent antithetical to the core values that the Lily House holds.”

As a result, Walsh said, AmeriCorps member Heather Rhea, who had been a volunteer coordinator for 19 months, left the organization in March.

Complying with the executive orders didn’t matter, ultimately, as all of HOW’s designated VISTA funding was cut regardless of whether the sites had certified compliance.

Now that HOW has no need to comply with the orders, Guzzeau said, the deleted statement will go back on the organization’s website.

RESULTS

Cold Water and Warm Smiles at Swim for Life

310 participants raise $300K for local health-care nonprofits

By William von Herff Sep 11, 2024

PROVINCETOWN — Hundreds of swimmers braved cold water on Saturday, Sept. 7 for the 37th annual Swim for Life fundraiser. The event, which consisted of 1.2-mile and half-mile swims in Provincetown Harbor and an additional one-mile swim in Wellfleet’s Great Pond, raised some $300,000 for the AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod, Helping Our Women, Outer Cape Health Services, and 10 other community beneficiaries.

A flotilla of paddlers accompanies swimmers at the 37th Swim for Life on Sept. 7. (Photos by Nancy Bloom)

“It was a huge success,” said event creator Jay Critchley, adding that the amount raised this year was a record. A total of 310 people participated in the event; of those, 222 did the 1.2-mile swim, 32 did the half-mile swim, 41 did the Great Pond swim, and 15 more “swam in place” in other places around the world.

At the Johnson Street Beach, where entrants registered before the main Provincetown Harbor swim, the air was thick with excitement and nerves. People wandered the sand in wetsuits, goggles, and neon-red Swim for Life swim caps. The Wellesley High School swim team performed an elaborate chant in a circle, which elicited a round of cheers and applause from the other swimmers.

“I’m excited,” said swimmer Julia Rugo of Barnstable, who said she had been getting into open-water swimming ahead of the event. “I’m just going to swim and have fun.”

For Julian Schifano, this was his first Swim for Life, but it was his mom’s 20th, he said, and he was swimming it with her. “I’m going to take it slow, go at my own pace,” he added.

Friends Liz Salomon and Jessica Flaherty, who were here from Cambridge, were also participating for the first time. They reported being both excited and nervous. “We’re very scared of sharks, but we thought we’d face our fears,” Salomon said.

The swimmers boarded Funk Buses to head to the starting line at the beach in front of the Harbor and Breakwater hotels in the East End. They waved out the window to a cheering crowd like members of a Roman victory parade.

The Wellesley High School swim team sends up a chant that elicits cheers and applause from the crowd.

With all the competitors for the 1.2-mile swim lined up and ready, the town crier rang the starting bell, and the swimmers trotted into the water. They took off toward the finish line with a flotilla of kayaks and safety boats keeping them on course.

According to Critchley, the water this year was particularly cold because of a north wind. “It was very challenging for a lot of swimmers,” he said.

At the Johnson Street Beach finish line, swimmers were greeted by a cheering crowd of volunteers, plus emergency blankets for warmth, and a buffet of food.

After the race, Flaherty said she was feeling good. “That was really, really fun,” she said. “I expected it to be harder.” She admitted, though, that the water was colder than she was used to.

Boris Stefanov, from Bulgaria and Provincetown, was proud of his swim; this was his second year racing, and he finished seven minutes faster than last time, despite the chill.

“Today was the coldest water I’ve seen,” said Stefanov. “My fingers stopped working. I couldn’t close them.”

Critchley said that between 8 and 10 people had to be pulled from the water due to the cold, and many more stepped inside the rescue squad’s vehicles at the finish line to warm up. Fortunately, Critchley said, no one required hospitalization or further medical care.

GOING PLACES

Out Here, Getting There Happens Thanks to Volunteers

Filling the Outer Cape’s transportation gap for medical care, errands, and social interaction

By Elias Duncan Jan 17, 2024

DENNIS — On a nippy Tuesday afternoon, Marianne Thomas, who lives in Wellfleet, picks up Nancy Yeaw of Provincetown from her dentist appointment in South Dennis.

Marianne Thomas, a volunteer driver for Helping Our Women, helps Nancy Yeaw, a HOW client and DJ at WOMR radio, up the stairs at HOW’s offices in Provincetown. (Photos by Elias Duncan)

“They didn’t take the tooth,” says Yeaw, settling into the passenger seat of Thomas’s burgundy Toyota Prius. “So, I’ll have to go back.”

At 86, Yeaw says Thomas’s rides offer her both company and peace of mind. “I have a car,” she says. “But I can’t see very well. This is safer for everyone on the road.”

Getting to a dentist in Dennis with public transportation isn’t realistic for someone like Yeaw. A bus trip from Provincetown to South Dennis on the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority’s Flex and H20 service would take more than two hours, with a transfer in Harwich Port, and include walking time from the bus stop to the dentist’s office. While the Flex bus can deviate from its route by up to three-quarters of a mile, that service has to be scheduled, and CCRTA limits these special pickups to just two stops per trip. In addition, most CCRTA bus stops on the Outer Cape do not shelter riders from wind and cold.

MassHealth provides a prepaid ride service called PT-1 for medical appointments. But the service, run by private transportation companies, is available only to qualifying MassHealth patients.

For those needing help with transportation — not just for medical appointments but for trips to the grocery store and even outings to the movies — getting there, out here, mostly happens thanks to volunteers.

Yeaw, who helped Outer Cape music lovers build their collections of records and CDs from her Provincetown shop, Muir Music, for 25 years, is now a DJ at WOMR. On the ride home, she and Thomas brainstorm playlists for Yeaw’s weekly radio show. When Billie Holiday’s rendition of “On the Sunny Side of the Street” begins to play on the car speakers, they sing along together. “It’s always a fun ride with Nancy,” says Thomas.

The two were connected through Helping Our Women (HOW), the Provincetown-based nonprofit where, in the five years since her retirement as an executive search consultant, Thomas’s volunteer duties have included running errands, delivering food, and driving HOW clients to medical appointments, some of them as far away as Boston.

Thomas estimates she’s provided well over 100 rides to women across the Outer Cape. “I like getting to know what people’s needs are in the community and how they can best be served,” she says.

Mary Berry, the office manager at HOW, says that demand for rides rises in the off-season because many clients are busy managing demanding work schedules in the summer months. Now is when people here have time to get health care. Each year, the organization facilitates more than 500 free rides for its clients, according to Berry.

HOW is not the only organization filling the gap.

“We provided over 1,400 rides last year to residents over 60,” says Chris Hottle, director of the Provincetown Council on Aging (COA). The councils in Provincetown, Truro, and Wellfleet all offer door-to-door rides to medical appointments for residents in that age group. The rides are free; donations are suggested. In Eastham, the COA provides rides for a fee.

The senior centers also organize more leisurely trips to museums and movie theaters. But rides to medical appointments remain the most in-demand service, and the towns prioritize that need.

“Transportation is a social determinant of health, plain and simple,” says Jill Brookshire, director of Medical Case Management Services at the AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod.

Brookshire points out that the absence of certain essential medical services on the Outer Cape means many need to travel to Hyannis or beyond to receive care. “We live at the end of the world, or so it feels, especially when you do not drive or have access to a vehicle,” she says. “Without adequate and accessible transportation, one cannot stay fully engaged in medical care.”

Thomas drops off Yeaw at her home in Provincetown after her dentist appointment in Hyannis.

For clients who do not qualify for PT-1 rides, ASGCC relies on its volunteers to provide transportation to medical appointments. The organization’s volunteers also deliver meals to more than 40 residents in Provincetown and Truro and sometimes provide nonmedical transportation services.

Barbara Stricsek, president of Nauset Neighbors, an Orleans-based volunteer-run nonprofit serving 300 members from Harwich to Wellfleet, says she sees a growing need for transportation services in the area due to the Outer Cape’s increasingly elderly population.

Already, Stricsek says, “Meeting everyone’s needs can be quite challenging.” While rides to medical appointments are the most frequently requested service, social visits are also in high demand among Nauset Neighbors’ clients.

“We have members who lack nearby friends or family and really benefit from one-on-one time,” says Stricsek. Social visits do more than just enhance someone’s quality of life, she says. They also can help people who might otherwise need to move into care facilities stay in their own homes.

Matt Kaminsky, a Nauset Neighbors volunteer in Orleans, understands that people isolated at home need connections. “Some people just want to go to the beach and hang out,” he says. Kaminsky finds these connections rewarding for him, too.

One of the people he visits is a World War II veteran. “He signed up for the Marine Corps when he was 17 years old,” says Kaminsky. “When I was 17, I wasn’t thinking about that. It’s just a completely different generation.” Kaminsky says he appreciates what his World War II veteran friend went through.

Apart from driving for Meals on Wheels every Wednesday, Kaminsky spends time each week with three clients, taking them for rides. “I’ve met so many wonderful people,” he says.

During drives, Kaminsky makes a point to turn off the radio and talk to the people he spends time with. One topic that always comes up, he says, is the change in exit numbers on Route 6: “Nobody likes it.”

RESOLVED

Where to Volunteer and Connect in the New Year

From petting cats to planning events, opportunities to help abound on the Outer Cape

By The Independent Dec 28, 2022

Walter Buckingham and Sheryl Jaffe at the Wellfleet Historical Society’s Banana Bash. (Photo by Lauren Hill)

If volunteering is on your list of New Year’s resolutions, you’ll be glad to know that many local organizations are seeking people to help. The connection to others and the sense of purpose that comes with volunteering has been shown to be healthy, too. You can do something for others and for yourself by offering your skills to one of the organizations listed here. —Abraham Storer, K.C. Myers, and Edouard Fontenot

Outer Cape

Meals on Wheels, run by Elder Services of Cape Cod and the Islands, is in need of volunteer drivers to deliver meals to seniors in Wellfleet, Truro, Eastham, and Orleans. Training and mileage reimbursement is provided. Contact Dawn Ericson-Taylor, volunteer resource manager, at 508-394-4630 or [email protected].

Helping Our Women, a resource center for Outer Cape women living with chronic or life-threatening conditions, is looking for volunteers to take on tasks ranging from driving clients to medical appointments to making home visits, doing data entry, and helping clients with basic technology. Find out more by clicking on “Get Involved” at helpingourwomen.org or by calling 508-487-4357.

Homeless Prevention Council is based in Orleans and helps people from Harwich to Provincetown take steps to keep their housing and attain financial independence. The volunteer positions listed on its website include general office support, marketing and development, events, and even landscaping at the office. To learn more and apply, go to “Get Involved” at hpccapecod.org or call 508-255-9667.

Provincetown

AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod has community members helping with administrative duties, food delivery, and events. There is a strong group of volunteers now, but new people are always welcome. Volunteers are free to commit as little or as much time as they want. To learn more, contact the office at 508-487-9445.

Dixie Carter is one of the cats at CASAS who needs a home. (Photo by Nancy Bloom)

CASAS, the Carrie A. Seaman Animal Shelter, is a no-kill shelter currently housing nine cats. The shelter has an all-volunteer staff. “We have some lovely cats that need some attention,” says Anita Butler, a full-time volunteer. The shelter is cage-free and volunteers are needed to sit with cats, brush them, and scoop boxes. Prospective volunteers should stop by during visiting hours (daily from 2 to 3:30 p.m.) to fill out an application. Information can be found at casasanimalshelter.org or by calling 508-487-4243.

The Council on Aging in Provincetown is always looking for volunteers, according to Chris Hottle, the director. “I like to match volunteers with what they want to do,” she says. “Some volunteers are here every day and some are on call as needed.” Some 40 volunteers work in the meals program, teach classes, and help with over 175 other programs and services over the course of the year. Hottle meets in person with potential volunteers. She can be reached at 508-487-7080 or at [email protected].

Provincetown Art Association and Museum likes to match volunteers with projects that use their skills. Currently opportunities are available for people to distribute flyers for the museum school, reorganize archives, install member exhibitions, and help with drop-off and pick-up days. Interested candidates should contact Lesley Marchessault, PAAM’s development officer, at 508-487-1750, ext. 112 or follow the “Support” link at paam.org.

Truro

Truro Historical Museum and the Cobb Archive have many year-round opportunities for volunteers interested in the history of the town and region. Although the museum is closed in the off season, archival work continues and volunteers catalog wills, deeds, newspaper articles, and photographs that document the history of the town. The archive welcomes and trains volunteers to help organize holdings. Some winter volunteers become greeters or docents come summer. Currently the archive has a need for photographers to help with visual cataloging of museum collections and a technical person who can set up a new Wi-Fi network. To volunteer, contact museum staff at [email protected].

Truro Community Kitchen fights food insecurity in Truro by delivering free, nourishing home-cooked meals to those who need them. Winter volunteers are urgently needed to help with the preparation and packaging of food in the community kitchen at the Christian Union Church from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. each Tuesday. Food delivery drivers are also needed on Tuesday afternoons. To volunteer, write to Wendy Lurie, [email protected], or call 973-868-7526.

Sustainable CAPE supports local agriculture and farmers and combats hunger and food insecurity by donating fresh-picked fruits and vegetables on the Outer Cape. Volunteer possibilities include gardening with the team and making deliveries for the CSA program. To become a volunteer, go to “Get Involved” at sustainablecape.org.

Carolina Marseglia volunteers at the Truro Swap Shop. (Photo by Nancy Bloom)

Truro Swap Shop, located at the transfer station, is the town’s best place for repurposing unwanted items and keeping them out of the waste stream. It is in dire need of volunteers. Application materials are online at the Truro town website, truro-ma.gov, where you can click on the button for “Transfer Station” then choose “Swap Shop Volunteer.” Nancy Fenichel can help interested volunteers apply. Call her at 508-349-2591.

Friends of the Truro Library are always looking for volunteers to assist library staff in keeping the library running smoothly. Volunteers’ skills go to event planning, staffing book sales, library work, publicity, presentations, and lectures. For the library’s current needs, contact Director Tricia Ford at 508-487-1125 or [email protected].

The Food Pantry is looking for new volunteers to join its community of pantry helpers. For information or to volunteer, contact Barbara Bond at [email protected] or 617-515-4342.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article, published in print on Dec. 29, 2022, incorrectly reported that the Cobb Library in Truro was closed for the winter. It is open Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Wellfleet

AIM Thrift Shop is volunteer-run and open year-round, six days a week, except for the month of February. Proceeds benefit local nonprofits that provide health, food, and other social services. The thrift store lost a lot of volunteers during Covid, and they’re hoping to rebuild their ranks, says Jim McAuliffe, a board member. Volunteers are asked to work at least one three-hour shift a week. Interested candidates can get an application at the shop at 305 Main St.

Mass Appeal has a mission of providing free clothing to residents of the Outer Cape. Its Share Shop is staffed by volunteers who unpack donations, sort clothing, and assist customers. To become a volunteer, call 508-349-1173 or go to ccmassappeal.org and click on “Support Us” to send a message.

246 Community Kitchen’s volunteer teams prepare meals all winter on Mondays and Tuesdays. The meals are currently packaged for pickup, but they plan to return to community meals later in the winter. This winter’s teams are pretty well staffed, but those interested in helping should call Amy Carow at 908-377-0677; she says 246 always has room for enthusiastic volunteers.

The Wellfleet Food Pantry at Grace Chapel provides food to more than 150 families. Volunteers are needed to staff the pantry and serve shoppers. The time commitment can be as little as two hours per month. If interested, contact 508-349-3036 or send a message via the website, wellfleetfoodpantry.org.

The Audubon sanctuary in Wellfleet is open year-round. (Photo by Agata Storer)

Mass Audubon Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary offers a wide variety of volunteer opportunities depending on the season. At this time of year they are seeking front desk volunteers. “It’s one of the most interesting and challenging positions,” says Director Melissa Lowe Cestaro. You’ll field questions about everything from trail conditions, wildlife, and where to go to eat, she says. Ideally a volunteer would take a three-hour shift once a week.

Volunteers for the sea turtle rescue program underway now are recruited and trained in the fall. In the spring, there will be training for volunteer naturalists to lead guided walks, protect diamondback terrapins, or help with a horseshoe crab census. See massaudubon.org and click on “Get Involved” or call the sanctuary at 508-349-2615.

Wellfleet Historical Society is looking for history buffs to join in a wide range of opportunities in grant research and writing, photography, gardening and landscaping, education, conducting oral histories, and fundraising. Schedules are flexible and “there’s something for everyone,” according to the website. Choose “Get Involved” at wellfleethistoricalsociety.org or email coordinator Sheryl Jaffe, [email protected].

Eastham

The Eastham Council on Aging seeks volunteers to be greeters at the senior center as well as activities organizers for the meals, events, and other programs offered there. Phone 774-801-3151 for information. People who have a mind for retail may also help at the thrift shop. For information on that, call 508-255-6164.

Wild Care attends to sick and wounded small wild animals. The staff is always looking for help cleaning the clinic, which includes disinfecting animal cages, washing dishes, doing laundry, and washing floors. A three-hour shift one day per week for a minimum of six months and attendance at a monthly meeting in Brewster is required. Volunteers are also needed to help with fundraising and events. For more information, email [email protected].

Nauset Warriors Booster Club at Nauset Regional High School depends on volunteers to raise funds for sports equipment, transportation, and other expenses that allow students to participate in sports without paying any fees. Volunteers work at the concession stand at games and tournaments. The minimum time commitment is two to three hours a season. Community members and students are invited to sign up. Contact volunteer coordinator K.C. Myers at [email protected] or learn more at nausetboosters.com.

The Windmill Weekend Committee’s president, Joanna Stevens, said her group has already started planning for Windmill Weekend in September 2023. The committee needs a chairperson to organize the road race, co-chairs for the raffle and car show, and a volunteer merchandising coordinator. These positions require attendance at monthly planning meetings throughout the year. Alternatively, you can volunteer just for the weekend itself. There’s a Windmill Weekend volunteer recruitment event at the Eastham Public Library on Feb. 2, 2023, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. or email [email protected].

WOMEN'S HEALTH

Abortion Services Still Missing on Cape Cod

The nearest clinic is more than 90 miles away

By Emma Madgic Jun 29, 2022

WELLFLEET — Ever since the Women’s Health Center in Hyannis closed in 2008, abortion services have not been available anywhere on Cape Cod.

The nearest abortion clinics are more than 90 miles away in Boston and Attleboro, according to state Sen. Julian Cyr.

In a May 3 tweet, Cyr wrote that “on the Cape & the Islands, there is NO access to abortion — that MUST change.”

Cape Cod Healthcare (CCH) owns the Cape’s two hospitals and numerous clinics and medical facilities but does not offer abortion services at any of them. Patrick Kane, CCH’s senior vice president for communications, would not directly respond to a question about the policy but said “we are working with our legal team” on an answer.

CCH spokesperson Lisa Connors issued a written statement: “While Cape Cod Healthcare does not offer abortion services, our OB/GYN providers are available to counsel patients and provide multiple resource options within the state.”

Cyr said he had not pushed CCH officials on the abortion issue in the last three years or so, and that the last time he had pressed them for an explanation of their policy they had told him, “We can’t touch this.” He suggested that one factor in CCH’s position may be the fact that a woman had died at the Hyannis abortion clinic before it closed in 2008. “That may be contributing to their allergy,” said Cyr.

Transportation is one of the major barriers Outer Cape residents face in accessing health care, including abortions, according to Gwynne Guzzeau, executive director of the nonprofit Helping Our Women (HOW).

“The burden of arranging transportation from this geographically isolated area extends to all women, regardless of their financial needs,” Guzzeau said.

HOW provides transportation to health-care appointments — including abortions — in the Boston metropolitan area regardless of clients’ income. HOW’s other services, including funding for health-care fees up to $65 per month, require that participants’ income be 210 percent or less of federal poverty level.

At the Eastham Select Board meeting on June 27, chair Jamie Demetri said that she had had an abortion off Cape. While she said her experience with Cape Cod Healthcare personnel was positive, she noted that, for those “not as mobile as I am,” getting help would probably have been more difficult.

Demetri also expressed concern that there was no Planned Parenthood clinic on Cape Cod.

Even if a Planned Parenthood clinic doesn’t offer abortions, it provides other services, such as birth control and testing for sexually transmitted diseases, that may be difficult to get for free or anonymously.

“The nice thing about Planned Parenthood is it’s an automatic safe space,” Demetri said. “It’s a place that you can walk in and know you can get those services no matter what.

“The only reason I was able to access any sort of birth control when I was young was because I had a supportive family,” Demetri said. “I also acknowledge that there aren’t a lot of families that do that. And I think, for those kids, that’s when access becomes an issue.”

Cyr said on Tuesday that there has been “an active conversation underway with Planned Parenthood to open a clinic in Hyannis.”

Sing the Praises (Fri.)

By The Independent Aug 25, 2021

Soprano Susan Mitchell will perform “Arias and Songs From Mozart to Bernstein,” accompanied by pianist Bill Carlson, at the Church of St. Mary of the Harbor, 517 Commercial St. in Provincetown, on Friday, Aug. 27, 6 p.m. The event is free; donations benefit Helping Our Women. Seating is first come, first served.

Luck of the Draw

By The Independent Dec 22, 2020

Catch the last day of Connie’s Bakery’s Holiday “Bizarre-Bazaar” on Thursday, December 24th, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., at 205 Commercial St. in Provincetown. There will be pies, cookies, treats from Chocolatasm, and bake-at-home cinnamon buns for sale. Connie’s is also having a raffle to benefit Helping Our Women, with the “grand draw” happening on December 24th, at 6 p.m. Every $50 spent at Connie’s earns a raffle ticket, or tickets can be purchased for $10 each, two for $16. Prizes are gift certificates and baskets from local businesses.

Addison Art Gallery’s ‘Show of Gratitude’

By The Independent Nov 24, 2020

The Addison Art Gallery, at 43 South Orleans Road in Orleans, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary, is having a “month of giving” during November. For every artwork sold in its current “Show of Gratitude,” a contribution will be made to a local nonprofit of the buyer’s preference, from Cape Cod Children’s Place to Helping Our Women to WOMR.

You can view work virtually at addisonart.com, or, for hours and information, email [email protected] or call 508-255-6200.

This event is ongoing.

Main Drag

By The Independent Nov 17, 2020

The Club, at 193A Commercial St. in Provincetown, is hosting “2020 Has Been a Drag,” a dine-in drag event to benefit Helping Our Women, AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod, and the Carrie A. Seaman Animal Shelter. Come dressed up (or down) with your pod on Sunday, November 22nd, between noon and 5 p.m. Tickets, which don’t include food or drinks, come with a $50 to $250 donation at theclubdineindrag.square.site.

POTPOURRI

‘Art From the Heart,’ Fund-raiser for HOW

Cigar-box challenge produces dazzling array

By Howard Karren Oct 29, 2020

Peg’s Dune Shack, by Jim Broussard. Broussard was the impetus behind “Art From the Heart.” (Photos courtesy Helping Our Women)

Provincetown’s Jim Broussard had the idea of getting artists to paint cigar boxes as a fund-raising effort, which he’s dubbed “Art From the Heart.” He hopes to make it an annual ritual, with a different nonprofit benefitting each year.

He asked dozens of artists to participate, and about 50 did. The result is a colorful, inspiring collection of works — some painterly, some sculptural, some done up inside and out. They’ll be on display at the Provincetown Commons, at 46 Bradford St., starting Monday, Nov. 2, through Nov. 30. All are for sale, affordably priced from $50 to $500, and going fast.

For 2020, Broussard picked Helping Our Women as beneficiary. HOW is an organization that provides support for women on the Outer Cape with chronic, life-threatening, or disabling medical conditions. He saw this as a way to honor the women in his life and those in Provincetown who selflessly supported gay men during the AIDS crisis. One hundred percent of the proceeds from “Art From the Heart” will go to HOW.

The Commons is open daily till 5 p.m., weekdays from 8:30 a.m., weekends from 10 a.m. For more information on “Art From the Heart,” contact HOW at 508-487-4357 or see helpingourwomen.org.

Tell Me HOW

By The Independent Sep 15, 2020

Helping Our Women’s 27th annual meeting, held via Zoom, is open to the public. This year, Joy McNulty will be honored with the Betty Villari Community Service Award. It all happens Thursday, September 17th, 5:30p.m. RSVP at 508-487-4357.

our picks for the week of July 16 through July 22

Indie’s Choice

By Howard Karren Jul 16, 2020

Outer Cape Calendar

Streaming Readings

The Wellfleet Public Library is hosting a virtual poetry reading on Zoom with Heather Corbally Bryant, Tzynya Pinchback, and Lynne Viti, on Thursday, July 16, at 7 p.m. The library will also host a virtual book talk on Zoom with Susan Reverby, author of Co-conspirator for Justice: The Revolutionary Life of Dr. Alan Berkman, on Monday, July 20, at 7:30 p.m. Both events are free. To register, email [email protected] with “Poetry” or “Susan Reverby” in the subject line.

Sliceman Cometh

Wellfleet Preservation Hall is hosting a series of three Zoom cooking classes with Chef Liam. The first, focusing on ceviche and knife skills, will be on Wednesday, July 22, at 6 p.m. and will include a virtual trip to Hatch’s Fish Market. The cost is $30 per class or $75 for all three. Visit wellfleetpreservationhall.org for details.

Seal of Approval

The Center for Coastal Studies is leading a guided seal hike on Thursday, July 16, at 2 p.m. and Sunday, July 20, at 5 p.m. Participants will visit a gray seal haul-out in Truro. Group size is limited to eight and the suggested donation is $5. The center is also presenting “Get to the Bottom of It,” a live beach exploration of the marine life of Provincetown, on Friday, July 17, at 3:30 p.m. Group size is limited to 10 and the suggested donation is $7. Sign up at coastalstudies.org.

Bird’s the Word

Join Mike Faherty, host of WCAI’s “Weekly Bird Report,” for a free, virtual discussion, offered by WGBH. It’s the perfect opportunity to ask all of your burning birding questions and get some tips, and will take place Friday, July 17, at noon. Register at wgbh.org.

Black Women Poets

Helping Our Women will be holding a reading and discussion of poetry written by African-American women on Thursday, July 23, at 2:30 p.m. at its outdoor patio at 34 Conwell St. in Provincetown. Masks are required, and due to social distancing, seating is limited: call 508-487-4357 to reserve a spot.

Cyber-concert Series

The Arts Foundation of Cape Cod and TD Bank are presenting a free virtual concert series this summer, streaming live on AFCC’s Facebook page. This week, Zoë Lewis and Roxanne Layton perform on Sunday, July 19, at 11 a.m., and Cape Cod Moonlighters Big Band performs on Wednesday, July 22, at 7 p.m.

The New Norm

Norm Lewis will join host Seth Rudetsky for a virtual concert and conversation on Sunday, July 19, at 8 p.m., as part of the Seth Concert Series. Lewis, who was the first African-American phantom in Broadway’s Phantom of the Opera, most recently appeared in Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert! Tickets are $23.50 at thesethconcertseries.com.

Music in the Air

Live music at the Pearl, at 250 Commercial St. in Wellfleet, is back up and running, with Charlie Marie performing Monday, July 20, at 3 p.m., and the Rick Lockwood Trio performing Tuesday, July 21, at 3 p.m. No cover. Details at wellfleetpearl.com.

Seen on the Green

Dawn Derow will perform a live outdoor concert on the Eastham Windmill Green, at 2515 Route 6, on Monday, July 20, at 7 p.m. She will be joined by Gregg Sullivan on guitar, Bart Weisman on drums, Ron Ormsby on bass, and guest vocalist Jason Reiff. Admission is free; proper social distancing will be observed.

Mozart at the Met

A performance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s exquisite opera Le Nozze di Figaro — a.k.a. “The Marriage of Figaro” —recorded on Oct. 18, 2014, will stream for free on Saturday, July 18, at 7:30 p.m. (or later — as long as it’s before Sunday at 6:30 p.m.) at metopera.org. Search online for “Nightly Met Opera Streams” to get to the right page.

Higgins Dock, a 1951 oil on canvas by Sylvia Carewe, part of Bakker Gallery’s “20 Artists/20 Days” show in Provincetown. (Photo courtesy Bakker Gallery)

Twenty-twenty Vision

The Bakker Gallery, at 359 Commercial St. in Provincetown, is holding a show of “20 Artists/20 Days” through July 30, featuring a singular classic work of Provincetown art each day. The entire show can be seen on Bakker’s pages on Artsy.net.

Poetry on the Patio – Poetry Reading & Discussion

By Teresa Parker Jul 15, 2020

SOCIAL SERVICES

Who to Call if You Need Help

There’s a network of support for those in need

By Paul Benson Mar 26, 2020

PROVINCETOWN — Both the lives and finances of many on the Outer Cape have been rapidly undone by the coronavirus. With movement restricted and the economy at a halt, new and unpredicted stresses arise each day.

A network of social service agencies can offer help. There is help with groceries, bills, rides to appointments, counselors to talk to, even specialists who help people navigate all that help.

The Homeless Prevention Council of Cape Cod is set up to help people keep their housing — by getting assistance before things fall apart.

“There are so many people that are just one paycheck away, or one terrible situation away, from disaster,” said Hadley Luddy, the council’s executive director. “We assess someone’s entire situation — not just housing — and help match people to different kinds of support.”

“People are calling a bunch of different places, trying to survive and feel secure,” said Maggi Flanagan, a case manager at H.P.C. “The thing to do is be connected with a particular agency — maybe it’s the council on aging, maybe a veterans’ group — whichever would be the appropriate lead in hooking up with services, so you’re not making 500 calls and getting discouraged.”

Every town’s council on aging has a mandate to help people over 60 navigate the web of services. “Seniors can call us for anything,” said Chris Hottle, director of the Provincetown Council on Aging. “We know who can provide things. It’s much easier than trying to get out there into the system yourself.”

Helping Our Women and the AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod also help clients across the Cape access a range of resources. Provincetown also has a community support liaison, Alex Juchniewich, whom anyone in the town may call.

There’s a wide range of help available. Food aid comes from the Lower Cape Outreach Council, various food pantries, meal providers such as the Soup Kitchen in Provincetown and Meals on Wheels, food stamps, and more. There can be cash assistance for rent, utilities, home heating, or medical expenses. Many programs help with transportation, by offering rides with volunteers or taxis. There is also counseling and support on every subject from raising young children to arranging end-of-life affairs.

Support chart — A directory of support on the Outer Cape

A significant gap has recently opened up in the area of child care. A week after the state closed schools, Gov. Charlie Baker gave the order to close all licensed child care facilities as well. The state is working out an exception for the children of health care workers, but for most people, licensed, professional child care is temporarily not an option.

“What’s probably happening now is a lot of informal care networks, neighbors helping neighbors — and that’s just a really hard position to be in,” said Cindy Horgan, executive director of the nonprofit Cape Cod Children’s Place. “Right now, we are still here answering calls, if someone needs diapers, food, or emotional support. Working from home with your young children can feel very overwhelming.”

Many of these organizations also host recovery groups, most of which are now moving online. All of them serve clients regardless of their citizenship or immigration status, according to Morgan Clark, Provincetown’s health director.

Some new networks are also forming to address the specific burdens of this contagion. A quarantined person, or a vulnerable person who is minimizing exposure, could have money for groceries but no way to get them. A trip to the post office or the laundromat, even walking the dog, becomes a challenge.

The Provincetown COVID-19 Task Force organized itself only a week ago to help with these issues, and it quickly established a working relationship with the Cape Cod Medical Reserve Corps. Both will help retired medical professionals volunteer their expertise.

Don’t wait until an emergency occurs. Now is the time to reach out — to receive help, to offer help, or both.