LIFT

LIFT-Boston provides client services in the areas of:

• Employment (both lack of employment and underemployment),
• Housing (including emergency housing, subsidized housing, and transitional housing),
• Public benefits and tax credits (including food stamps, WIC, TANF, SSI, and SSDI)
• Referral services (including health care, children’s services, education/job training, legal services, immigration, food assistance, and computer literacy)

Cambridge

LIFT-Cambridge benefits from a strong relationship with its co-locator, the Cambridge Multi-Service Center (MSC).  The MSC is a collaboration of programs sponsored by the City of Cambridge and other community agencies to address the needs of homeless and near-homeless families and individuals in the community, along with elders and persons with disabilities.  Clients typically discover LIFT through word-of-mouth or through referrals from the numerous programs housed within the MSC.

Somerville

LIFT-Somerville is located within The Family Center, a hub of therapeutic and family support services for families in Somerville.  LIFT-Somerville actively recruits Spanish-speaking and Haitian-Creole-speaking volunteers to respond to the culture and needs of the large Haitian and El Salvadorian populations in Somerville.  Clients typically discover LIFT through word-of-mouth or through numerous strong community partners in Somerville.

This past year, over 40 percent of LIFT-Boston clients applied for Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) services; LIFT-Somerville serves as the only VITA provider for Somerville and LIFT-Cambridge is one of two VITA providers in Cambridge.  With LIFT-Boston’s help, area residents are able to receive free tax preparation assistance online, preventing low-income families from paying expensive fees to tax preparation companies and generating faster returns for clients.  LIFT volunteers are also trained to identify critical tax benefits for clients, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).