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MGH Community News |
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MGH Community News |
| July 2020 | Volume 24 • Issue 4 |
Highlights
Sections Social Service staff may direct resource questions to the Community Resource Center, Hannah Perry, 617-726-8182. Questions, comments about the newsletter? Contact Ellen Forman, 617-726-5807. |
Governor Baker Extends Eviction Moratorium Until Oct. 17 Governor Charlie Baker this month extended the statewide pause on evictions and foreclosures for another 60 days until Oct. 17 as many residents continue to struggle financially amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The extension, the release said, “provides residents of the Commonwealth with continued housing security as businesses cautiously re-open, more people return to work, and the state collectively moves toward a ‘new normal.‘ ” The original pause had been scheduled to expire on Aug. 18.
Tenants, the statement said, “are strongly encouraged to continue to pay rent, and homeowners to make their mortgage payments, to the extent they are able.” That funding, the statement continued, “complements” $18 million that’s available through the Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT) homeless prevention program. That program can also be used for rent or mortgage payments, officials said. - See the full Boston Globe article.
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Boston Housing Authority Extends Nonessential Eviction Moratorium to End of 2020 Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Boston Housing Authority (BHA) is extending its moratorium on nonessential evictions for the properties they own through the end of the year. The authority, which provides affordable housing to more than 58,000 residents in and around Boston, implemented the moratorium in March. The measure was aimed at creating housing stability for residents and reducing coronavirus risks associated with processing eviction cases. The statewide eviction and foreclosure moratorium currently has been extended to October 17. (See accompanying story.) BHA defined “nonessential evictions” as all eviction proceedings excluding ones that are linked to criminal activity and those that are necessary to protect public health. Mayor Walsh’s office said that any BHA resident or voucher holder who is unable to pay current rent during the pandemic should notify their housing manager or landlord and establish a plan for repayment. Officials said that while there is an eviction moratorium currently in place, it is temporary, and tenants are still required to perform their contractual obligation to pay their rent. Residents or voucher holders facing a financial hardship must reach out to their voucher provider or BHA to recertify their income and reduce their monthly payment, and financial assistance for rent is available through RAFT, a state homelessness prevention program, according to Walsh’s office. - See the full Boston Globe article.
Extra $600 a Week Unemployment Ends – Many Will Again Be Eligible For SNAP But Need to Re-Apply SNAP members who began receiving the extra $600 a week Unemployment supplement (the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program, or FPUC) may have had their benefits reduced, their cases closed, or may have been found ineligible due to this extra income. With FPUC ending at the end of July, many may not know they may now be eligible for benefits or increased benefits. This is an opportunity for advocates to screen and educate! Scenarios:
Not all households that lose FPUC will be SNAP eligible. DTA will still count all other countable income including regular Unemployment. If feasible, do a SNAP math check (or use the GettingSNAP calculator) before recommending re-application. - Adapted from “Action steps for different groups of SNAP households who have been getting federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC)” Produced by the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, July 24, 2020.
Public Charge Changes Blocked Nationwide During the Pandemic Note: this is a breaking story. New details may emerge as advocates analyze the ruling, and the ruling may be overturned. A federal judge in New York has blocked the Trump administration from enforcing a policy during the coronavirus pandemic that allows the government to deny permanent residency to immigrants who officials believe are likely to use public benefits. As long as the New York district court’s injunction remains in place, the public charge rule continues to be blocked nationwide. The ruling, issued by US District Judge George Daniels, is the latest in the back-and-forth legal saga over the “public charge” policy. “Doctors and other medical personnel, state and local officials, and staff at nonprofit organizations have all witnessed immigrants refusing to enroll in Medicaid or other public funded health coverage, or forgoing testing and treatment for COVID-19, out of fear that accepting such insurance or care will increase their risk of being labeled a public charge,” Daniels wrote in his ruling. “As a direct result of the rule, immigrants are forced to make an impossible choice between jeopardizing health and personal safety or their immigration status.” Daniels said the block is in effect for any period during which there is a “national health emergency in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.” The Immigration and Nationality Act has long allowed the government to reject granting permanent residency to immigrants who were determined to be a financial burden on society, or a public charge, meaning they’re dependent on the government for financial support. The Trump administration’s rule, however, altered how the government decides if someone is a public charge, allowing officials to deny green cards to those who are determined likely to use the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Section 8 housing vouchers and assistance, public housing, or most forms of Medicaid. Experts have said that the policy will change the face of immigration and discourage people from seeking public benefits. The policy was implemented in late February. The effects on COVID-19 prevention due to the public charge rule are not speculative or hypothetical, the attorneys argued, citing multiple declarations from doctors, attorneys, and community advocates. - See the full Buzz Feed article.
Public Charge- Health Connector Benefits and Public Charge – New Handout Ed. note: the Trump administration has been temporarily blocked from enforcing their new public charge rules (see accompanying story). We are including this article in case it is reinstated (the injunction is overturned, the federal emergency declaration is ended, etc.). MassHealth and the Health Connector have released new public charge guidance, excerpted below. Some people who apply for a green card (lawful permanent residence) or a visa to enter the U.S. must pass a “public charge” test. The public charge test is used to decide if a person is likely to use certain government benefits in the future. Under new immigration rules that started on February 24, 2020, certain government health programs are now included with other circumstances that officials look at as part of the public charge test. Coverage through the Health Connector
MassHealth coverage
MassHealth coverage received by your children or other family members is not counted against you under the new public charge rule. Not sure what type of coverage you have?
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Medical Necessity Approvals Now Valid for 30 Days In response to the pandemic, the MBTA’s the RIDE had temporarily extended the duration of Medical Necessity approvals to 90 days and had issued a pandemic-specific Medical Necessity form. Post-surge, Medical Necessity approvals are once again valid for one non-renewable 30-day period. We recommend advising patients to set up an in-person assessment as soon as feasible to avoid a gap in service. Providers should resume using the original request form. The RIDE Resumes Fare Collection With the resumption on July 20th of front-door boarding at surface-level transit stops, the MBTA resumed collecting fares. Passengers had been able to avoid paying on buses and trolleys for the three-plus months that they were only allowed to enter through the back doors — an attempt to mitigate COVID risks by limiting interactions between drivers and riders — but now fares are once again due. Full fare collection has also resumed on the commuter rail, where conductors would not ask riders without passes to pay on board during the worst stretch of the pandemic as another risk-minimization strategy. Due to service disruptions related to a strike by one of the RIDE’s two contracted providers of vehicles and drivers, the RIDE delayed resuming fare collection. The MBTA has announced it will resume collecting RIDE fares on August 1. The MBTA encourages all RIDE customers to check their account balances to ensure they have sufficient funds for travel. We’ve been advised that the MBTA is outreaching to RIDE customers to inform them of the change. Shared trips on The RIDE have been eliminated. RIDE customers can still bring a personal care attendant or guest on their trip. - Sources and for more information:
-Thanks to Melissa Alao and Bianca Viazzoli for sharing these updates.
The MA Department of Early and Secondary Education (DESE) in coordination with the Mass Department of Agriculture (MDAR) this month sent guidance to the four Massachusetts Food Banks advising them that partner food pantries that receive state (MEFAP) or federal (TEFAP) emergency food assistance cannot require a photo ID or a Social Security card as a condition of giving pantry food. Further, DESE's notice is a reminder that households may self-declare income and not be required to provide proof of income. MLRI pushed for this state guidance after hearing from multiple sources about this growing practice among food pantries and the chilling impact this has, especially on homeless and immigrant households. The four Food Banks are in agreement that this should not be happening and also welcome this guidance. Attached is a copy of the DESE guidance sent to the Greater Boston Food Bank. Identical guidance was sent to Food Bank of Western MA, Worcester County Food Bank and Merrimack Valley Food Bank. This week, the state also released an updated website of food pantries in the four regions. Mass Law Reform Institute (MLRI) is asking advocates to contact them with information about any local pantries who ask for photo ID (or SSNs) for families to access emergency food. Excerpts:
(Select emphasis added.) - Vickie Negus, MLRI, July 25, 2020.
Voting - COVID-19 Elections Updates Voter Registration We encourage those who need to register to vote to use our online voter registration system. If you cannot register online, you may still register without leaving your home by sending a mail-in voter registration form to your local election office. If you need to register to vote in person, contact your local election official about their ability. The voter registration deadline for all elections in 2020 will be 10 days before any election. Voting By MailIn July, a new law was passed to allow all registered voters in Massachusetts to vote by mail in any 2020 election, with no excuse needed. As required by the new law, a Vote by Mail application will be mailed to every person who was registered to vote by July 1 and who had not already requested an absentee ballot for the State Primary or for all elections this year. A second mailing will be sent out in September to all voters who have not already applied for a Vote by Mail ballot for the November election. The applications are pre-addressed to your local election official and no postage is necessary. Vote by Mail applications must be delivered to your local election office no later than 4 business days before the election. For a State Primary ballot, your application must reach your local election office no later than August 26. For a State Election ballot, your application must reach your local election office no later than October 28. If you wish to vote by mail, you are strongly encouraged to return your application as early as possible, to make sure that you will receive your ballot in time to return it and have it be counted. Vote by Mail applications were mailed to registered voters. Applications are also available for download and may also be requested by contacting the Elections Division. You can find more information on voting by mail on our Voting by Mail FAQs page. Emergency BallotsIf you have been admitted to a healthcare facility within 7 days of an election, or you have been instructed by a medical professional or public health official to self-quarantine in your home within 7 days of an election, you may use the absentee ballot application to designate someone to pick up your emergency absentee ballot, deliver it to you, and return it to your local election official. There is no deadline to submit an application for an emergency ballot, but your ballot must be returned to your local election office by the close of polls. - Source and for more information: https://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/covid-19/covid-19.htm
Trump Administration is Not Printing Legal Immigrants’ Green Cards and Work Authorizations The Trump administration is turning legal immigrants into undocumented ones. That is, the “show me your papers” administration has literally switched off printers needed to generate those “papers.” Without telling Congress, the administration has scaled back the printing of documents it has already promised to immigrants — including green cards, the wallet-size I.D.’s legal permanent residents must carry everywhere to prove they are in the United States lawfully. In mid-June, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ contract ended with the company that had been printing these documents. Production was slated to be insourced, but “the agency’s financial situation,” USCIS said Thursday, prompted a hiring freeze that required it to ratchet down printing. Of the two facilities where these credentials were printed, one, in Corbin, Ky., shut down production weeks ago. The other facility, in Lee’s Summit, Mo., appears to be operating at reduced capacity. Some 50,000 green cards and 75,000 other employment authorization documents promised to immigrants haven’t been printed, USCIS said in a statement. The agency said it had planned to escalate printing but that it “cannot speculate on future projections of processing times.” In the event of furloughs — which the agency has threatened if it does not get a $1.2 billion loan from Congress — “all agency operations will be affected.” Some of the missing green cards are for immigrants newly approved for legal permanent residency. Others are for existing permanent residents who periodically must renew their identity cards, which expire every 10 years but sometimes must be replaced sooner (for example, if lost). These immigrants have completed every interview, required biometric assessment, cleared other hurdles — and often waited years for these critical credentials. The Immigration and Nationality Act requires every adult legal permanent resident to carry their green card “at all times.” Failing to carry it is a misdemeanor, subject to jail time or fines. Immigrants must also show their green card to apply for jobs, travel or reenter the United States. Understandably, panicked immigrants have been inundating USCIS with calls seeking to locate their documents. Normally, within 48 hours of an applicant’s approval, USCIS’s online system indicates that a card has been printed. Immigration attorneys across the country have been puzzled recently because these status updates never appeared. The administration has taken other steps in recent months that curb immigration. Presidential executive orders have almost entirely ended issuance of green cards and work-based visas for people applying from outside the country; red tape and bureaucracy have slowed the process for those applying from within U.S. borders. For a while, the agency refused to forward files from one office to another. The centers that collect necessary biometric data remain shuttered. These pipeline delays are likely to dramatically reduce the number of green cards ultimately approved and issued this year. Under normal circumstances, immigrants who need proof of legal residency but haven’t yet received their green card would have an alternative: get a special passport stamp from USCIS. But amid covid-related changes, applicants must provide evidence of a “critical need,” with little guidance about what that means. Says Anis Saleh, an immigration attorney in Coral Gables, Fla, “the administration has accomplished its goal of shutting down legal immigration without actually changing the law.” - See the full Washington Post article.
Emergency Rental and Mortgage Assistance Program On July 1, 2020 a new, $20 million, state-wide fund, the Emergency Rental and Mortgage Assistance (ERMA) program, opened to provide direct funding to eligible households who have suffered financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic and State of Emergency. ERMA can provide rental and mortgage assistance to low-income households who have been impacted by the crisis and may not be eligible for traditional or COVID-19 RAFT. Like the RAFT program, ERMA may provide up to $4,000 for eligible households to assist with rent or mortgage arrears accrued after April 1, 2020 and/or with upcoming rent or mortgage payments. RAFT eligibility is up to 50% of Area Median Income (AMI). ERMA is available for households within the 50-80% range of AMI – up to $90,650 for a family of four in Greater Boston. We encourage households who think they may be eligible to reach out to the eleven agencies that administer ERMA and RAFT on the state’s behalf, this includes our nine Housing Consumer Education Centers, as well as LHAND and the Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance. - Source: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-dhcd-website
Millions of people with disabilities and their families depend on programs such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Medicaid, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for food, housing, and other benefits. These programs are restricted to those people who have limited income, resources and savings. Historically, to continue receiving benefits under these and other programs, you cannot save money. Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) accounts help eligible beneficiaries save and have power over their own money. The beneficiary must have a significant disability with an age of onset of disability before turning 26 years of age. The funds in an ABLE account are not counted by most federally-funded means-tested benefit programs like Medicaid and SNAP. SSI does not count up to $100,000 in an ABLE account. Disability-related expenses can lead to financial stress. Savings and contributions made to an ABLE account by the account owner, their family, friends, employer or other sources, can be used for emergencies or to support education and the owner’s future retirement. The funds can also be used for qualified disability expenses including food, housing and maintenance, medical expenses, and expenses related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. ABLE accounts add an additional layer of financial security, especially while navigating an uncertain future. Over 63,000 individuals—out of an estimated eight million who are eligible—have opened ABLE accounts to date, making ABLE accounts one of the most under-used ways to save money and retain much needed benefits. For many people with disabilities, ABLE accounts have transformed their lives. Read our ABLE Ambassadors stories to learn what motivated them to take advantage of this opportunity and what advice they have for those who have not yet taken this important step. To learn more about ABLE accounts and state ABLE programs, visit the ABLE National Resource Center (ABLE NRC), managed by National Disability Institute. - See the full SSA blog post
Chelsea Eats: Food Debit Card Program The City of Chelsea, in consultation with community based organizations, has established a new program to assist Chelsea residents with access to fresh and culturally appropriate food, in an effort to combat food insecurity. Income eligible residents may be eligible to receive a preloaded debit card to buy groceries and baby products at local Chelsea retailers. Debit cards can be used only in grocery and convenience stores. This is a local program, and the public charge rule does not apply to it. The program is open to all income-eligible Chelsea residents who meet the program's criteria, regardless of their immigration status. Criteria include:
Families with children, disabled residents, veterans, seniors over 65, households that have been economically impacted by COVID-19, and households that are ineligible for other forms of federal assistance, such as SNAP and WIC will have preferences. The program will also connect eligible residents to SNAP, WIC, and other forms of food assistance. Application deadline is August 17, 2020. Apply:
QUESTIONS? Call 311 (617-466-4209) or email chelseafooddebitcard@gmail.com In addition to English and Spanish (online or paper), the application also available for download or in-person pick-up at City Hall in Arabic, Haitian Creole, Vietnamese, Cape Verdean here: - Thanks to Melissa Alao for sharing this resource.
MassHealth Family Assistance Adds Rehab, Chronic Disease Hospital and SNF Coverage MassHealth Family Assistance coverage type now covers up to 100 days per admission of medically-necessary skilled nursing facility, chronic disease or rehabilitation hospital (CDRH) care. This is a permanent coverage change, not tied to the COVID-19 emergency. The rules are effective July 10, 2020 for dates of service starting March 11, 2020. Under this coverage, if a patient is discharged and readmitted within 30 days it will be considered a continuation of the original admission and the 100 days of coverage will begin from the date of original admission. If the patient does not return to CDRH/SNF care for more than 30 days a subsequent admission will be consider a separate admission and the 100 days will begin from the date of the subsequent admission. - Sources and for more information: CDRH Bulletin and NF Bulletin
Blue Cross Blue Shield Promises Improved Behavioral Health Coverage Including Ongoing Telehealth and Increased Child Psychiatry Reimbursment
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts is announcing a set of initiatives to ensure members have timely access to high-quality, affordable mental health care. Access to mental health services is a serious issue across the country and has become even more pronounced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- See the full press release.
The Realities of Affordable Housing Waitlists Amid a housing crunch and a rental market upended by COVID-19, lengthy queues for affordable housing continue in Boston, with one organization that owns 500 residential units in Allston and Brighton seeing its waitlist top an eye-popping 17,000. With its waiting list, Allston-Brighton Community Development Corporation is far from alone in Boston. A similar scenario is playing out on Antwerp Street in Brighton, where Charlesview Inc. has 240 residential units, of which 220 are affordable. The demand, said Jo-Ann Barbour, Charlesview’s executive director, for the organization’s housing is huge. She said between 1,500 and 2,000 applicants are presently on the Charlesview waitlist. Depending on the size of the unit, people could be waiting in that queue between four and eight years, she said. “I probably get calls three or four times a week from folks in dire straits looking for housing and folks who are on the waitlist asking where they are on the waitlist,” she said.
There are other wait lists. The Boston Housing Authority, which provides affordable housing to more than 58,000 residents in and around the city, said it had more than 49,000 applicants for its affordable housing programs as of July 6. Leslie Reid, the chief executive of Madison Park Development Corporation, which has 790 residential units in Lower Roxbury, the vast majority of which are subsidized housing, said there are currently about 7,300 on its waitlist. The Boston Planning & Development Agency has an Inclusionary Development Policy, which requires most housing developers to set aside 13 percent of units in new buildings at affordable rents, or pay money into the city’s affordable housing funds. But Barbour lamented that many of the so-called “IDP” units in neighborhoods like Allston and Brighton are tethered to restrictions that consider applicants who earn up to 70 percent of the area median income, which effectively prices out many working families, she said. Area median income for a one-person household tops $83,000, according to authorities. Offering units that would be compatible with 50 or 40 percent of the area median income, which would be considered very low income, is next to impossible without federal subsidies for developers, said Barbour. - See the full Boston Globe article.
Black Renters Face Egregious Housing Discrimination An undercover investigation released this month found that Black people posing as prospective tenants in Greater Boston were shown fewer apartments than whites and offered fewer incentives to rent, and that real estate agents cut off contact when the renters gave Black-sounding names like Lakisha, Tyrone, or Kareem. The white “testers” in the study posing as would-be renters, on the other hand, easily secured tours of properties, were wooed with discounts, and got preferred treatment — such as the opportunity to view additional units — when looking at apartments. In subtle and overt ways, Black renters experienced discrimination by real estate brokers and landlords in 71 percent of the cases tested in the study by Suffolk University Law School, titled “Qualified Renters Need Not Apply: Race and Voucher Discrimination in the Metro Boston Housing Market.” Researchers expected “outrageously high” discrimination in Boston, said Catherine LaRaia, director of investigations and outreach at the law school’s Housing Discrimination Testing Program, which conducted the study. But they were flabbergasted, she said, by what they uncovered. “This was a shocking result for us, and we do this work every day,‘' she said. People looking for apartments with Section 8 housing vouchers also experienced extreme discrimination. Regardless of race, they were routinely blocked, ignored, or turned away by an agent, the study found. It is unlawful in Massachusetts to deny someone housing on the basis of race or voucher status, among other protected classes. For voucher holders, unfair treatment was standard. Ninety percent faced discriminatory behavior from a rental agent. They were “ghosted,‘' unable to get a rental application or appointments to tour an apartment. The researchers recommended increased penalties and training for real estate professionals and prohibiting them from charging broker’s fees; strengthening anti-discrimination laws and fair housing enforcement and education; increasing resources for testing; and improving and streamlining the system. - See the full Boston Globe article.
The Trump administration is resisting calls to make it easy for tens of millions of students to get free meals at school this year, even as childhood hunger rates have risen to the highest levels in decades. During the spring and summer, as the coronavirus health crisis exploded, the government allowed most families to pick up free meals from whichever school was closest or most convenient without proving they were low-income. But that effort is on the verge of expiring as states prepare for children to return to school, and as school systems are pushing the federal government to continue the free meals program through the fall. Schools already face enormous logistical challenges as they decide whether to have students learn online, in classrooms or in some combination of both this fall. Expanding free meal access would also cut down the pile of paperwork needed to enroll the millions of children expected to become newly eligible for government-subsidized or free meal programs. If USDA doesn’t extend the flexibility through the fall, families may be able to get food for their children only from the school where they are enrolled, after being deemed eligible for help — a change that would create logistical barriers for many families, particularly those without cars or with parents working multiple jobs. - See the full Politico article.
The Trump administration is continuinh its push to roll back DACA — the program that protects young immigrants brought to the country illegally as children — by refusing to accept new applicants. A number of courts had given those immigrants hope. Last month, the Supreme Court blocked the administration's effort to end the program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Then two weeks ago, a court in Maryland told the administration to start accepting new DACA applicants. But the administration is refusing to do that, saying it will reject new applicants while launching a "comprehensive review" of DACA and whether to go forward with a new plan to end the program. "I have concluded that the DACA policy, at a minimum, presents serious policy concerns that may warrant its full rescission," said Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf in a memo explaining the administration's decision. According to that memo, the administration will continue to renew DACA protections for the roughly 640,000 immigrants who already have them — but only for one year, not for two years, as was previously the policy. Immigrant advocates say it's clear that the administration is preparing to rescind the popular program again but postponing that until after the November election. - See the full WBUR story and transcript |