Coming Home MetroWest, Central, & Western Massachusetts A Resource Directory of Offender Re-entry Services 2019–2020 EDITION ComingHome2019_Book_2.indb 1 8/19/19 12:52 PM Please contact us with questions or comments about the directory. Email: [email protected] Telephone: (508) 799-9389 Mail: Coming Home MetroWest, Central & Western Massachusetts P.O. Box 30125, Worcester, MA 01603 Pritinting: Alpha Graphics, www.alphagraphics.com, (508) 793-0956 Book Design: Milk Row Studio, [email protected], (617) 872-7585 ComingHome2019_Book_2.indb 2 8/19/19 12:52 PM Acknowledgments iii Acknowledgments A special thanks to the Family Needs Committee of the Worcester Community Connection Coalition and Oak Hill CDC for their help with this booklet. Many thanks to Gardner Howland Shaw Foundation for their commitment to successful re-entry in Central Massachusetts and MetroWest. Special thanks to College of the Holy Cross through their work study and Holy Cross Fellow program who helped put this guide together, to Inconcept Web Solutions for hosting the site, and to Milk Row Studio for their design and patience. Dismas House of Massachusetts, Inc. Coming Home MetroWest, Central, and Western Massachusetts ComingHome2019_Book_2.indb 3 8/19/19 12:52 PM iv About About Coming Home Central Massachusetts and MetroWest is a joint venture between Dismas House of Massachusetts and the Oak Hill CDC. Dismas House of Massachusetts, Inc. Dismas House of Massachusetts provides critical housing, services, and a family environment for homeless ex-offenders in Central Massachusetts and MetroWest. At Dismas House, Father John Brooks House, and the Dismas Family Farm, Dismas strives to build a safe, welcoming, accountable and drug-free environment for former offenders turning around their lives. The Dismas Family Farm is a unique residential organic farm where the residents work with staff and a farm steward to operate a small family farm, farmers markets, and partner with restaurants to sustain the farm. BAR None (Basic Advocacy for Reentry), a community-wide civil legal initiative that assists over 400 homeless and former offenders in Central Massachusetts and MetroWest with help on civil legal matters as well as direct connections to healthcare, nutrition, case management, and housing support. Visit www.dismashouse.org for more information. Oak Hill CDC Oak Hill CDC has been a crucial neighborhood-based organization serving the east side of Worcester, centered on Union Hill, since 1972. OHCDC has a positive track record of building the neighborhood infrastructure and strengthening affordable housing, neighborhood cohesion, and youth services in one of the most stressed urban districts in Massachusetts. Facing crime, blight, low home-ownership rates and disenfranchisement, OHCDC has created an approach that is rooted in neighborhood leadership development, building new parks, opening the Homeownership Center of Worcester County, and developing the Youth Leadership Academy. Visit www.oakhillcdc.org for more information. Coming Home MetroWest, Central, and Western Massachusetts Dismas House of Massachusetts, Inc. ComingHome2019_Book_2.indb 4 8/19/19 12:52 PM Introduction v Introduction Coming Home MetroWest, Central, & Western Massachusetts is a directory of services available to ex-offenders returning to, or currently living in the Central Massachusetts and MetroWest area. The directory is a resource that presents important information for ex-offenders about the services available in our community. This guide may also be useful for corrections practitioners, program staff, policy makers and the friends, families, and volunteers that work with former offenders in the community. When an offender is released from prison, he or she begins the difficult task of re-assimilating into the community. The ex-offender’s transition is often times very complicated, and may include significant obstacles that must be overcome to obtain stability. Fortunately, the Central Massachusetts and MetroWest community has a network of services designed to assist those in need. By compiling this directory, it is our hope that we will be able to assist former offenders, and those who care about them, find the resources they need to make the difference between success and a return to incarceration. How to Use the Directory The directory contains contact information and a basic description of the services offered for each organization. We have also included other informational resources where possible. When in doubt, contact the organization directly for the best, most up-to-date information. The editors cannot and do not vouch for the accuracy or quality of the services available. The agencies listed in this directory are not the only resources available. We have tried to include all appropriate agencies and organizations; however, some information may be missing. If you have additional information that you believe should be included, or have a correction to one of our entries, please contact us. Dismas House of Massachusetts, Inc. Coming Home MetroWest, Central, and Western Massachusetts ComingHome2019_Book_2.indb 5 8/19/19 12:52 PM vi Table of Contents Table of Contents Agencies listed by category Basic Needs. 2 Cash Assistance ............................................................................ 2 Clothing and Furniture .................................................................... 4 Soup Kitchens & Food Pantries ............................................................ 6 Education and Employment. 11 Education ..................................................................................11 Financial Aid for Education ............................................................... 12 Employment .............................................................................. 13 ESL and GED Preparation Classes. 15 Mentoring Programs .....................................................................20 Healthcare . 22 Free Medical Clinics ...................................................................... 22 Prescription Assistance ...................................................................24 Health Insurance ......................................................................... 25 Mental Health Providers .................................................................. 25 Substance Abuse ......................................................................... 32 Housing . 36 Energy and Utility Assistance ............................................................. 36 Public Housing and Section 8 ............................................................ 38 Shelters ................................................................................... 39 Transitional Housing Programs ........................................................... 41 Legal Assistance. 42 CORI ......................................................................................42 Help with Identity Theft ..................................................................44 The Major Credit Bureaus ................................................................. 45 Legal Groups ............................................................................. 45 License & Identification. .46 Support Services. 46 Hotlines ...................................................................................46 Immigrant Services .......................................................................48 Support Groups ..........................................................................50 Veterans and Their Families .............................................................. 55 Women and Families ..................................................................... 56 Coming Home MetroWest, Central, and Western Massachusetts Dismas House of Massachusetts, Inc. ComingHome2019_Book_2.indb 6 8/19/19 12:52 PM Table of Contents vii Agencies listed A-Z ACE – African Community Education. 66 AdCare Hospital – Worcester. 66 AIDS Project Worcester. 68 Allencrest Academic Learning Center. 68 Akwaaba Free Health Clinic at New England Ghanaian SDA Church. 69 American Red Cross. 69 Health Care Training. 69 Apogee Mental Health . 70 Arbour Counseling Services. 70 Assumption College. .71 Attachment Institute of New England. 71 Autism Parents Support Group . .71 B. 72 Bar None-Dismas House. 72 Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical High School. 74 Becker College . 74 Behavioral Healthcare Services. 74 Belmont A.M.E. Zion Church. 75 Big Brother’s Big Sisters of Central Mass/MetroWest, Inc.. 75 Boys and Girls Club of Fitchburg and Leominster. 76 Boys and Girls Club of Worcester. 76 Bridge of Central MA, The. 76 C. 77 Carty Cupboard. 77 Catholic Charities . 77 Catholic Charities, Leominster Office. 77 Cedar Street Family Clinic. 78 Center for Human Development. 78 Center for Living & Working, Inc.. 78 Center For Recovery. 79 Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance. 79 Central Massachusetts Recovery Learning Community Kiva Center . 79 South Asian Center. 80 Centro Las Americas. 80 Dismas House of Massachusetts, Inc. Coming Home MetroWest, Central, and Western Massachusetts ComingHome2019_Book_2.indb 7 8/19/19 12:52 PM viii Table of Contents Centro Las Americas – Great Brook Valley Pantry. 81 Channing House (Advocates). 81 Child Care Resources. 81 Children’s Friend. 82 Citizens Energy Heat Assistance Programs. 83 City Clerk. 83 Clark University. 84 Clearway. 84 Clinical and Support Options - Satellite. 84 Clinton Adult Learning Center . 85 Common Ground Resource Center (SMOC Headquarter). 85 Community Builders of Plumley Village East. 85 Community Healthlink, Inc. 86 Community Legal Aid. 87 Comprehensive Assessment Rehab & Education Center . 87 Counseling and Assessment Clinic of Worcester, LLC . 88 Worcester Union Street Office. 88 Crozier House . 88 D. 88 Department of Children and Families (DCF) . 88 Department of Developmental Services (DDS). 89 Department of Mental Health. 89 Department of Public Health (DPH) . 89 Department of Public Utilities. ..