Public Benefits and Community Assistance

Our teen support text line connects young people up to age 24 with a peer they can talk to when they feel lonely, depressed, overwhelmed, or suicidal.

We offer a variety of services, supports and programs dedicated to ensuring equitable access and success for students who have a documented risk of regression during the summer months.

We operate a community supper each Thursday evening at Christ Church Cambridge.

Our cadet training program is a paid, benefitted full-time position with a two-year commitment for Cambridge residents between ages of 18-23 who are interested in pursuing a career in public safety.

This program is designed to help youth to acquire the professional skills and coaching experience needed for working within the parkour industry, while also building valuable professional skills.

We bring together students from Harvard College and surrounding universities with kids from Cambridge's different neighborhoods.

Our program is a neighborhood gathering place where housed and unhoused neighbors can mingle and get acquainted in a low-key, judgment-free setting.

We provide dinner to serve our neighbors in-need.

Safehome: Up to 1 month stay in a confidential location for an individual or family.
Transitional Housing: Up to two years of rental assistance for up to 16 survivors and their families.

We are a student-run civil legal aid organization committed to providing free representation to low-income and marginalized communities in the Greater Boston area.

We are a comprehensive after-school educational enrichment and work-readiness program that includes paid workshops for low-income preteens and teens in Cambridge public housing.

As part of our program, we hand out various combinations of sandwiches or bagged lunches, juice boxes, snacks, socks, some seasonal items, toiletry kits, and more to the community.

We offer warm hospitality and an evening meal in a safe, dignified environment to anyone in need of nourishment, every Tuesday evening.

We preserve and maintain affordable apartments that are home to low and moderate income Cambridge residents. Property management and community coordinators help ensure that everyone feels at home.

We can help you find what you need, offer screenings, treatment options, support groups, and more using our online screening tool.

Our hotline helps prevent suicide by giving free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you and loved ones, and best practices for professionals.

Since 1987, First Church Shelter has provided a basic act of mercy to the poor and homeless of Cambridge and surrounding communities.