Strengthening the Social Care Toolbox . . .

June 29, 2021

Announcing mlpb.health

Our new website is live, with a new address, a new look, and new features! With a modernized design and user experience, mlpb.health makes it easy to access key resources and evidence reinforcing preventive law as preventive medicine.

See the New Website

Check out our new Blog post on MLPB’s June 21 Virtual Conversation:

“Strengthening the Social Care Toolbox with Legal Rights Education”

MLPB and valued colleagues from DULCE (Developmental Understanding and Legal Collaboration for Everyone) and Housing Prescriptions as Health Care discussed why and how legal rights education is animating care redesign in communities across the country!

Want to keep up with the latest on these developments? From Spring 2021:

Legal Information and Rights Education as an Element of Care: A Promising Health Justice Strategy (Health Affairs, Jun. 7, 2021)
‘It Makes Sense’: Stable housing improves health for low-income families, study finds (The Boston Globe, Jun. 3, 2021)
A 5-Year Boston Area Housing Study Shows How Housing Stability Is Tied To Health Outcomes (WBUR News, Jun. 1, 2021)
Health Starts at Home Evaluation Final Report (The Boston Foundation, Jun. 2021)
Strengthening Community: 24 Hours at the Virtual DULCE National Forum (Bridging Divides Blog, Apr. 8, 2021)

Thank you to our thoughtful commentators:

**Allison Bovell-Ammon**
*Director of Policy Strategy*
Children’s HealthWatch at Boston Medical Center

Weren’t able to join us? View the recording:

You can help people stay safe during summer heat waves!

In RI, share this cooling shelter resource.

Boston has this safety tip and cooling shelter guide.

In another part of MA? Check with local town halls, libraries, YMCAs or senior centers for cooling shelter availability.

Continuation of Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) support this summer! For:

School-age students who were eligible during the 2020-2021 school year for free or reduced price school meals; and
Children under 5 years old (in MA) or under 6 years old (in RI) who also receive SNAP benefits!

Given state variations, contact United Way of RI’s 2-1-1 team or click on this P-EBT FAQ for RI questions. For MA P-EBT questions, visit the state’s P-EBT website.

Federal Eviction Moratorium extended!

Are you partnering with people confronting housing instability? The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Moratorium (the national moratorium) has been extended through July 31, 2021.

New Emergency Broadband Benefit!

Incorporating internet access into your social care toolbox with the people you serve? The Federal Communications Commission has launched a temporary program known as the Emergency Broadband Benefit to expand household access nationally.

Learn more about this new benefit, including eligibility and enrollment details, at www.fcc.gov/broadbandbenefit, or by calling 833-511-0311.

Miss the Virtual National Health Equity Summit?

MLPB’s Samantha Morton hosted a Mini Summit on Legal Information and Rights Education as an Element of Care: A Promising Health Justice Strategy on Wed., June 9. Watch the session here.

. . . to our summer interns!

Eman Khatri

I’m a rising junior at Wellesley College, majoring in Economics. During the school year, I am involved in Camp Kesem MIT and Al-Muslimat at Wellesley. Last summer, I interned with Cancer Legal Care in Minnesota which sparked my interest in health policy work and inspired me to start an organization to build intergenerational connections. I am currently interested in law and public health with a passion for elderly health care, interpersonal safety, and fair housing. As part of the Lumpkin Summer Institute for Service-Learning, I am excited to intern at MLPB and to better understand the connections between social health, medicine, and policy.

Sheridan Organ

I’m a rising second-year law student at Boston University School of Law as well as a Masters in Public Health student at Boston University School of Public Health. I graduated from McGill University with a B.Sc. in Global Food Security. Before MLPB, my experience was primarily in youth food security and access to justice. At MLPB, I am excited to learn about how public health, policy, and legal advocacy can be leveraged together to work towards community health.

Valerie Tseng

I’m a rising junior at Wellesley College and have the pleasure of joining MLPB this summer through the Lumpkin Summer Institute for Service Learning. At Wellesley, I am involved with the literature society Zeta Alpha and the Taiwanese Cultural Organization. A Data Science and English double major, I am excited to develop both my quantitative and qualitative skills at MLPB. Additionally, I hope to gain a better understanding of how access to justice interacts with people’s social, economic, and environmental health.