With hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts residents behind on rent or mortgage payments, housing advocates are eyeing the state budget as a possible vehicle to expand assistance and protections for
Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts awards $55,000 in emergency grants to agencies working with women, families
Updated Mar 08, 2021;
Posted Mar 08, 2021 Arise for Social Justice, a Western Massachusetts community activist group is one of several groups to receive a grant for its work helping women and families. (Don Treeger / The Republican)Staff-Shot
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SPRINGFIELD Several organizations working with women and families are being awarded $55,000 in emergency grants from the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts.
Arise for Social Justice, Clinical and Support Options, the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, the Springfield Food Policy Council, Springfield No One Leaves, and Womanshelter/Compañeras were selected for their focus on working to prevent homelessness, food insecurity, and to aid survivors of domestic or sexual violence during the pandemic.
3:37 Government funds have helped people in western Massachusetts stay in their homes as jobs were lost and income shrank during the pandemic. Last June, the city of Springfield announced a $2 million emergency housing fund to help people pay rent, mortgage, and utility bills. All but $140,000 has now been claimed. The state has put millions into housing assistance. Additionally, Springfield last year awarded $5 million to four social service agencies to assist the homeless. Most of that money has not yet been spent, according to Gerry McCafferty, the city’s Director of Housing. My sense is that it is not that there is not enough money, said McCafferty. One of the issues is people knowing about whether the money is there and being to access it because there is sometimes delays in accessing it.
Springfield official, organizations describe deep need for rent and utility assistance during COVID pandemic
Updated Mar 04, 2021;
SPRINGFIELD City officials and organizations that help the homeless and poor said this week there remains a dire need for financial assistance and guidance as families cope with rent arrears and the threat of evictions.
The challenges were discussed during a meeting on Tuesday conducted by the City Council’s COVID-19 Response Committee.
Geraldine McCafferty, the city’s director of housing, said Wednesday in the aftermath of the meeting that thousands of residents are at threat of eviction or foreclosure under the pandemic.
“There is a critical need for rent, mortgage and utility assistance, to fill the lost-income gap and keep people in their homes,” McCafferty said. “Springfield also has many small landlords, who rely on the payments their tenants have been unable to make.”
Carrying on MLK’s legacy to end racism
A giant portrait of Martin Luther King Jr. gazes off into the distance from behind the A.P.E. Gallery window in Northampton. FOR THE GAZETTE/SABATO VISCONTI
Published: 1/18/2021 5:06:11 PM
NORTHAMPTON Tanisha Arena, executive director of the Springfield-based Arise for Social Justice, wrote an open letter “to our country about who we are to address the constant rhetoric of, ‘this is not who we are.’”
Arena read her letter as the keynote speaker at the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. day celebration hosted by the Resistance Center for Peace and Justice. The digital event held on Zoom drew more than 100 people.