South Shore Community Action Council

SSCAC employs more than 200 people across 8 locations on the South Shore, Cape Cod, and the Islands. SSCAC’s administrative office and its main program offices are located at 71 Obery Street in Plymouth. In addition to its main intake office at our Obery Street facility in Plymouth, our Home Energy Assistance program maintains an intake office in Hyannis and partners with Dukes County Services in Edgartown on Martha’s Vineyard. Finally, SSCAC operates 6 South Shore Early Education centers in Plymouth, Marshfield, Wareham, Hyannis, West Yarmouth, and Dennisport.

South Shore Community Action Council, Inc. (SSCAC), a private, non-profit Community Action Agency, promotes the well-being of people with low income throughout the south shore and provides a range of services to support them on the path out of poverty. For nearly 60 years, SSCAC has remained true to its mission and helps low-income individuals and families attain the skills and supports that will enable them to achieve greater economic self-sufficiency and a better quality of life. As a Community Action Agency, nearly all of our programs rely on the support and dedication of community volunteers. Our current programs include:

HOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE

Commonly known as Fuel Assistance, this program helps pay for home heating fuel and utilities for families with incomes up to 60% of the State Median Income. SSCAC makes payments on behalf of Home Energy Assistance clients directly to energy vendors.

HEARTWAP

Helps to reduce the high cost of home heating for low-income individuals and families through a range of no-cost energy conservation services. Staff conduct heating system inspections and audits in the homes of HEARTWAP clients, then subcontract with heating system repair vendors to repair or replace inefficient home heating systems making home heating more efficient, safe, and affordable.

WEATHERIZATION

Works with local subcontractors to make the homes of low-income people more energy efficient, thereby permanently reducing household energy bills. Weatherization staff conducts home energy audits and subcontracts with local vendors to provide weatherization measures such as insulation or air sealing.

APPLIANCE MANAGEMENT (AMPS)

Provides low-income households with energy usage audits and repair, replacement, or installation of household appliances such as refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners, and energy efficient lightbulbs.

SOUTH SHORE EARLY EDUCATION (SSEE)

Provides early education and care for low-income infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and school-age children across 6 early education centers in Plymouth, Marshfield, Wareham, Hyannis, West Yarmouth, and Dennisport. Services include Early Head Start infant/toddler care and Head Start preschool. SSEE contracts with EEC and accepts EEC childcare vouchers to provide subsidized preschool services on a sliding scale for low-income families. SSEE offers bus transportation to/from school, daily meals and snacks, physical, mental health, and dental screenings, social services, parenting support and education, and extended day care for working parents.

TRANSPORTATION

Provides door-to-door handicap accessible transportation for the elderly, disabled, and eligible school children primarily for non-emergency medical appointments to and from hospitals, medical centers, rehabilitation facilities, and doctors’ offices. FOOD RESOURCES Collects, stores, and distributes a half million pounds of emergency food throughout Plymouth County each year. Operating primarily like a food bank, the program collects fresh and non-perishable food donations from hundreds of community partners, stores the food at its Food Distribution Center, and supplies to food to over 60 “members” – food pantries, soup kitchens, schools, Councils on Aging, and others working throughout Plymouth County to fight hunger and food insecurity. The program maintains a small on-site pantry at its main office for clients of other programs who present with food assistance needs. In the past year, SSCAC has expanded its direct distribution through a bi-weekly mobile market with the Plymouth Family Resource Center.

EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE AND CASE MANAGEMENT

Provides households in crisis with information and referrals for other community resources, service planning, and follow-up case management. SSCAC also has limited funding available to make vendor payments, typically to prevent eviction, foreclosure, or utility shut-off.

VOLUNTEER INCOME TAX ASSISTANCE (VITA)

IRS-certified volunteer tax preparers electronically prepare and file both state and federal income taxes on behalf of low-income taxpayers at no charge. Volunteer tax preparers maximize taxpayers’ refunds by identifying and claiming all credits for which taxpayers are eligible.

SOUTH SHORE FAMILY NETWORK (SSFN)

Offers free, community-based early education and parenting support services, including parent-child playgroups focused on early literacy, Raising A Reader ®, and Science/Technology/Engineering/Math (STEM), as well as parenting workshops, Kindergarten readiness activities, early childhood fairs, a Family Support Resource Directory, and referrals for additional community services. CONSUMER AID Taking referrals from the MA Attorney General’s Office (AGO), SSCAC’s Consumer Aid program provides area residents with an alternative to court resolution of their consumer complaints.