COVID-19 Resources and Assistance

RESOURCES TO HELP HOUSEHOLDS FACING HOUSING DIFFICULTIES DUE TO THE CURRENT PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY:

COVID-19 Eviction Diversion Initiative

A comprehensive set of resources to support tenants and landlords during the financial challenges caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The RAFT & ERMA programs are funded by the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development, and administered by Metro Housing Boston, a Housing Consumer Education Center, serving residents of the Town of Brookline and many other cities and towns. Both programs offer resources to provide eligible households or individuals up to $10,000 that can be used to help keep their housing, obtain new housing, or otherwise avoid becoming homeless.

Follow this link for more information, or dial 2-1-1 from any phone.

Additional resources are found in the Brookline’s COVID-19 Response Page

  1. Are you struggling to pay rent and/or utilities, etc.? The Brookline Center Safety Net Program may help! Please visit the Brookline Center Safety Net Program for more information, or call  (617) 277-8107.
  2. Are you facing food insecurity? Contact the Brookline Food Pantry website or call: 617-800-5339
  3. Are you a Brookline Section 8 Tenant or a Public Housing Resident and need to get a rent reduction due to loss of income? call: 617-277-1885 or visit the Brookline Housing Authority website.
  4. Mutual Aid Brookline is an organization recently formed where neighbors are helping neighbors make it through this difficult time. They can help with grocery shopping, emergency childcare, running errands, etc. They can be reached at [email protected] or by phone at 617-651-1468. For more information, check out New Initiative
  5. If you are a senior and need help, contact the Brookline Senior Center at 617-730-2777 or 617-730-2770. Staff will be responding to questions and concerns Monday-Friday from 8:30 am-5 pm. Emergencies should be directed to 911.

OTHER RESOURCES:

  1. For additional information on housing, food, or legal assistance and/or emergency child-care: Please visit CHAPA’s website (Affordable Housing Agency in Massachusetts)
  2. The Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development launched a state COVID-19 response. There are new resources to renters and homeowners amidst the COVID-19 crisis.
  3. How are Brookline social service agencies responding to the COVID-19 impact on Brookline residents? Aid efforts meeting hosted by Select Board member Heather Hamilton (VIDEO)
  4. To remain up to date on COVID-19 information, please use the following resources:
    1. Brookline Covid Archives
    2. https://www.mass.gov/resource/information-on-the-outbreak-of-coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19
    3. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html
  5. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), Department of Veteran Affairs (VA), and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) partnered on a housing assistance website to help homeowners and renters during the coronavirus pandemic.
  6. The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness has developed a Step-by-Step Guide for renters that are at risk of eviction.  You can find the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) guide at the following link: Step-by-Step Guide for People at Risk of Eviction