May 15, 2020

Dear Residents,

As we work together to tackle COVID-19 in our BHA community, I wanted to give you another update concerning both the present and short-term future of our efforts here at BHA, and how it will affect you and your neighbors in the coming weeks and months.

As you may have heard last week, Mayor Walsh canceled all major public events in Boston through Labor Day. This means that out of an abundance of caution, all BHA Unity Days and summer celebrations are postponed through at least September.. This was a necessary step to help minimize the health risks to our resident communities in the next few months. As we get closer to Labor Day, we will assess the possibility of rescheduling these events for the fall.

Boston now has more than 20 testing sites across the city, and is continuing to expand its capacity our city’s residents. Your local testing sites can be found here. Please call the contact number for your local testing site to learn their hours of operation, and how to get tested. We’re working closely with the city to keep an eye on any COVID cases in our BHA communities, and we are continuing our wellness calls to residents so we can connect them with needed services.

The Governor announced last week a state order requiring Massachusetts residents to wear face coverings in public places. Face coverings are an important tool that not only prevents us from catching the disease, but prevents us from accidentally spreading coronavirus to some of our more vulnerable neighbors. Wearing them can save lives. Please let your manager know if you are unable to make your own masks and/or need a mask.
We are continuing efforts with the City to expand food distribution – food distribution sites can be found online at https://www.boston.gov/departments/food-access on the COVID-19 Food Distribution Map. Please notify your manager if you are unable to get food and need assistance or call 311.

Due to everyone’s patience and diligence, Boston is beginning to see some early hopeful signs in our efforts to bend the curve of COVID cases. Let’s make sure the BHA community continues to do our part in this difficult moment.

We will continue to update you as things progress. You can also find more up-to-date health information at www.bphc.org, or general updates at www.bostonhousing.org and www.boston.gov.  For the city’s health line, call 311.

Sincerely,
Kate Bennett
Administrator
Boston Housing Authority