In This Issue
Financial Literacy Class
First Time Homebuyer Class
Union Square: What's Next?
Join the Social Equity Campaign
SCC Calendar of Events
Thank You for Helping Save Our Homes
SCC Staff Out on the Town
What's Happening with Zoning?
Somerville First Source Jobs Initiative -- Upcoming Opportunities
Thank You to our Tufts Tisch Scholars
Financial Literacy Class
Next Class Begins June 3rd
 
Reserve your spot for our next series which begins on June 3rd! 
 
NEW Morning Session
Unlike our past classes, this series will take place during the mornings to accommodate those who can't make our evening sessions.
 
Class will be held on Wednesdays and Thursdays mornings from June 3 - 24. 

Over the course of four weeks, participants will gain important information and skills to help them navigate their financial lives more successfully . Graduates will receive a $200 stipend to get them started on a successful financial path!

Dinner and childcare will be available.

Participants must:

  • Pre-register
  • Attend all 7 sessions AND 2 counseling sessions with SCC staff to successfully graduate
  • Live and/or work in Somerville;
  • Qualify under these income guidelines

Click here for the 2015 schedule

 

For more information or to register, please contact Shannon Erb at 617-776-5931 x238 or

First Time Homebuyer Class
New 2-Day Saturday Class 
on June 6th & 13th

 

 

Sign up NOW for SCC's First-Time Homebuyer Classes in June 2015!

 

Whether your take the NEW 2-Day Saturday class (6/6 & 6/13) or traditional 4 session class (6/22-6/30), this 12-hour program will feature presentations by a real estate agent, a lender, a home inspector, a real estate attorney, and an insurance agent, in addition to SCC staff, providing everything you need to know before you start the process of buying your first home.

 

Upon completion, participants receive a certificate enabling them to access products geared towards first-time homebuyers, such as the ONE Mortgage.

  

Participants must:

  • Pre- register
  • Attend all 4 sessions

Upcoming Classes:

  • June 6 & 13: 2-day Saturday class
  • June 22 - 30: 4 evening classes, Mondays & Wednesdays

Click here for the 2015 schedule

 

For more information or to register, please contact Shannon Erb at 617-776-5931 x238 or serb@somervillecdc.org.
Union Square: What's Next?
Wednesday, June 9th @ 6:00 pm


WHAT

Do you feel like you understand the impact of all the big changes coming to Union Square or your neighborhood? Join us to help create a community vision for Union Square East! 

  • Hear updates about the Green Line, local development, and zoning;
  • Brainstorm ideas, concerns, and designs;
  • Create a community vision for your neighborhood!

WHEN

Wednesday, June 9th | 6:00 - 8:00 pm

 

WHERE

34 Linden Street (Outdoor Plaza)

Somerville, MA 02143

 

WHO

We invite residents from the neighborhood between Prospect, Medford, South, and Washington streets to give input on different planning + design efforts happening in Union Square. 

 

RSVP

If you'd like to come, contact Mashael at 617-776-5931 x 228 or  mmajid@somervillecdc.org.

Food and interpretation will be provided
Join the  Social Equity Campaign
Donate & Double Your Impact

The Social Equity Campaign is SCC's initiative to ensure Somerville remains accessible to its diverse population. There are many changes coming, and it is our goal that people of all incomes can benefit from these new amenities.

 

A donation to SCC through the state's Community Investment Tax Credit (CITC) program will not only be matched, but you'll get 50% back in your pockets.

 

What is CITC?

CITC is a tax credit designed to attract support for Community Development Corporations (CDCs), like SCC, and to help increase the scale of their impact.

 

Contributors who give at least $1,000 are eligible for a tax credit 50% the value of their donation.


Read this  Op Ed in the Somerville Journal  to learn about how your dollars will make a difference.

 

For questions about the Social Equity Campaign, contact Meridith Levy at mlevy@somervillecdc.org or 617-776-5931 x242.

Upcoming Events & Meetings
Our many groups and committees meet regularly and are open to newcomers! 

Click on the calendar below to learn more about meetings and events coming up: 
 
calendar icon
Links

Join Our Mailing List! 

 

Follow us on Twitter    Like us on Facebook 

They say you learn something new everyday. No truer is that than through our work here at SCC. Whether its connecting with our fellow residents on a committee or campaign, partnering with the City on a impactful program, or collaborating with those at the regional, state or national level, we are constantly presented with new challenges and experiences, while exposed to new ideas and points of view that provide opportunities to reflect and grow in the various roles we hold in our everyday lives.

Read on to learn about the different ways we at SCC connect, share, and collaborate through our work, and how how you can get involved with us and within the greater Somerville community.
 
From all of us at SCC, thank you for your support 

THANK YOU for Helping to Save Our Homes 

Annual Walk Raises Funds to Prevent and End Homelessness 

 

The 12th Annual Save Our Homes Walk, organized by the SCC's Affordable Housing Organizing Committee (AHOC) went above and beyond our $30,000 goal with raising over $38,000! With more donations coming in every day, 50 sponsors have committed to the cause, 75 people have helped fundraise, and even more people came together this past Sunday, May 17th, on a beautiful afternoon for a 5K walk to show their support for this worthy cause to prevent and end homelessness in Somerville. 

 

For an average of $1,000 per household, we were able to prevent 36 families from becoming homeless in Somerville last year. It's because of events like this that we can respond to the needs of our community. Funds raised from this effort will be used to make targeted grants to help people with security deposits, back rent, utility bills, and
moving costs related to stabilizing their housing.
 
Do you support this cause? Contributions are still welcome. Donate Now
 
Thank you walkers, fundraisers, and donors! 

 

Shape Up Somerville
Photo Credit: Shape Up Somerville

 

For more information, visit the Save Our Homes Walk website or contact Kathryn Benjamin at 617-625-6111 x225.

 

SCC Staff Out on the Town

Teaching. Learning. Collaborating.

SCC staff members have had a rich spring working with people from across the region on a variety of topics near and dear to our own values and priorities, both as participants and as trainers. In addition to our annual Leadership Development Institute, we have offered the following workshops and training courses:

 

Community Organizing

Danny LeBlanc, CEO, joined other veteran organizers to teach a spring course at Tufts University to present the history and context of community organizing practice in the United States, as well present concrete skills and practices utilized by community organizers in their work.

 

The Nuts and Bolts of Shaping and Executing a Campaign

Meridith Levy, Deputy Director, led a 4-session training series on shaping an organizing campaign for JOIN for Justice fellows, which she has been doing with JOIN fellows annually.  Topics included: cutting the issue, power analysis, strategy and tactics, and messaging. 

 

Technical Strategies to Ensure Full Participation in Multi-Lingual Meetings  
Karen Narefsky, Community Organizer, facilitated a  half day workshop  with  our interpreters, Juliana Tedesco and Claudio Ruiz , through the Mel King Institute  that covered ways to move  people out of the corner and into the inner circle of a meeting.

 

The Leadership Development Institute: Cultivating Community Leaders:  Meridith Levy and Rene Mardones, Lead Organizer, led a half day workshop through the Mel King Institute, presenting the approach and preparation for effectively running a participatory, multi-lingual training series on leadership, relationship building and power at the community level.

 

Public Narrative 

Meridith Levy journeyed to the Vineyard to facilitate a full day workshop hosted by the Martha's Vineyard Housing Trust aimed at helping people tell their own personal narratives in the most effective way to help galvanize others to take action.

 

Leadership Dev Institute
Photo Credit: New Leaders Council - Boston

 

In addition to all of this great community work, Rene Mardones and Meridith Levy have been participating in the Gentrification Learning Community, a 15 month program that brings together regional practitioners to sharpen the understanding of gentrification and tools to address it. Stay tuned for more details about this challenging topic that so many communities commonly face.

 

What's Happening with Zoning?

At the Affordable Housing Organizing Committee's (AHOC) last monthly meeting, City Planner Dan Bartman presented an overview of updates to the City's zoning ordinance. The planning staff have received over 1000 comments, including those from AHOC, calling for 20% inclusionary zoning citywide and more resources for lower-income families.

 

The aldermen have many concerns about the current zoning. Based on the Board of Aldermen meeting on May 6, it seems unlikely that the Board will vote on the proposed zoning this spring. Instead, there will be a series of issue- and neighborhood-based meetings to address the public comments and inform a revised draft that will be released in early 2016.

 

In the meantime, there are seven SCC members serving on the Sustainable Neighborhoods Working Group, the committee that has the responsibility of implementing the mayor's affordable housing plan. This group is considering major policy initiatives, like a real estate transfer tax, a tax credit for landlords who charge affordable rents, and a community land trust model. 

 

Zoning Overhaul
Photo Credit: Somerville Scout

 

Interested in learning more and getting involved? Join us at the next AHOC meeting, TONIGHT, Thursday, May 21, from 6-8pm at SCC.

 

For more information about AHOC, contact  rmardones@somervillecdc.org or 617-776-5931 x226.

 

First Source Jobs Initiative 

Upcoming Events & Volunteer Opportunities 

Whether you're a Somerville resident looking to pick up some practical career building skills, or someone looking to support job seekers participating in the Somerville First Source Jobs Initiative, we have opportunities for you to get involved. 

Take a look below and see what's a good fit for you!
 
 
FIRST SOURCE SEEKS VOLUNTEERS
First Source Jobs is looking for volunteers from the community to help job seekers build up their interview skills for upcoming employment opportunities. If you are interested in getting trained as a volunteer for interview practice, please contact Jorge at 617-776-5931 x232 or firstsourcejobs@somervillecdc.org.


UPCOMING EVENTS

First Source Interviewing Skills Workshop

May 28th, 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM  

Somerville Community Corporation, 337 Somerville Ave, Somerville 

 

Do you have a hard time getting ready for a job interview? Is it difficult for you to answer the interview questions with confidence and assertiveness? This workshop offered by a professional in career development will help you to feel more prepared. Join us! 

 

Registration Required

Contact Barbara at 617-776-5931 x233 or firstsourcejobs@somervillecdc.org

 

 

Worker's Rights Training

June 3rd, 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM

Somerville Community Corporation, 337 Somerville Ave, Somerville 

 

Do you know what the minimum wage is in Massachusetts? Have you ever wondered if your boss is discriminating against you and what can you do about it? Come to the workers rights training! Members of Jobs for Somerville led an interactive workshop on May 5 to teach First Source participants about their basic legal rights on the job and how to assert those rights. Join us for the next training on June 2nd!

 


CPR and First Aid Training
June 19th, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Somerville Center for Adult Learning Experience (SCALE), 167 Holland St, Somerville

In partnership with SCALE and CPR Boston, First Source Jobs will be offering a CPR/First Aid Training on June 19th. Whether you work with children, seniors or anyone in between, you should be prepared for any situation. CPR Boston can give you the tools that could one day save a life.

Cost: $50.00

Registration Required

Contact Barbara at 617-776-5931 x233 or firstsourcejobs@somervillecdc.org

 
For all workshops, childcare and interpretation services in Spanish, Portuguese and Haitian Creole will be provided upon request.


For more information about First Source Jobs, please contact Jorge at 617-776-5931 x232 or firstsourcejobs@somervillecdc.org.

Thank You, Betty & David

Tufts Tisch Scholars Leave Lasting Impact on SCC

This past Spring, SCC welcomed two caring, energetic and hardworking students from Tufts to help out on a variety of our initiatives. Participating in the Tisch Scholars Program, which is aimed at influencing students to become "effective active citizens and catalysts for change," our scholars, Betty Fung and David Ferrandiz, certainly embodied these qualities and have provided such valuable support to our work here at SCC, particularly with our AHOC and Jobs for Somerville committees.


Additionally, both Betty and David participated in our 8th Annual Leadership Development Institute this past spring, illustrating even more their commitment to social justice and this community. We hope that their experience here at SCC has helped them grow personally and professionally as budding scholars and leaders.

 

Thank you, Betty and David. We wish you all best in your future studies and endeavors. Don't be strangers!

As always, we appreciate feedback.  Be sure to join us on Facebook & Twitter for the most current info on what we're up to and how to get involved. We look forward to seeing and hearing from you soon! 

Sincerely,
Daniel LeBlanc
Somerville Community Corporation