Update & Resources on COVID-19

1. No gatherings will be held at the SCC Office, nor will SCC organize gatherings to be held elsewhere. This includes all workshops, classes, networking events, and organizing committees. Any gatherings already scheduled have been cancelled.

2. Staff members are largely working from home but will continue to serve our constituents, members and clients via phone, text and email. While we will not conduct one-on-one sessions in the SCC office, our First Source team can work with you on the phone to discuss your employment situation and make a personalized short-term career plan; our financial coaches can assist with your household budgeting; and our housing team will assist our tenants as needed.

3. Signs announcing the office closure are posted at both the first and second floor doors. The first floor door at 337 Somerville Ave. will remain open during business hours for mail delivery but the door at the top of the stairs entering the 2nd floor will remain locked at all times. SCC Tenants who typically pay rent in person may drop their rent in SCC’s mailbox just inside the front door.

These measures are in place through April 6th and will be re-evaluated in adherence to statewide policies.

If you are undocumented and need healthcare, you may be eligible for MassHealth Limited, which provides care for medical emergencies, including visits to an emergency room. Public charge does not

 apply to MassHealth Limited. Visit the MA Connector or call 1-800-841-2900 for English and Spanish service.

All health insurance carriers are required to provide medically necessary telehealth, testing, counseling, treatment, and vaccination (once it’s developed and available) services without charging copays and coinsurance or applying a deductible.

Food Security/ Seguridad Alimentaria

Somerville will offer free breakfast and lunch to students and families in need. Meals will be served between 9am and 11am Monday-Friday at 3 locations:

East Somerville Community School, 50 Cross St

Winter Hill Community Innovation School, 115 Sycamore St

West Somerville Neighborhood School, 177 Powderhouse Blvd.
Click on neighboring cities to see their meal schedules and locations: Boston, Brockton, Cambridge, Chelsea, Lawrence, and Lowell.

Daddy Jones has been raising money on GoFundMe to connect food from restaurants to children in need during the shutdown: Daddy Jones GoFundMe. They are dropping off bags with carrots, broccoli, chicken, rice, and peanut butter at families’ doors. Donations cover labor, product, and containers, with additional funds going to buy groceries from Magoun Square businesses.

Unemployment Assistance/ Asistencia de Desempleo

You may be eligible for unemployment benefits if you are quarantined or if you left work due to risk of exposure or to care for a family member. You don’t have to provide medical documentation, but you must: (1) remain in contact with your employer, and; (2) be available for work your employer may have that you’re able to do. To apply, please visit the Unemployment Assistance website. The state is moving to waive the one week waiting period for benefits.

Undocumented residents are not eligible for unemployment benefits.

Protecting Workers/ Protegiendo a los Trabajadores

The Massachusetts Attorney General is accepting online complaints related to minimum wage, overtime payment, sick time, meal breaks, and worker protections. You can file a complaint with the Fair Labor Division here or call the hotline at 617-727-3465.

Public Charge and Immigration Issues/ Problemas de Inmigración

Seeking testing, treatment or preventative care for coronavirus will not be used against anyone in any public charge analysis. Remember that using public benefits will not impact you if you are a green card holder, U.S. citizen, refugee, asylum seeker, VAWA recipient, TPS holder, or holder of a U or T visa. Many benefits, including CHIP, WIC, LiHEAP, SSDI, free school lunch, and disaster relief, are not included in public charge. You can always call LCR’s English-Spanish public charge hotline at 617-988-0609 with any questions.

The State’s Office of Workforce and Labor offers a WorkShare program that allows for businesses to reduce the hours of permanent full-time and part-time employees from 10% up to 60% with the remainder of hours being made up with Unemployment Assistance. This can help prevent layoffs and keep workers employed without undue hardship on a business. You can apply here, or get more information from the State’s Rapid Response staff at charles.bennett@state.ma.us or (617) 620-4965.

A group of Medford and Somerville residents is putting together a mutual aid infrastructure for the area: Mutual Aid Medford & Somerville (MAMAS)