Where to Give and Get Help in Burlington, MA

The Burlington Police Department has a full-time mental health clinician on staff, as well as a part-time recovery coach to support Burlington residents in need of support in managing substance use disorder.

The BPD also has a car seat technician on staff and can both provide new car seats to those in need and install them securely in your vehicle. In the spring, they’ll also be providing new bike helmets to Burlington kids.

Burlington Youth and Family Services (BYFS) is a town-funded agency that provides SO MANY services to community members in need, from counseling to crisis intervention to coordinating rides to and from appointments and much more.

Thanks to a $600,000 grant, BYFS supports youth ages 17-24 who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of losing housing. They support clients for up to 24 months with housing-related costs such as rent, utility bills, and furniture, as well as mental health counseling. If you’re a real estate professional who can support these efforts, please reach out to BYFS.

Another task BYFS can support with is applying for MassHealth. The application for this state-subsidized medical insurance can feel very overwhelming. If you need help with your application or know someone who does (including Spanish-speaking community members), reach out!

Burlington Youth and Family offers several groups for children and parents to develop healthy skills and create and access support systems within their community:

Fit Girls is focused on running, reading, and leadership development.
Creative Self encourages children to find their voice through creativity.
Stepping Up supports kids in developing communication skills.
Parenting Journey helps parents at any stage of parenting to reflect on their experiences that influence their parenting and build nurturing family relationships.

Counseling services for individuals, couples, and families are available through BYFS for families with youth ages 9-25, even when the youth isn’t the one experiencing mental health difficulties. They also provide general assistance and guidance to residents after they’ve aged out of youth services and before they’ve aged into Council on Aging support at age 60.

BYFS also provides internship opportunities for graduate students from local colleges to learn and develop skills while supporting the Burlington community.

Burlington Youth and Family Services is overseen by an appointed Board, which currently contains 8 members, including one representative each from the School and the Police Department.

Call BYFS at 781-270-1961 or visit them at 33 Center Street, 2nd floor. Whatever you need, they can likely connect you with someone who can help.

Burlington’s Council on Aging, also known as the Senior Center, provides support to anyone in town over the age of 60. The Senior Center offers support in applying for financial assistance including SNAP, fuel assistance, and housing as well as connecting seniors with resources for durable medical equipment, long term care, and health insurance. A range of social and cultural events take place throughout the month, which are listed in their monthly bulletin. Some activities are sign-up only so be certain to check. Activities include exercise classes, art classes, games, movies, concerts, a memory café, support groups, and even a Senior Prom.

Transportation is provided by the Council on Aging to and from medical appointments and the Senior Center. However, the COA Director, Marge Yetman, also administers the Burlington Community Transportation program, which provides ride subsidies for residents who are over 60, have low income, or a disability. This replacement to the town’s B-Line bus helps return dignity and autonomy to residents who can no longer drive or who can’t afford a car.

The Council on Aging is overseen by an appointed Board, which currently includes 6 members, 1 alternate, and 1 Select Board representative.

For more information about any of the services listed above, contact the Council on Aging at 781-270-1950, or at 61 Center Street, front entrance. To view this month’s newsletter and sign up to receive future ones, click here.

Interface is a free, confidential service that matches Burlington residents of all ages with local mental health providers. Call Interface Referral Services at 888-244-6843 from 9:00 AM-5:00 PM, Monday through Friday. Note that this is not an emergency number; if you or someone you know is having a crisis that poses an immediate safety need, please call 911 or go to your local emergency room.

Serving many local communities, Minuteman provides services including home care, caregiver support, options counseling, and much more for seniors and those with disabilities.

Minuteman is overseen by a Board of Directors, currently sitting at 17 members according to the website, as well as an 8-member advisory committee.

You can call Minuteman at (781) 272-7177.

Often, individuals in mental health crisis are met with law enforcement or emergency room personnel rather than a mental health professional. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Crisis Response Line is available by phone or chat 24 hours a day and can help individuals experiencing a mental health crisis get the support they need when they need it. Read more here or, if you need support, call 988 from any phone or chat at www.988lifeline.org

Located at 61 Center Street, the Veterans Services Department serves as a liaison, connecting the town’s residents with state and federal resources to provide assistance for veterans or their surviving families. They also coordinate the town’s Memorial Day and Veterans’ Day celebrations.

Reach Veterans Services at 781-270-1959.

Founded by Adrianne Simeone in 2012, the Mama Bear Effect is dedicated to child sexual abuse awareness and prevention. They provide a parent pack for how to talk to children about sexual abuse and body safety, and they work with pediatrician’s office, medical residencies, and child advocacy centers to ensure practitioners are trained to recognize the signs of child sexual abuse and help prevent it from happening in the first place.

Reach out for information for your family or your organization via email.

Burlington-based Saheli offers offers non-judgmental culturally sensitive services in multiple languages to domestic and sexual violence survivors from the South Asian and Arab community. They provide help with housing, legal advice and assistance, mental health counseling, financial empowerment, and emergency crisis support.
Connect with them at info@saheliboston.org or 1-866-4SAHELI.

Burlington has a strong interfaith community that includes leaders from a variety of faiths:

Susan Abramson, Temple Shalom Emeth (Chair)
Shakeel Rahman, Islamic Center of Burlington
Andrew Harris, United Church of Christ Congregational
Trina Portillo, Presbyterian Church
James Mahoney, St. Veronica Catholic Churches
Ranjani Saigal, Hindu Community
Chais DiMaggio, Burlington Church of Christ
Rick Picariello, Mt. Hope Christian Center
Jamie Hinson-Rieger and Annie Gonzales, First Parish Bedford
Scott Robertson, LDS Billerica
Christine Shruhan represents Youth and Family Services

The group is not involved in any projects currently, but feel free to reach out to any of these faith leaders if you need anything or have questions.

The local food pantry, run by People Helping People, offers many services to the community, from urgent to ongoing food distribution. Burlington residents who meet Massachusetts Good Neighbor Energy Fund income guidelines are eligible; there’s no need to qualify for SNAP/food stamps. In addition to weekly food assistance, People Helping People offers a lunch program for kids during summer vacation and school breaks. This program is open to all students who would qualify for free or reduced lunch.

People Helping People also runs several holiday programs, including Thanksgiving baskets, the Wish Tree—which distributed 3,400 gifts to 276 kids from 119 families in 2023—and Easter baskets.

The Covenant for Basic Needs is another offering funded by People Helping People; this fund helps residents out in the case of an emergency expense such as rent or a utility bill, and is administered by Burlington Youth and Family Services.

The food pantry is located at 21 Murray Ave. They can be reached at 781-270-6625. Learn more on our 2022 podcast episode featuring Pantry Manager, Julie Lewis.

Burlington Womenade was created as a way for women in the Burlington community to work together in order to support local families in crisis as well as to network and socialize with each other. Womenade hosts events to support women and their families from the Burlington area experiencing financial hardship due to medical treatment, disability, home displacement, or other events. They also collect donations collected via drives from the local business community so they can help with acute situations that come up.

To request support for yourself for someone else, contact a Womenade board member or fill out the form on their website.

Burlington Public Schools has partnered with the City of Woburn to provide monthly clinics to ensure all school-aged children have the physicals and immunizations they need to enter school. For more information, please reach out to Burlington Public Schools at 781-270-1800.

The Hospital Equipment Loan Program (HELP), run by the Freemasons of surrounding towns and cities, loans medical supplies to those who need them. Located at 500 West Cummings Park, Suite 1150, in Woburn, they’re open Saturday 9-12 and can be reached at 781-322-1052. Be sure to check the website for a list of equipment they accept/donate (when available) and for timing specific to your needs.

This state program provides free counseling to Massachusetts residents who are eligible, or about to be eligible, for Medicare. They make sure seniors, including those with disabilities, find the right health insurance. To speak with someone about the SHINE program, call the Council on Aging or Minuteman Senior Services.

Located at Burlington High School, Cambridge Street Closet is a resource for anyone to find clothing and basic needs. Find clothing, toys, bedding, and more for adults and children of all ages. The Closet welcomes donations from BHS teachers, community members, and anyone else who has items in good condition that they’d like to pass along.

HELPIS offers services from haircuts to professional clothing and much much more to those experiencing homelessness.
This section of their website outlines the services they provide—and opportunities to contribute—such as welcome home bags for those leaving shelters after obtaining housing and boo boo bags for children receiving medical care.

Learn more about how you can contribute to or benefit from HELPIS’s work on their website.

Wee Care Burlington provides for the needs of families with children. Whether it’s toys, diapers, books, games, or clothes you need, you can find it at WeeCare. There is no income restriction to shopping here, and your contribution and reuse of gently-used kid items benefits the environment, as well.

Visit WeeCare at 10 St. Mark’s Road in Burlington, or call (781) 205-9810 for an appointment.