Mutual Aid Medford and Somerville will use a cash assistance program to provide financial support to members of our community. MAMAS strives to build strong relationships and create just conceptions of money and economy in Somerville and Medford. In the past, MAMAS has provided $300 to individuals and households in our community who reach out to our hotline via Venmo, PayPal, CashApp, gift card, and cash payments without means-testing. We plan to continue disbursing $300 up to three times per year to community members through the cash assistance program who are unbanked or unable to submit expense requests through Open Collective due to immigration status, language barriers, technology barriers, privacy concerns, and accessibility needs. In the past, we have disbursed $175,000 on average over the course of a year. The cash assistance program will continue indefinitely for as long as MAMAS has the budget to support our neighbors. These expenses will be submitted under the Cash Assistance project. 

The cash assistance program also encompasses reimbursements for the MAMAS grocery pairs. Grocery pairs can submit receipts for reimbursement of $100/$200/$300 per household, depending on household size once a month. These will be submitted under the Pairings project.