Legal Assistance

The Home for Little Wanderers: Family Resource Center

Mailing Address (if different than physical location): 

Roslindale (main site)
780 American Legion Highway
Roslindale, MA 02131

Dorchester (satellite site)
Up Academy Dorchester
35 Westville Street
Dorchester, MA 02122

Boston (satellite site)
Suffolk County Juvenile Court
24 New Chardon Street
Boston, MA 02114
*check in at Juvenile Clerk’s office, 2nd floor

Phone: 

(617) 469-8501

Email: 

FRC@thehome.org

Website: 

www.thehome.org/frc

Hours of operation (or meeting times & dates): 

Roslindale

  • Tuesdays 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.
  • Wednesdays 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.
  • Thursdays 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.
  • Fridays 12 noon– 4 p.m.
  • Saturdays 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Dorchester 

  • Mondays 9 a.m. – 12 noon
  • Wednesdays 12 noon – 5 p.m.
  • Fridays 9 a.m. – 12 noon

Boston

  • Mondays 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Mission: 

The Family Resource Centers (FRCs) of Massachusetts are a statewide network that provides services to strengthen families and keep them connected to resources within their own community. There are FRCs in every county in the Commonwealth. In addition to assisting families, the FRCs support the children of those families that may have behavioral issues and need additional supports.

Locations

Up Academy Dorchester
35 Westville Street
Dorchester, MA 02122
United States
Roslindale (Main site)
780 American Legion Highway
Roslindale, MA 02131
United States
How to get involved/application guidelines and procedures: 

For services or to make a referral, please contact:

Amy McCarthy, Program Director
amccarthy@thehome.org 
FRC@thehome.org
(617) 469-8501

Key Programs Offered: 

How They Can Help
Families come to the FRC for many reasons. The goal of the FRC is to connect those looking for help to the appropriate services, whether they are within the FRC or in the community. Some of the resources the staff at the FRC help families find include:
• Housing support
• Utility assistance
• Legal aid
• Summer camps and sport leagues
• Other family needs

Children who need assistance or are at risk of needing court involvement (Child Requiring Assistance-CRA) can be assessed by an FRC clinician to develop a Family Support Plan to address the child’s and the family’s needs.

Services Offered
The FRC offers an array of services through its experienced staff.
School Liaisons help families with truancy, absenteeism, special education and behavioral issues.

Family Support Workers connect families with resources in the community.
Family Partners help families navigate the child-serving system and use their lived experience as caregivers to partner with other caregivers to help achieve their goals.

Peer Support Workers work with youth to engage them in a process of change by sharing their experiences and struggles
as young adults.

The FRC also facilitates groups and classes for families such as evidence-based parent groups and family enrichment activities.

Haitian American Public Health Initiatives

Phone: 

(617) 298-8076

Fax: 

(617) 296-1570

Website: 
Mission: 

HAPHI is a minority run, non-profit agency dedicated to providing members of the Haitian-American community in Metro Boston with culturally and linguistically accessible information and services to improve their health and wellbeing. Located in Mattapan, HAPHI was founded in 1989 by a group of Haitian-American health care professionals to address pressing public health issues confronting Boston's Haitian community. HAPHI has grown tremendously and today provides a comprehensive range of prevention, education, and direct service programs to Haitian-Americans from the greater metropolitan area of Boston. Several of its programs serve Haitian Americans throughout New England.

Location

1464 Blue Hill Ave
Mattapan, MA 02126
United States
Key Partners: 

 

New Routes/Twa Zanmi

The Twa Zanmi (Three Friends) Project brings together three partners to address stigma associated with mental illness in the Haitian community. The partners include the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI), a joint program of the University of Massachusetts Boston and the world-renowned Children’s Hospital Boston, the Haitian American Public Health Initiative (HAPHI) and Camera Mosaique, a weekly educational TV Show produced by the Haitian Media Network. Twa Zanmi is conceived as a community-directed television program) that will follow the lives of three recent Haitian immigrants who experience depression and anxiety as a result of relocation and the accompanying social isolation, loss of identity, and separation from family and friends.

Mutual Assistance Association (MAA Coalition)
The MAA coalition is made up of over 12 Community Based Minority Organizations. The mission of the coalition is to promote solidarity and collaboration among grassroots Community Based Minority Organizations (Combs) serving refugees and immigrants to provide and strengthen a voice for these communities in Massachusetts.  The MAA Coalition is committed to advocating for their communities through capacity building,  leadership development, and addressing needs through the provision of culturally and linguistically appropriate services.

Key Programs Offered: 

 

English as a Second Language (ESL)
The adult Education Program currently serves 40 students in any given day through 2 classes from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. The low intermediate level meets on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and the intermediate level meets Tuesday and Thursday. The lack of available adult education classes is very obvious in Mattapan. The Adult Education Program emphasizes the establishment of linkages with local adult education and skills training programs, employers, colleges and universities, to ensure a continuum of services for learners and to facilitate "next steps" for program graduates. This includes developing referral relationships and formal collaborations.

Citizenship project
Currently HAPHI is providing citizenship classes on Tuesdays 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Thursdays 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The current citizenship class has a bilingual curriculum that includes a naturalization process overview and units on personal, application, and general questions; American History; Government; Elected Officials; how to fill out the N400 application form; the interview process; and civic participation. 

HAPHI assists students through the entire process providing class instruction,  advocacy with the INS or referral to legal services, and mock interview tutoring. Student materials include a bilingual textbook, N400 application forms, and an interview practice audiotape. We encourage students to be independent and take charge of their naturalization. In class, students are instructed on how to complete the N-400 application forms and then they fill out their own N-400's. Audiotapes make it possible for students to practice at home on their own.

Civic Engagement Initiative (CEI)
The goal of CEI is to integrate voter education into HAPHI’s current programs, register participants to vote; solicit volunteers to conduct Voter registration drives; design neighborhood campaign; hold workshops on voting and educate on why it is important to vote; conduct drives at supermarkets, stores, intersections and community events; and continue to recruit and train volunteers. The project also provides training for community residents, staff and volunteers on civic engagement during annual meeting.

Program to Enhance Elder Services (PEERS)

PEERS Program conducts community outreach, advocacy, referral and others education and support services for elders. The overall program objectives are to strengthen the existing coordination and collaboration between refugee and elder services providers in Boston to address unmet needs of refugees and asylees  60 years of age or older who have not yet attained citizenship status. 

Services Objectives:

  • To identify refugee elders who have lost, are at risk of losing, or are ineligible for SSI and/or other federal benefits;
  • To assess their service needs;
  • To develop individualized service plans in conjunction with these refugees;
  • To provide them with transitional social services including access to emergency food, shelter and medical care as needed;
  • To promote intergeneration  connection between refugee elders and their grandchildren;
  • To link the refugee elders to employment and volunteer opportunities that promote leadership and enhance independent living;
  • To refer them to other needed services; and,
  • To provide them with naturalization services in order to maintain their eligibility for benefits and address long-term self-sufficiency nee

MA Medicare/Medicaid Outreach and Education (MORE) Program 
The program is designed to improve access to quality health care services among limited English proficiency (LEP) Haitian elders by increasing knowledge, awareness among LEP Haitian elders. The general goal of the program is to make hard to reach LEP Haitian elders aware of their eligibility for benefits and provide them with information about Medicare and Medicaid: abuse, fraud and errors.

Neighborhood Walk Program
The Neighborhood Walk Program is designed to encourage community members to walk together to improve their health.

Food Distribution Services

HAPHI works with Greater Boston Food Bank and provides limited food distribution to its clients and the larger community.

Created: 
04/29/2011

Boston Police Department, District C-11

Phone: 

(617) 343-4330

Hours of operation (or meeting times & dates): 

9-5

Mission: 

Protect and Serve

Location

District C-11 Boston Police
40 Gibson Street
MA 02122
United States
Community Meeting Space Available: 

No

NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH UNIT:

                                                                                    >> Read More

Greater Boston Legal Services (GBLS)

Phone: 

(617) 371-1234

Email: 
Hours of operation (or meeting times & dates): 

Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm

Mission: 

Greater Boston Legal Services (GBLS) provides free civil (noncriminal) legal assistance to low-income people in Boston and thirty-one cities and towns. The help GBLS offers ranges from legal advice to full case representation, depending on client need. GBLS traces its roots back to 1900 and the founding of the Boston Legal Aid Society

Location

GBLS Main Office
197 Friend Street
Boston, MA 02114
United States
How to get involved/application guidelines and procedures: 

By referral, or as walk-ins

Community Meeting Space Available: 

No

Bowdoin Geneva Main Streets

Phone: 

(617) 436-9980

Hours of operation (or meeting times & dates): 

M-F: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Mission: 

To promote the historic preservation, protection, and use of the Geneva/Bowdoin section of Dorchester, including the area's commercial, civil, and religious enterprises and its residences. To take remedial action to eliminate the physical, economic, and social deterioration of the commercial district and contribute to the community's betterment.

Location

200 Bowdoin Street
Dorchester, MA 02122
United States
Key Partners: 

Boston Main Streets, City of Boston, DND, OBD, BRA, BYF, DBECD, LISC

How to get involved/application guidelines and procedures: 

Volunteer at office.

Community Meeting Space Available: 

No

Vietnamese American Civic Association (VACA)

Mailing Address (if different than physical location): 

42 Charles Street, Dorchester, MA 02122

(Viet-AID building)

Phone: 

(617) 288-7344

Website: 

http://www.vaca-boston.org

Hours of operation (or meeting times & dates): 

M-F: 9am-5pm Social services for elderly / youth programs 
Weekend: 9am-noon ESL program only

Mission: 

Our mission is to promote family self-sufficiency and well being, and to facilitate community empowerment among Boston's Vietnamese population

Location

Vietnamese American Civic Association
42 Charles Street
Dorchester, MA 02122
United States
How to get involved/application guidelines and procedures: 

Walk in

Key Programs Offered: 

Youth Development Program - Phuongdai Nguyen - Youth Program Coordinator The Vietnamese-American Civic Association Youth Development Program’s mission is to prepare and provide newly arrived Vietnamese refugees and immigrant youth as well as youth living in and around the community of Dorchester a safe interactive-learning environment where they are exposed to a variety of issues and topics that are tailored to their interest in order for them to develop into healthy educated adults.

Community Meeting Space Available: 

No

Created: 
02/23/2010

Putnam Place Boys Program, Cambridge Family & Children's Service

Phone: 

617-876-4210

Hours of operation (or meeting times & dates): 

Staffed 24/7

Mission: 

Our mission is to guide and empower young adults into a healthy lifestyle with an emphasis on personal growth and community connections using positive role models and neighborhood based programs. The Putnam Place Boys Program targets adolescent males.

Location

Putnam Place Boys Program
78 Glendale Street
Dorchester, MA 02125
United States
Key Partners: 

Cambridge Family and Children's Services

How to get involved/application guidelines and procedures: 

Residents are referred to our program through their social workers. We are always looking for capable, motivated staff to work in our program. Contact Elizabeth Woods, Program Director of Putnam Place.

Community Meeting Space Available: 

No

Created: 
03/08/2011

September 17, 2009 The Bay State Banner >> Read More

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