Watertown News (https://www.watertownmanews.com/tag/wayside-multi-service-center/page/2/)
The following announcement was provided by the Watertown Mutual Aid Network:
Join us for the Winter Coat Drive on Saturday, Dec 12th, 12-3 p.m benefitting Watertown organizations and families. Please share the flyer with your friends and neighbors! We are accepting donations of:
NEW & LIKE NEW winter coats for children and adultsNEW hats, gloves, scarves for children and adultsNEW children’s pajamas
Mutual Aid, which is sponsored by the Watertown Community Foundation and Wayside Youth and Family Support Network, sent out details about how to provide or request support:
As the Winter Holiday season begins, we want everyone to be able to celebrate with good food on the table. Fill out this form https://forms.gle/373WyM4aoCxDH8tL6 to support a family or request support in celebrating Thanksgiving, Thursday November 26th. Support can include a gift card to a grocery store or restaurant, a home-cooked meal, or grocery delivery. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Sophia, the Community Coordinator at watertownmutualaid@waysideyouth.org or 617-744-9585. If you need other resources, contact the Watertown Social Services Resource Specialist (SSRS) Program at 617-744-9585.
The Watertown Community Foundation has given out these lawn signs to people who have donated to help others in town during COVID-19. The Watertown Community Foundation wanted to thank those who have donated to help out their neighbors during the difficult times cause by the COVID-19 pandemic, and have handed out lawn signs proclaiming “We ♥ Watertown.” WCF Executive Director Jan Singer said that residents have been very generous donating to the Foundation and the Community Resilience Fund, which was created in March to assist people impacted by the Coronavirus. “Hundreds of people in Watertown have contributed and we have given out thousands of dollars,” Singer said. “We continue to give emergency rental assistance and to both food pantries.
As the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown began, a new program paired up people who needed help doing things like going to the grocery stores or getting masks with Town residents who could help them. So far, the Mutual Aid Network in Watertown has had 50 people reach out for assistance and nearly double that number offer to help, with 65 of those being matched with someone, said Program Coordinator Sophia Suarez-Friedman. The program is run by the Wayside Youth & Family Support Network and is funded by a grant from the Watertown Community Foundation. Recently, the Foundation provided enough money for Mutual Aid to run through the end of the year.
Positive Feedback
Suarez-Friedman has collected “success stories” from some of the people who have received assistance through Mutual Aid or volunteered to help out. A person who feared going to get groceries when the cases of COVID-19 were surging was able to get help going grocery shopping.
One of the signs that went up around town to celebrate Watertown High School’s graduating seniors. This letter was written by Lisa Gibalerio, Prevention Specialist, for Wayside Youth & Family Support Network and the Watertown Youth Coalition. Dear Seniors:
When the news came down last month that schools across Massachusetts would not reopen for the rest of the school year, a collective thud of disappointment resounded across town from you and your parents. The news confirmed what had been feared since schools closed back in March: there will be no spring athletic season, no awards ceremony honoring four grueling years, no prom, no Senior Week activities, and, perhaps most crushing of all, no graduation ceremony and no All Night Party. All time-honored events.
The recently created Mutual Aid Network is a way for Watertown residents to help their neighbors, and for people in town to get assistance during the COVID-19 outbreak, including food, financial assistance and even face masks. The combined effort by the Watertown Community Foundation and the Wayside Youth & Family Support Network kicked off last week, and has already garnered a team of volunteers. Jan Singer, executive director of the Watertown Community Foundation said that people can request assistance or volunteer to provide help through this Mutual Aid form. The idea of Mutual Aid is to connect people, Singer said. Normally the groups would create a central drop-off and pick-up site, but that is not possible with places like the Watertown Library and Town Hall closed due to orders by the Governor.
The Watertown Community Foundation teamed with Wayside to launch new Watertown Mutual Aid Network, which will allow neighbors to assist neighbors in these difficult times. The Watertown Community Foundation and the Wayside Youth & Family Support Network sent out the following information:
Welcome to the Watertown Mutual Aid Network, funded by the Watertown Community Foundation in association with Wayside Youth & Family Support Network’s Multi-Service Center. Mutual aid is a way for Watertown neighbors to support each other, by delivering food, making weekly calls for social support, providing financial assistance, and in many other ways. By following this link, you will find information about how to use mutual aid, links to forms to offer help and request aid from your Watertown neighbors, and additional resources. Please reach out to Sophia, the Community Coordinator at Sophia_Suarez-Friedman@WaysideYouth.org or 617-744-9585 if you have any questions or wish to offer help or request aid over the phone (translation services are available). We hope that this resource will bring our community together during this difficult time.
Buses like this one on the 71 bus will get priority heading toward Harvard Square on Mt. Auburn Street in the new Cambridge-Watertown Bus Priority Pilot program. State officials announced youth from Watertown can receive discount passes to ride the MBTA buses and trains through the Youth Pass program. The program is aimed at people between age 12 and 25 who are not enrolled in school or college (they already qualify for passes for school or college students). Students over 18 must be enrolled in an alternative education program (such as GED), a job training program, or a federal benefit program, including MassHealth and SNAP.