Wednesday, April 30, 2pm – 3pm Via Zoom
This online session will help tenants prepare for our Public Housing Day on May 7 . We’ll review our plan for the day, our state policy agenda, and talking points. This will ensure that together we can make our voices heard to support fair funding for public housing, Access to Counsel for tenants facing eviction, and protection for tenants undergoing redevelopment. Tenants who register for Public Housing Day will be sent the link for this session as well.
Wednesday, April 16, 10am – 3pm – Please arrive by 9:30 at the latest
Caffrey Towers, Brockton, MA
Breakfast and Lunch Provided
Spanish Interpretation Provided
Is your Local Tenant Organization (LTO) ready to open up a bank account, secure an EIN, and get up to date on budgeting practices that ensure compliance? If so, we invite you to join us on Wednesday, April 16th for an in-person workshop at Caffery Towers in Brockton, Ma. In collaboration with our new community partner, JPMorgan Chase, the workshop will provide information on general business banking products and basic budgeting practices. We look forward to hosting you and supporting your LTO.
Duration:
6 hours
Online
Language Access is a fundamental component of equitable community engagement. To meet the needs of underserved communities, our projects and outreach strategies must be multilingual and culturally welcoming. Language access allows people’s voices to be heard and affirms that their voice does matter. We live in a globalizing and increasingly multilingual world. Our public processes need to be multilingual, too.
Join this interactive webinar series to:
Session 1: April 30 | 9:30AM-12:30PM
Session 2: May 14 | 9:30AM-12:30PM
Applications Due May 12, 2025
Start Date: June 2, 2025
Duration: June 2 – July 31, with possibility to extend into August
Hours: 12/week (two 6-hour days, flexible schedule)
Location: In-Person in Dorchester (near Ashmont Station)
Pay: $18/hr
Areas of focus: Civic engagement, archive management, housing advocacy
The Massachusetts Union of Public Housing Tenants is a nonprofit run by tenants for tenants. We are union of Local Tenant Organizations and our mission is to preserve and improve public housing across the state. Mass Union believes that those most impacted by a problem should play a leading role in solving it. We are led by tenants who live the problems of public housing 24/7. We provide training, technical assistance, and direct support for individual tenants and Local Tenant Organizations so that tenants have a seat and speak with one voice at decision-making tables.
POSITION SUMMARY
Mass Union is looking for an intern to support our operations, including event management, leadership development, social media, and record maintenance. The ideal candidate is one who is passionate about social justice and wants to work in a grassroots environment. The intern will have many opportunities to build relationships with tenants and other leaders in the housing justice field, learn about the formation of tenant unions, and get involved in important policy advocacy in Massachusetts.
We are seeking a team player with strong detail orientation and commitment to our mission. Experience with Microsoft OneDrive and Salesforce is preferred but not required. Candidates must be able to lift 20lbs.
DUTIES
Please email our Operations Manager Lilith Dyke at lilith@massunion.org with your resume and short cover letter attached.
As we know, HUD is the federal agency dedicated to addressing our most pressing housing, community development and homelessness challenges and serves millions of renters, homeowners, and people experiencing homelessness.
Attempts by Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to terminate at least half of all HUD employees, if successful, would be DISASTROUS for our communities.
Mass Union has signed a national letter to stop this. Read the full letter here, which will be finalized on March 11, 2025.
Zoom: Register below for link!
The Tenant Advocacy Project—also known as TAP—is a student practice group at Harvard Law School that represents current and prospective public housing tenants and Section 8 voucher recipients in administrative hearings and other disputes with their housing authority.
On March 28th, we will be joined by law students, Sarah Berton and AJ Williamson to learn what a Reasonable Accommodation is, how to request one, and what to expect after submitting a request. We will also spend time answering general questions about the process. The hope is that you leave the webinar confident and knowledgeable about approaching your housing authority to request any Reasonable Accommodation you might need.
Where: Zoom– Register below by Wednesday, March 12 at 5pm!
From the National Low Income Housing Coalition:
The Trump Administration is expected to terminate half of all employees at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). This will decimate the agency and must not happen.
Tenants should contact their federal senators and representatives RIGHT AWAY and demand they protect HUD staff and programs!
According to reports, the Trump administration will terminate half of all HUD employees. This will make it significantly harder for states and communities to access key federal resources used to:
As a direct consequence, homeless shelters will close their doors, communities will stop construction on new projects to build housing and community centers, households receiving rental assistance will face immediate rent increases and evictions, and communities, families, and small businesses impacted by disasters will be unable to rebuild.
At a time when housing costs are far out of reach for renters and when homelessness has reached an all-time high, now is the time to strengthen federal investments in affordable housing and homelessness solutions.
In late January, the Trump administration directed all federal agencies, including HUD, to withhold all federal assistance investments – including essential HUD funds. After enormous pressure from advocates and congressional champions, the administration rescinded its directive after 48 hours. Now, President Trump is attempting to decimate HUD by terminating critically needed staff.
Tenants must act urgently to protect HUD! Tell your members of Congress why HUD resources are critical to low-income families and communities and urge them to protect HUD programs and staff.
