Public Benefits and Community Assistance

We help people pay for theirwinter heating bills if they are from low-income households in Cambridge and Somerville.

We help people apply for and resolve problems with Social Security, SSI, SSDI, TAFDC, and EAEDC.

Our team of social workers can help make referrals to community services, help you complete applications, navigate resources, and help connect you to mental health or substance misuse programs.

We offer fun, informative, and friendly activities for older adults. You can exercise, play games, learn a new skill, speak a new language, and build new relationships! See our monthly calendar for more.

When people come in we can help them use their digital devices (smartphones, tablets, computers), apply for services online, learn digital literacy and safety/privacy tips, and get access to devices.

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 extend access to technology like Chromebook laptops and mobile WiFi hotspots by allowing patrons to check out devices.

We can help you find out if you're paying too much for your electricity bill and find the best programs to help you save money.

Council on Aging offers a wide range of social services and is committed to meeting the needs of seniors. We can connect people to services or even meet them where they live to help them connect.

On The Rise is a daytime, drop-in program for unhoused women, trans, and non-binary people providing the relationships, safety and resources they need to move out of homelessness.

Want to process tough emotions with someone who understands? Our confidential peer-run HEART Line is here to listen and talk on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 am to 4 pm. Call us at 617-902-0102.

We can help you with applying for health insurance like MassHealth, Health Connector plans, Health Safety Net, Medicare and dental plans through the Massachusetts Health Connector.

The guide is organized around six key themes: affordable housing, emergency housing, housing rights, legal and mediation services, safe & healthy homes, and financial assistance.

Housed In Cambridge: Information to Open Doors is a citywide campaign designed to educate and inform residents on housing opportunities and housing-related resources and services.

Housed in Cambridge: Information to Open Doors webinar recordings.

Qualifying individuals can apply to receive affordable internet access and a new laptop.

This guide is an overview of some of the organizations that serve to support LGBTQ+ older adults. There are local organizations, national organizations, and other information.

We enhance the city's quality of life by improving our transportation system and city-wide mobility.

We you make your home more energy-efficient and help to save you money on your utility costs if you qualify for our low-income programs.

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.

The Cambridge Public Library offers free computer classes, book groups, English classes, makerspace workshops, and lots more upcoming opportunities to learn.

We offer a monthly delivery of library materials to Cambridge residents who are unable to visit a library due to short- or long-term disability or infirmity.

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.

The Cambridge Alert Network is comprised of multiple services that help keep residents and businesses informed of important City information.

We offer safe, confidential crisis intervention for deaf survivors of domestic and sexual violence by calling our hotline video phone. You can also chat via our website or email us.

This program serves families looking for help with food, rent, utilities, clothing, infant supplies, holiday assistance, refugees and immigration services, substance abuse support, and more!