SCC job fair, affordable housing, and other services

46 views
Skip to first unread message

Christopher Beland

unread,
May 7, 2026, 4:16:26 AM (6 days ago) May 7
to Davis Square Neighborhood Council

Folks at the Somerville Community Corporation asked me to share with you that they are hosting a job fair on May 21 in Union Square. Anyone interested in attending can register online.

SCC provides a lot of services, including:

  • Job search mentoring
  • Computer literacy
  • Financial literacy
  • First-time homebuyers' classes (worth it, IMHO)
  • English as a second language classes

They are also helping neighborhood councils and other non-profits with some of our publicity logistics (which is why I was visiting).

SCC is also an affordable housing landlord for larger buildings, and they provide wraparound social services to tenants. Some programs are restricted to Somerville residents, but others are not, and staff said they help everyone who walks in the door.

You may have heard of the Somerville Community Land Trust, which also buys real estate for the purpose of preserving or creating affordable housing. They seem to work with a wider range of building sizes.

I bring these organizations to your attention in case you or someone you know could benefit from their services, but also for your consideration as potential beneficiaries of our Community Benefits Agreements. Some people have also been asking for more for-profit/non-profit partnerships for large construction projects to boost the amount of affordable housing produced. I'm curious if anyone knows of other affordable housing enterprises in Somerville who would be worth talking to.

Chris

Phil Woodbury

unread,
May 7, 2026, 7:57:28 AM (6 days ago) May 7
to Christopher Beland, Davis Square Neighborhood Council
Chris and DSNC members,

Very glad to see this shout-out to the Somerville Community Corporation. Wide range of excellent services for low income and immigrant Somerville residents, and they've built a substantial amount of low income housing and continue to do so.

If you are interested and able to donate, SCC participates in the state Community Investment Tax Credit program which provides a state credit equal to 50% of your donation. Not a deduction, an actual credit, which means a $1000 donation to SCC reduces your state tax bill by $500. What we call a force multiplier.

Phil Woodbury
10 Irving St

--
Davis Square Neighborhood Council · https://DavisSquareNC.org · https://linktr.ee/DavisSquareNC
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Davis Square Neighborhood Council" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to davissquaren...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/davissquarenc/711066a3802e16755ce1e9afbf342eb2d5ff2e90.camel%40alum.mit.edu.

Rebecca Chase

unread,
May 7, 2026, 2:55:28 PM (6 days ago) May 7
to Davis Square Neighborhood Council
Whether or not you agree, this is  cogent and well-researched analysis about how Rent Control impacts rental housing.
 
Rebecca Chase
Chase Design
Rent Control Doc.zip

Rebecca Chase

unread,
May 7, 2026, 3:31:34 PM (6 days ago) May 7
to Rebecca Chase' via Davis Square Neighborhood Council
If you have difficulty opening my earlier email, you can find the article here: https://www.jtbd.online/ma-rent-control.
Rebecca
Rebecca Chase
Chase Design
--
Davis Square Neighborhood Council · https://DavisSquareNC.org · https://linktr.ee/DavisSquareNC
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Davis Square Neighborhood Council" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to davissquaren...@googlegroups.com.

Jonathan Cohen

unread,
May 10, 2026, 10:49:49 AM (3 days ago) May 10
to Rebecca Chase, Rebecca Chase' via Davis Square Neighborhood Council
Respectfully, I don’t think a real estate investment advisor is an unbiased source on rent control. Other marks against it are having only one peer-reviewed source and pangram.com confirming my suspicion that it’s mostly AI-generated.

That being said, the consensus among academic economists is that rent control reduces the amount of broadly affordable housing (Survey #1, Survey #2). This is an accessible article summarizing some recent evidence underlying that consensus.

Best,
Jon

 

Derrick Rice

unread,
May 10, 2026, 10:49:57 AM (3 days ago) May 10
to Davis Square Neighborhood Council
This is not an unbiased take. I'm not sure I agree with OP's praise of this piece.

One of the most compelling cases that the document makes is a case study of Chelsea owner-occupied 3-family building. The author concludes that the owner will lose "$14,400/year of below-market rent" and that "Under rent control, the gap can never close." While technically true, the article conveniently ignored the following:

An 30 year fixed loan on that $450,000 home, with 20% down payment, in 2014 would require a monthly mortgage payment of less than $2,200. The owner would be living in this home while making $1,600 per month before insurance and property taxes. No living costs of their own, just passive income.

The author only focuses on the "rent gap" to market rates, rather than the absolute profit. And while they focus on how the resale value of the home might go down (bad for the owner, but speculation nonetheless), the flip side is that the housing prices become less insane for people looking to buy a home to live in. (A good thing.)

The author later goes on to discuss the impact to Renters, and quotes a study commissioned by the Small Property Owners Association, a notorious special interest group specifically funding pro-landlord narratives. There's no mention of the benefit of reducing housing prices.

I stopped reading at this point, because it's pretty clear that the author has an agenda.

Note also that the author is a sole individual who has done a lot of work to come across as more authoritative than that. They may be an expert, but this is not a body of work authored by a widely respected advocacy organization. When I consume this sort of content, I ask what the author has to gain/lose. In this case, the author is squarely in the real estate and rental market.

- Derrick Rice (he/him)
--
Davis Square Neighborhood Council · https://DavisSquareNC.org · https://linktr.ee/DavisSquareNC
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Davis Square Neighborhood Council" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to davissquaren...@googlegroups.com.

Carol Rego

unread,
May 10, 2026, 10:50:41 AM (3 days ago) May 10
to Rebecca Chase, Davis Square Neighborhood Council
Can you send this in another format?

I can’t open this!

Carol
?
--
Davis Square Neighborhood Council · https://DavisSquareNC.org · https://linktr.ee/DavisSquareNC
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Davis Square Neighborhood Council" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to davissquaren...@googlegroups.com.

jenn harrington

unread,
May 11, 2026, 10:24:31 PM (2 days ago) May 11
to Carol Rego, Rebecca Chase, Davis Square Neighborhood Council
I’m not a member of DSNC (but a member of USNC). I thank those who responded, especially to Derrick for his insights!

I really wish the neighborhood councils would cohost forums on affordable housing with experts, like CAAS, so we could all be more informed. Community experts who work with people being displaced are the first responders to the housing crisis. 

CAAS hosted, in my opinion, the best mayoral forum. I expect they could (if they have the capacity) produce a thoughtful, research-driven, and heartfelt series of speakers so we could all make the best decisions, especially if they were supported by our dedicated neighborhood councils. 

Have good days!
Jenn

Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages