This month Mayor Martin J. Walsh and the Boston Resiliency Fund Steering Committee announced two Mission Hill organizations helping to support residents most in need during the COVID-19 pandemic were part of the latest rounds of Boston Resiliency Fund grants.
Boston Sociedad Latina and New England Baptist Hospital (NEBH) were two of several organizations across Boston to receive grant money from the fund in September.
“The Boston Resiliency Fund has been vital to our response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Working in partnership with our nonprofit organizations has been fundamental to bringing resources and support directly to Bostonians in need,” said Mayor Walsh. “Thank you to all of the community organizations who continue to work together with the City of Boston and help our most vulnerable residents.”
Sociedad Latina will use the grant to fund essential care packages of PPE for families and at-home kits with supplies and materials that enable our youth to participate in programming at home.about the Boston Resiliency Fund award. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out.
Sociedad Latina Executive Director Alexandra Oliver-Davila said COVID-19 pandemic has shed light on the inequities that surround Latinos and people of color in the United States.
“There has been a disproportionate number of COVID-19 cases among Latinos, people of color, and people living in economically-disadvantaged communities in Boston and on a national level,” said Oliver-Davila. “There is also little federal support for undocumented individuals and families who are amongst the largest demographic to be gravely affected by this pandemic. We see the consequences that this pandemic has had on the youth and families that we partner with, including little or no access to healthcare, rising medical costs, ineligibility or lack of information for unemployment, losing employment, and more.”
She added that Sociedad Latina has recognized how crucial it is that they address these inequities and provide healthcare, safety, and financial assistance to everyone despite race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, and immigration status.
“ With the generous support of the City of Boston’s Boston Resiliency Fund, we are providing essential care packages of PPE for families and at-home kits with supplies and materials that enable our youth to participate in programming at home,” said Oliver-Davila.
NEBH will use BRF funds to mitigate food insecurity by distributing prepared meals, grocery gift cards, and clothing to low-income families in Mission Hill and Roxbury, working with the Roxbury Tenants of Harvard, Maria Sanchez House and the Tobin Community Center. For elderly neighbors who are homebound, NEBH is coordinating fresh food/meal delivery weekly. Funds will also be used to purchase basic necessities such as cleaning supplies.
Since launching the Boston Resiliency Fund in March, $33.2 million has been raised, and Mayor Walsh and the Boston Resiliency Fund Steering Committee has distributed $27.4 million to 351 organizations. Of the nonprofits to have received a grant, 54 percent are led by a person of color, 57 percent are women-led and 27 percent are immigrant-serving. A map and list of every organization that has received funding from the Boston Resiliency Fund can be found here.