News

INFORMATION ABOUT EXTRA COVID SNAP ENDING AND MASSHEALTH REDETERMINATION

March 3, 2023
Mass Health: Starting April 1, 2023, you may need to take action to keep MassHealth coverage. The protection from termination due to the public health emergency is ending. MassHealth members should make sure that MassHealth has their most up to date address, phone number, and email so that they do…

PROPOSED SETTLEMENT ABOUT EA FAMILY SHELTER PROGRAM

March 3, 2023
GBLS and Ropes & Gray sued the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) about problems in the EA family shelter program. We negotiated for more than 2 years. We finally have a proposed settlement agreement. The court has to decide whether to approve the settlement. The court will hold…

Three hour wait, three days in a row: Mass. shelter hotline leaves some families desperate

November 22, 2022
Long waits on shelter hotlines are putting people in danger: “'I have had clients who went back to their abusers because they weren't able to access a shelter.' Liz Alfred, Greater Boston Legal Services Attorney." Please click here to read the full article.

How a tweak to a popular rental voucher program is reshaping where people live in Boston

November 12, 2022
"Every year a child spends in a high-opportunity neighborhood increases the likelihood that they attend college and boosts their lifetime earnings . . . . Living in the midst of poverty hurts people’s emotional and behavioral health and reduces the chances for upward mobility. Lauren Song, a…

What to do if you are sued on an old credit card debt?

November 9, 2022
"The most important advice is to go to court to contest the debt. If your case is in the Small Claims sessions (for cases under $7,000) in Roxbury, Dorchester, BMC Central, East Boston, Charlestown or Chelsea, there are free legal services lawyers who can advise you of your rights, and in some…

State launches investigation into whether BPS violates education rights of students with disabilities

October 25, 2022
"Massachusetts Advocates for Children and Greater Boston Legal Services . . . [allege that] BPS transportation services are 'inadequate, in complete disarray, and disproportionately impact students of color and students with disabilities.'” Please click here to read the full article.

For labor trafficked immigrants, T-visas are a life-saving but flawed relief

October 24, 2022
“It's both that people don't necessarily know about it, but it's also that identifying cases as being appropriate for [T-visas] and having folks who would be able to take advantage of it come forward are difficult things,” said Audrey Richardson, GBLS managing attorney. Please click here to read…

Innes Redevelopment Breaks Ground Preserving 96 Units of Public Housing

October 20, 2022
October 18th was the Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Innes Redevelopment Project. The newly reconstructed Innes Apartments will provide new homes for the current residents of 96 units of public housing, 40 new middle-income units, and 194 market rate units.  Please click here to read the article.

Advocacy groups decry 'systemic disarray' of Boston Public Schools transportation, special education

October 19, 2022
"The systemic disarray of the BPS transportation and special education departments deprives thousands of Boston children, many of whom are low-income students with disabilities and students of color, of what cumulatively amounts to weeks or months of learning time." Please click here to read the…

Lawsuit says Mass. residents ‘unnecessarily institutionalized’ in nursing homes should have options for independent living

October 11, 2022
Six people with disabilities who are unnecessarily institutionalized in nursing facilities, joined by the Massachusetts Senior Action Council, filed a class action lawsuit in federal district court in Boston. The plaintiffs are represented by the Center for Public Representation, Justice in Aging,…