Seth Fichtelberg first heard about the IRS’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program back in 2013 while studying accounting and information systems at Boston College. When one of his professors mentioned that they served as the liaison between BC’s Carroll School of Management and VITA, Fichtelberg decided to lend his skills to helping Massachusetts residents file their taxes. Now, almost…
Antipoverty agency rallies support for the life-saving programs of Head Start, LIHEAP, and the Community Services Block Grant CONTACT:Jamie McIver857.488.5068jamie.mciver@bostonabcd.org (Boston, MA) – Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD) decries a reported Trump administration budget proposal that would eliminate funding for the Community Services Block Grant (CSGB), Head Start and the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) — three programs…
A statement from ABCD President and CEO Sharon Scott-Chandler Dear ABCD Community, The Trump administration’s leaked budget proposal for the Health and Human Services Department eliminates funding for Head Start, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and Community Action’s Services under the Community Services Block Grant (CSGB) — all of which serve as a foundation for assisting and…
Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD) urges residents in Greater Boston and the Mystic Valley to review the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) eligibility guidelines even if they don’t consider themselves low or moderate income and apply where applicable. HEAP benefits are awarded based on household size and annual income. Residents across all income levels have been impacted by this…
You might think that with significant advances in clean energy happening every year, these technologies would be easily accessible regardless of class or background. Unfortunately, like so many other things, such access has historically been concentrated in Boston’s more affluent neighborhoods. Now, ABCD’s Climate Equity and Impact (CE&I) department is working to reverse this decades-long trend and bring innovative energy…
For nearly a decade, Mark Holmes has needed a little help covering the oil bill for the Roslindale duplex where he lives with his mom, who is bedridden. The bills are just exorbitant — the kind that take your breath away — but the government has been there to help make sure that he and his now 97-year-old mother stay…
ABCD Director of Energy Services Andrea Mendoza has been elected co-chair of the Massachusetts Energy Directors Association (MEDA) and will represent the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) for the low-income energy sector. MEDA is a network of energy professionals in Massachusetts, in partnership with the Massachusetts Association for Community Action (MASSCAP), of which ABCD is a member, that provides fuel and energy…