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.

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.

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

This is a program that provides a drop-in center for homeless and street-involved youth, ages 14-24, in Harvard Square, Cambridge.

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 run an overnight emergency shelter for young adults (ages 18-24) in Harvard Square, open between October 15th and April 15th.

We provide free and nutritionally balanced meals to Cambridge residents 18 years of age and under. There are vegetarian and non-vegetarian options offered at all meal sites!

We offer summer jobs to Cambridge teens, from age 14 through the summer after they graduate high school.

We visit moms and dads of young children at a convenient location to share information about early literacy development, talking and reading with children, and community resources.

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 provide meals and materials to individuals who are low-income or extremely low-income, and who are experiencing homeless, are housing insecure, or living in persistent poverty.

Assist older adults with transportation to and from clinics so that they can keep much-needed medical appointments for screenings and treatments. This role is in high demand!

Help an older adult in Cambridge or Somerville budget and manage their finances. This program helps ensure that essential bills like rent and utilities are paid!

Riverside Early Head Start is a comprehensive early childhood program that partners with parents to promote children’s healthy development.

We provide several support services for senior citizens in Cambridge each year including regular outreach meetings, education on common scams or general safety, and our Secret Santa for Seniors event.

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.

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

This program offers paid school-year internships at Harvard University for CRLS juniors and seniors.

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

We provide homeless people with a safe, caring place to stay in the winter, plus counseling resources and transitional supports for anyone employed and saving money towards secure housing.