Weekly IA Newsletter
Resources and Updates from
Independence Associates
Two weeks working from home and we're starting to get into the groove of things. We hope everyone else is as well!

With the world changing daily, we're all trying to stay focused, keep calm, and stay clean! Do your part by social distancing, self-isolating, and helping out where you can.

If you need some distraction you can use some of the resources and links in this very newsletter to keep you company!

Please reach out to your skills trainer if you have any questions or concerns about resources and we will help you as best we can.
Food Pantries
Here is a link to food pantries in Massachusetts. Click your town to find information. Call your skills trainer if you need further assistance.


You can also contact Project Bread at http://www.projectbread.org/get-help/ . They can assist you in getting access to food resources in your area.
Links for Staying Occupied

On top of the awesome resources from Ad-Lib Independent Living Center (check out last weeks newsletter linked above!), someone has created a great website guide to all things we can do for free online.

Check out the 2 links below:

This includes links to free online games, virtual museum tours, free movies to stream and live events being streamed online!



Check out iHeartRadios live from the living room broadcast with Elton John as host! Link directly to hour stream here - https://www.fox.com/watch/a9647679a60276e91d830ab21b26b179/
2.2 Trillion Dollar Stimulus Bill Signed into Law

The federal government has officially delivered the largest stimulus package in United States history. Included in the bill are cash payments for individuals and bailouts for schools, hospitals, large corporations, and small businesses. Some details on specifics are below. Head to some of the links below for more detailed breakdowns on the stimulus package.
Areas of the law which will directly and immediately affect working people:

  • $1200 to everyone who filed a 2018 or 2019 tax return and made under 75,000 in that year.
  • $500 additional per child in the family (Only if under 17)
  • You are still eligible if you receive SSI

  • $600 dollars extra per week on unemployment checks from the federal government.
  • The package also extends unemployment duration by 13 weeks on top of the 26 weeks most states provide (MA provides 26). This brings the total to 39 weeks.
There are many more bailouts than just this in the law and many more people have summarized those better than we ever could! Check out the links right below here for some great resources on where all this money is going as well as critiques on certain choices made:

Below is a statement from the National Council on Independent Living on the law as it relates to the independent living community.

CARES Act Signed Into Law
The President has signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (S. 3548) into law. The House passed the CARES Act on Friday after it was passed by the Senate on Wednesday.  Read the final bill (PDF) .
The CARES Act is a $2 trillion COVID-19 relief package. While the CARES Act did address some of the disability community’s needs, most of our priorities were not included. Disabled people are at disproportionate risk during this pandemic, and Congress must do more to ensure all future legislation addresses our needs. 
Some of the specific requests we’ve been making to Congress that did get included in the CARES Act are:
  • All people, including people on means-tested and other disability programs, like Social Security Disability (SSDI), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and Medicaid, are eligible for stimulus rebates provided in the CARES Act. There may, however, be additional barriers, since they are primarily tied to tax returns.
  • Centers for Independent Living (CILs) were provided an extra $85 million! This is part of $995 million in funding for the Administration for Community Living (ACL), to be available through September 30, 2021. (A note about CIL funding: the language in the Rehabilitation Act applies, so we expect this money to be distributed the same way as any other appropriations. We are looking for guidance to come from ACL and the Independent Living Administration. Also note that while we requested funding for Part B and Part C, all $85 million is Part C funding.)
  • Nonprofit organizations that receive Medicaid funding will be eligible for small business loans. The provision excluding these organizations from accessing these loans was removed in the final language.
  • Money Follows the Person (MFP) and Spousal Impoverishment protections were both extended through November 30, 2020.
  • People who receive home and community based services (HCBS) can have their direct support professionals (DSPs) / personal care attendants (PCAs) provide services in the hospital.
However, many of our priorities were not addressed. The disability community was very clear about the critical needs we have during this crisis, and many of our needs were ignored. We need to make sure Congress knows that any future legislation  must  include
  • More funding for Medicaid with specific, dedicated funding for HCBS.
  • More support for DSPs and PCAs.
  • Making sure family caregivers for disabled adults are covered by paid leave.
  • Protection of the rights of people with disabilities, which includes prohibiting discrimination in medical decision-making and involuntary institutionalization.
  • Increases in funding to State educational agencies (SEAs) and local educational agencies (LEAs) for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) instructional and support services during this pandemic.
  • Ensuring access to medications for all people, including people who rely on controlled substances.
  • Permanent reauthorization of MFP.
Congress has gone into recess, but we urge you to continue engaging with your Members of Congress. They must hear from their constituents that their job is not done. More action will be needed to meet the disability community’s needs. Our health, our safety, and our lives depend on it. 
For more information, resources, and past alerts about COVID-19, visit  www.ncil.org/covid-19 .
Virtual Town Hall: Apply for Unemployment

Follow the link below and sign up for a virtual town hall on how to apply for unemployment. You can also contact a skills trainer if you need assistance!

Coronavirus Scams
Unfortunately, unsavory individuals are taking advantage of public fear in order to scam money and phish for information. Keep yourself safe and aware from internet scams. Check out this website which is listing many of the schemes popping up online.

Here are some basic tips from the website on how to spot potential phishing:

There are 3 basic rules to spot a phishing email that should help in most cases – even during the coronavirus crisis.
  1. Check the email sender – they can be spoofed to look real (XXXX@WHO.ORG) but if they are obviously dodgy – delete
  2. Hover your mouse cursor over any links in the email before clicking – the true URL will appear so you’ll know if it’s fake – delete.
  3. Check the spelling and grammar. A lot of these hackers are writing without English as their first language. If it looks dodgy – delete!
It’s also good practice during this period to be ultra-wary of anything coronavirus related.
How best to help during this crisis?
Stay home!

This article comes straight from our Youth Programs Coordinator (and resident IT guy) Ryan Macleod. With many of our consumers being more at risk from COVID-19, he wanted to share about the importance of stopping the spread of this virus in its tracks!


Our healthcare system is ill prepared for the sheer volume of Coronavirus cases that will soon overwhelm the entire country. This virus does not discriminate by age, race, or gender; we are all vulnerable and, if we are infected, in danger. While older persons and those with pre-existing medical conditions have the most negative outcomes on the whole, many young and otherwise healthy persons have lost the battle to COVID-19 already. These are genuinely scary times. Our first responders are being asked to act heroically and to care for as many of us as they possibly can, many facing a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) and life-saving respirators and hospital space already.

There are two possible ways out of this pandemic. We either develop a vaccine, which all reputable experts say is at least one year away or we avoid becoming infected in the first place by socially distancing. How can you help? The answer is simple; if at all possible, stay home. Socially distance yourself from others as much as humanly possible. This is so important for many reasons.

  • Even if you are young and healthy, if you become infected you may need hospital services. There is only so much hospital capacity, and if you take up a spot it may mean that someone else who needs a spot will not have one.
  • If you are essential personnel such as a grocery store worker, wash your hands whenever you can and don't touch your face. When you get home, wash or change your clothes and take a shower if possible.
  • Many of our first responders are stressed to the brink already and this crisis has just started. They do not have the option to stay home and if you are in the community unnecessarily you increase the chances of infecting those who must leave their homes.
  • For many of us, there is no reason to leave our homes and interact with others in-person. With the benefit of food delivery, Amazon Prime delivery, and the internet most of us have the option to get everything we need while staying put. Be sure to disinfect deliveries as the virus can live on surfaces for a brief time.
  • Plenty of people do not have a safe place to be during the outbreak; if you are lucky enough to have a home stay in it, if only for the benefit of those who are not so lucky.

Act not as though you are trying to avoid becoming infected yourself, but rather as though you are infected and are trying not to infect others. For some, it can literally be a matter of life and death.

The good news is that Independence Associates is here to help. We can help you navigate the internet for deliveries to make sure you have access to what you need in as safe a manner as possible. We are here to talk, answer questions, or just to listen. These are incredibly stressful times and human beings are social creatures; your IA skills trainer is and will continue to be available throughout this crisis. We are here to talk on the phone, email, and video chat so please be in touch to make an appointment! If you are not currently a consumer, consider making a referral of yourself or another person at iacil.org . All of our services are free of charge to persons in our service area with a self-identified disability.

So, in summary, even if you feel great and think that if you are infected you will recover and be fine, stay home. If you won't stay home for yourself, stay home for our doctors, nurses, EMTs, PCAs, and other first responders who are out there risking their health and safety for all of us. Remember, you could be carrying and spreading the virus even if you do not have any symptoms. It is 2020, we have the internet; there is plenty to do at home. If you are lucky enough to have financial means, consider supporting many of the great charities doing excellent work, such as the American Red Cross. And if you need someone to talk to, IA is here! Be in touch. Check IACIL.org for updates and social events held remotely!

Stay safe, be smart, and if at all possible, stay home!
New Staff Member - Elizabeth (Liz)!

We're super excited to announce that, even through all of the challenges in the past few weeks, Independence Associates has still been able to hire and train new staff members! Elizabeth, Liz for short, started with us in the Youth Department last Monday as a Youth Skills Trainer. She is incredibly nice and we already know she will make a great addition to our team here at IA!

Liz is a native to the area, growing up and still living in Brockton. Her last job was working at a day program on the south shore. She's worked with a lot of different people with varying backgrounds and disabilities and she's excited to jump into the world of independent living!

One of her hobbies include Muay Thai, a martial art from Thailand involving striking poses. We're already working on setting up an adaptive martial arts video event for consumers and staff! We are hoping to get it off the ground soon so let us know if you are interested!

Liz's other hobbies include baking and staying active. She even sells some of her baked items on the side. I'm personally excited to try a cupcake after we start working from the office again! Maybe we can even get a recipe or two to include in the newsletter!

We are grateful that, through all of this, we are still able to add another member to our team. From getting to know her, we can all tell we will all get along great and she'll make a great addition!