SAVE THE DATE!
SCC Summer Member Meeting 7/16
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Each summer for the past several years, SCC has gathered its members to celebrate the work we do together. Some years we hold workshops, other years mostly just share food and good social conversation. While we're still working out the details, including the location, please hold the evening of Tuesday July 16th for this annual gathering. Details and invitations to follow!
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Save Our Homes Walk Raised $25,000+!
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The 10th annual Save Our Homes Walk
raised over $25,000 - $8,000 more than last year's walk- to help people in Somerville stay in their homes! Over 100 people came out to walk on this cool afternoon in May and there were more than 50 fundraisers and 27 sponsors who contributed to our cause.
With an average grant of $650 per household, we helped 39 households in 2012 and plan to help 46 households in 2013, preventing almost 100 people from becoming homeless. These funds are used to make targeted grants to help people with security deposits, back rent, utility bills, and moving costs related to stabilizing their housing. Donations are still welcome to help us hit our $30,000 goal.
Check out the pictures of the pre-walk rally, the walk, and the amazing Second Line Band! Thank you walkers, fundraisers, and donors!!
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SCC Proposal for Powder House School Site Moves Forward
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On June 4th, the SCC development team was invited for an interview with the City's technical advisory committee about our proposal for redevelopment of the Powder House School in West Somerville. West Somerville is currently the least affordable part of our city, and in addition to creating 35-50 new LEED-certified apartments for working families, our proposal would create a new pre-school, public greenspace, and retail shops on this site.
Read our proposal
Read about the 16 people on the technical advisory committee
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New SCC Members Welcomed on June 4th!
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Earlier this month, we welcomed some of our newest members for an evening of food and mingling at SCC's office, while learning more about what SCC does and how to get involved in our work.
SCC CEO Danny LeBlanc welcomed the group:
"We have a passion for making this a community for everyone- and we mean people of all incomes, all backgrounds" and "We can be about as powerful as the community networks we build"-
Our next members' gathering will take place on Tuesday, July 16th in the form of our Annual Summer Member Meeting- Save The Date!
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SCC Membership
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SCC is an organization of relationships- people with a passion for social justice and for improving quality of life for everyone in Somerville. When we are members together in an organization, we access collective power and have a greater impact in our community. When we work together, we get more accomplished. Please consider becoming a member today, which you can do online or by contacting Julia at
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Ongoing Meetings
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Our many groups and committees meet regularly and are usually open to newcomers! Please click on the calendar image below to see the what's happening this month!
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Somerville Planning Board to Vote on 181/197 Washington
Thursday, 6/20, 6:00 pm
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Let's Make it Happen on 6/20!
Say YES to transit-oriented, affordable housing for EVERYONE in Somerville
Thursday 6/20, 6:00 pm, Somerville VNA (259 Lowell St)
After over a year of collaborations with the Somerville community, the City, and our partners in the field, our proposal for redevelopment of 181 & 197 Washington St (the former Boys & Girls Club and existing Cota Funeral Home) will go before the Somerville Planning Board for vote on Thursday, June 20th at the VNA building at 259 Lowell Street, 3rd floor Community Room. This is the final step in the process for obtain a permit to develop the site. We need your support to make this project a reality for Somerville.
Here is what YOU can do help us make it happen on 6/20:
- Attend the Planning Board Hearing on 6/20 - wear a sticker supporting "Everyone's Somerville", share your testimony before the Board.
- Contact your Alderman representative (calling is best) and tell them that you support the SCC/Cathartes proposal for 181/197 Washington Street (click here for phone #s)
- Contact SCC's Rene Mardones rmardones@somervillecdc.org to help out and get involved in activities leading up to the hearing (there will be many, including on the day of).
This joint proposal between SCC and Cathartes Private Investments represents a unique private/nonprofit partnership to build 84 new apartments over retail and office space that:
- Embraces the community's vision for a vibrant, connected, transit-oriented Union Square;
- Provides a welcoming gateway to a neighborhood remaining affordable to people of all incomes;
- Preserves opportunities for everyone to thrive in Somerville and to benefit from the Green Line Extension.
For more on our vision for this project, see our guest editorial published in the Somerville News, the Somerville Journal, and the Somerville Patch last week. For more details on this project, and what you can do to help make it happen, see www.everyonessomerville.org
Remember, our website is currently being revamped, so stay tuned to Everyone's Somerville for updates and Facebook and Twitter to join the conversation!
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Jobs for Somerville Committee Rallies at MassDOT for
Local Jobs
With Green Line Construction
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Ten members of SCC's Jobs for Somerville Committee gathered for a rally outside the State Transportation Building on May 22nd to call for local jobs as part of the Green Line Extension construction. With over $1 billion invested so far in the Green Line Extension to Somerville, $0 have been spent to create local jobs.
Participants could be heard throughout the entryway to 10 Park Plaza signing a jingle in the tune of "When the Saints Go Marching In": "Oh when the trains come rolling in, oh when the trains come rolling in- oh how I want to be on that worksite- when the trains come rolling in"
Jobs for Somerville has been in discussions with MassDOT since 2012 on ways to ensure that this massive investment in the infrastructure of Somerville is also an investment that benefits the people who live here and who will ride the new trains.
As SCC member and local construction worker Wahid said at the rally: "I'm a trained construction worker and I live here in Somerville. Right now I have to travel for hours to get to the sites where I can find work, so I've taken on a second job at a pizza place that is closer to my house. I'm ready to work and I believe that the Green Line Extension should create opportunities for Somerville residents like myself to find jobs in our own community."
Read more about this issue and how Jobs for Somerville is working with MassDOT to ensure that local jobs are included in the construction contracts this summer.
Get involved with Jobs for Somerville today by contacting Rene Mardones rmardones@somervillecdc.org or 617-776-5931 x226.
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Somerville Considers Increasing Linkage Fees for Housing and Jobs
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Thank you to everyone who responded to our action alert last month and sent in letters to City Hall! Your voices truly do make a difference.
We are pleased to report that Mayor Curtatone's recent proposal to increase the current housing linkage fee from $3.91 to $5.15 per square foot was recommended by the Planning Board. There will be a hearing on indexing the rate of the fee to the Consumer Price Index. Next, it will move to the Land Use Committee and finally to the full Board of Aldermen. To join our efforts within this process, contact Ren� rmardones@somervillecdc.org
The Jobs Linkage was recommended by the Legislative Matters Committee. Next, it will move to the full Board of Aldermen, and on to the State Legislature for Home Rule Petition. Jobs for Somerville committee members are meeting with the Mayor and working to make sure the jobs linkage fee creates job opportunities for Somerville residents.
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Taking to the Streets for Filling Vacant Lots at SomerStreets Carnaval
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SCC was proud to take part in the kickoff event for the City of Somerville's 2013 SomerStreets series, taking place in East Somerville in the form of a "Carnaval Festival" on lower Broadway in East Somerville. We roamed the crowd asking folks to fill in the blank: "We want ___, not vacant lots!". Shared garden space? Housing we can afford? Food co-ops? Rock-n-roll bars? We heard it all! When it comes to vacant properties in our community, we all have a right and a reason to ask for what we want.
What would YOU would like to see happen on Somerville's vacant properties?
Share your ideas on our Facebook Page or contact Mashael Majid mmajid@somervillecdc.org to get involved in SCC's Land Use Committee.
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New First-Time Homebuyer Class Starting 7/15!
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Are you thinking about buying a house? Sign up now for SCC's First-Time Homebuyer Class in July 2013! The four-session, 12-hour class will feature presentations by a real estate agent, a lender, a home inspector, a real estate attorney, and an insurance agent, in addition to SCC staff, and it will teach you everything you need to know before you start the process of buying your first home. Upon completion of the course, participants receive a certificate that enables them to access products geared specifically towards first-time homebuyers, such as SoftSecond and MassHousing loans. The class will be conducted in English from 6 to 9:00 p.m. on July 15, 17, 22, 24. The registration fee is $35, and participants must attend all sessions in order to receive the certificate. To register, please contact Shannon Erb at 617-776-5931 x238 or Thais DeMarco at 617-776-5931 x233.
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