Media Contact:
Christine Dunn, Seven Letter
christine@sevenletter.com
617.646.1044
Boston (April 26,2023) – Members of the media and public are invited to attend a legislative briefing event on Tuesday, May 2, 2023 to raise awareness to the plight of the immigrant community who lack access to basic food assistance and other key benefits. This event will highlight the need for both legislation and funding to restore basic food and cash assistance benefits for legally present immigrants, and will include presentations from medical professionals and organizations working with immigrant families. It will also include resources for constituent services staff working with immigrant families.
Our state budget is a representation of our values - what is funded is the foundation of our state's future, and the state only funds what we fight for.
The budget process can be intimidating to even the most seasoned of observers, which is why every year MLRI advocates analyze the Gubernatorial, House, and Senate budget proposals to see how they will impact low-income residents of the Commonwealth.
This analysis forms the basis of our advocacy. We support parts of the budget that benefit low-income people and we promote amendments that would make the budget a stronger tool for fighting poverty.
Special Immigrant Juveniles (SIJs) are abused, abandoned and neglected young people who may qualify for lawful permanent residence (known as “green card” status) under federal laws created to protect this vulnerable population. While some SIJs are eligible to apply for permanent residence immediately, over 45,000 Special Immigrant Juveniles from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras are trapped in a visa “backlog” and must wait years for one of the numerically limited slots to become available.
For Immediate Release:
Contact: Christine Dunn
christine@sevenletter.com | 617.646.1044
Eviction protections expired March 31st, and the failure to restore would increase avoidable evictions, cause loss of housing and homelessness, and reduce rental assistance payments to landlords.
Boston, MA (April 14, 2023)-- Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI) and Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless (MCH) are praising language in the recently released House Ways and Means fiscal year 2024 state budget to reinstate and make permanent critical eviction protections known as “Chapter 257”. These protections would guarantee that tenants facing eviction are granted a case continuance if they have a pending emergency rental assistance application, ensuring that time is provided for tenants and landlords to gain access to critical funding and avoid unnecessary evictions.
Boston, MA (March 29, 2023) – The Massachusetts Law Reform Institute applauds the state legislature’s passage and Governor Healey’s enaction of the FY23 supplemental budget, which includes critically important provisions for low-income Massachusetts residents facing food insecurity and housing instability.
Media Contact
Christine Dunn, Seven Letter
christine@sevenletter.com
617.646.1044
Report includes recommendations on how to reform HDIP to include affordability, equity and accountability.
BOSTON, MA (March 22, 2023) -- A recent report on the Housing Development Incentive Program (HDIP) written by the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI) provides the first overall review of this multi-million dollar state subsidy for developers of market-rate and high-priced housing in Gateway Cities.
For Immediate Release: March 20, 2023
Contact: Christine Dunn
christine@sevenletter.com | 617.646.1044
Law set to expire March 31st, failure to extend would increase avoidable evictions, cause loss of housing and homelessness, reduce rental assistance payments to landlords
Boston, MA (March 20, 2023)-- Massachusetts Law Reform Institute and Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless, together with 116 other organizations and municipal officials from across the Commonwealth, sent a letter on Friday to Massachusetts Trial Court leaders, state legislative leaders, and legislators, asking them to extend “Chapter 257” eviction prevention measures. Chapter 257 was enacted to pause eviction cases for tenants with pending rental assistance applications in order to preserve tenancies and maximize rental assistance payments to landlords. The endorsing organizations are urging the Massachusetts Trial Courts and the Massachusetts Legislature to take immediate action to extend Chapter 257 beyond the current March 31st expiration date.
MLRI’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) online calculator has been used over 4,000 times since the start of 2023.
SNAP is a federal nutrition program that provides eligible households with monthly funds to buy food. The amount a household receives depends on household size, income, and certain allowable expenses. MLRI's online calculator helps potential Massachusetts SNAP recipients and community advocates estimate the monthly SNAP benefits amount a household may receive. The calculator provides a quick check on whether a household is eligible for SNAP and whether they are getting the correct amount.
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