In accordance with COVID-19 (CoronaVirus) prevention efforts, the Work Without Limits Benefits Counseling and Administrative Employment Network (AEN) Ticket to Work teams are working remotely.
We are available by way of email and phone. Please note we are able to respond more quickly to email.
Brian Forsythe, CWIC, Project Coordinator, Benefits Counseling
- Office Phone: 508-856-2513
- Cell Phone: 508-479-0906
- Read Brian's BLOG: COVID-19 Stimulus Payments and Public Benefits
Winnie Siano, CWIC, Project Coordinator, Benefits Counseling
- Office Phone: 508-856-8349
Click here to access the entire Work Without Limits Team Directory.
Table of Contents
Below please find information related to COVID-19 and various public benefit programs. We will keep this information updated as needed. Please check back frequently and do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
COVID-19 Related Resources
Accessibility
- Accessibility of several commonly used remote platforms
- Multiple Language COVID-19 Printable Resources
- MA Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing created a visual tool to help hospital staff, medical personnel, first responders, and service providers communicate with hard of hearing and deaf individuals and patients during this unprecedented crisis. Download the visual tool.
Accommodations
- Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) COVID-19 Publications and Resources
- Job Accommodation Network (JAN): The ADA and Managing Reasonable Accommodation Requests from Employees with Disabilities in Response to COVID-19
- Perkins School for the Blind: 10 things you can do today to support blind and visually impaired colleagues working remotely during Covid-19
Austism
- Westwood-Mansfield Pediatrics: Temple Grandin has Great Tips to Help Kids With Autism Cope During the Coronavirus Quarantine
Employment
- Disability:IN - COVID-19 Response Series
- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the coronavirus
- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Rehabilitation Act and COVID-19
- Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability Inclusion (EARN): The ADA at Work: Considerations for COVID-19
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA)
- US Department of Labor: Families First Coronavirus Response Act Guidance
Finances & Income Tax
Food Assistance
- Food Assistance during the COVID-19 Emergency
- Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) COVID-19 Resources and Support
- What you need to know about extra emergency SNAP Benefits (English pdf) (Spanish pdf)
- Learn how to apply or check the status of your DTA benefits
- Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Nutrition Program Services Updates
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Eligibility Rules/Rights for College Students
- SNAP: Workers who lost hours or job due to COVID-19
- USDA, States Must Act Swiftly to Deliver Food Assistance Allowed by Families First Act
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Project Bread & COVID-19: Hunger & Food Resources for Households
- ABLE (Achieving a Better Life Experience) Accounts: The SSA clarified that food is considered a “qualified disability expense” from an ABLE account. Those that own an ABLE account will be able to use their funds to purchase food.
- Massachusetts Military Support Foundation FOOD4VETS: Providing vital food kits to veterans in New England at multiple distribution locations. Prior registration is required.
Mass.gov Updates
- Coronavirus updates
- Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency
- Emergency Childcare Site
- Complete List of Emergency Orders & Guidance
MassHealth
Medicare Coverage
Mental Health
- Webinar: Finding and Building a Foundation of Wellness & Resiliency during the Challenges of COVID-19
- National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) COVID-19 Resource and Information Guide
- New Resource Hub Offers Mental Health Support During COVID-19
- 7 Things to Do If Social Distancing Is Triggering Your Depression
- Working Remotely During COVID-19: Your Mental Health and Well-being
- MA Department of Public Health (DPH): Coping with Stress and Fear from COVID-19
- Massachusetts Substance Abuse Help
- Join the Body Politic Support Group for COVID-19 patients (past and present)
Personal Care Attendant (PCA) Services
- Hotline for MassHealth members: call 1-844-422-6277 to be connected to home health services
Public Benefits
- Work Without Limits BLOG: COVID-19 Stimulus Payments and Public Benefits
- Cornell University, Institute on Employment and Disability: COVID-19 and Social Insurance and Benefit Programs
Social Security Administration (SSA)
A Warning to the Public about fraudulent letters threatening suspension of Social Security benefits due to COVID-19 or CoronaVirus-related office closures. Social Security will not suspend or discontinue benefits because their offices are closed.
- May 22, 2020 Update on Economic Impact Payments for Social Security and SSI Beneficiaries
- SSA COVID-19 Updates
- Services are available online through the secure and convenient website: www.socialsecurity.gov
- Contact your local office for critical service such as reinstatement of benefits
- Subscribe to receive alerts from SSA when information is added or changed. You also may follow SSA on Facebook and Twitter.
Staying Healthy Resources
- Buoy Health - Symptom Checker App
- How to Stop the Spread of Germs
- Help Prevent COVID-19 with Social Distancing
- 10 Tips for At-Home Quarantine or Self-Monitoring
Transportation
- All MBTA services are running on a reduced schedule until further notice. Full details: MBTA.com/coronavirus
- The RIDE Paratransit Service Updates
- The RIDE Eligibility Center (TREC) is closed for in-person appointments until further notice. All interaction with TREC, including ADA Visitor Requests, will be conducted during business hours over phone (617-337-2727) or email (trec@paratransit.org).
Veterans
- Massachusetts Military Support Foundation FOOD4VETS: Providing vital food kits to veterans in New England at multiple distribution locations. Prior registration is required.
Unemployment
- Unemployment & COVID-19
- The Department of Unemployment Assistance is holding virtual town halls, during which people can ask questions via chat. To learn more click here.
- How to File a New Unemployment Claim Online
- Unemployment Insurance and COVID-19
Employment and Volunteer Opportunities
Healthcare Workers Needed!
The Massachusetts COVID-19 Command Center/Facility Staffing Outreach team is recruiting healthcare professionals to care for COVID-19 patients. The Command Center is seeking to fill positions immediately. This call to action is critical to saving the lives of our neighbors, families and friends.
To to apply for a volunteer or job opportunity at a long-term care/post-acute site across the state access the Staffing Portal.
Contact Tracers, Resource Coordinators, Case Investigators Needed
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker announced a new initiative to accelerate the state’s efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19, by dramatically scaling up the state’s capacity for contact tracing through a new collaboration with Boston-based global health nonprofit Partners In Health (PIH). The new Massachusetts COVID-19 Community Tracing Collaborative (CTC) is designed to not just flatten the curve, but bend the curve downward to more rapidly reduce the number of cases in Massachusetts. As a result, Partners in Health is hiring Contact Tracers, Resource Coordinators and Case Investigators to reach out to all Massachusetts contacts of COVID patients, counsel them on testing and quarantine, refer them for testing, and connect them to necessary resources throughout their quarantine. Apply now to work with PIH to fortify efforts to control the pandemic in Massachusetts.
