At the end of most days, Justin Pasquariello (MBA 2010) feels like he hasn’t done enough. As executive director of East Boston Social Centers (EBSC), a century-old grassroots organization that provides social services to approximately 600 people daily in East Boston and other neighborhoods, he has watched the COVID-19 pandemic hit his community particularly hard.

In response, EBSC—whose programming includes everything from STEM education for teens to offering recovery support groups in one of their four facilities—has had to find new ways to support the community. In early March, the organization had to close all of their on-site programs and figure out how they could continue to help the community’s vulnerable populations, especially school-aged children, families struggling with food insecurity, and isolated seniors. “Every week we're thinking of new ways to effectively reach people,” says Pasquariello. “And learning and adapting.”

Susan Young: What is the impact of the virus on the neighborhoods you serve?

Justin Pasquariello: Our community has a lot of service and restaurant workers. So people are very busy on the front lines, there are high numbers of residents exposed to the virus, and many others have experienced layoffs. In addition to illness, among the hardships people are feeling are hunger, difficulty paying rent, social isolation, and limited access to technology.

SY: How are you addressing these problems?

JP: Our early education staff are reaching out to families to check in and help address the challenges that they're facing. They’ve also provided weekly lesson plans and asked kids to share their work online through our Facebook page. Staff who work with seniors are in touch with them—calling to check on them, posting videos, delivering groceries, dropping off yarn for knitters who are making blankets to give to new babies in the community.

We've also been able to provide some direct cash assistance grants, mostly to help people with their expenses, including rent and utilities. We’ve provided food—delivering food, distributing grocery cards, and setting up sites where people can pick up food. We’ve helped bridge the gap between paychecks.

Partnering with the ICA Watershed, we are using their facility in East Boston and work with their caterer to assemble boxes of fresh produce that we deliver to families. The United Way is helping with an East Boston campaign for rental assistance. We are working with food pantries. We are helping residents get EBT debit cards to buy food for kids. It's a very collaborative community and we're working to get as many families as possible the support they need.

SY: What are some of the obstacles you’ve encountered?

JP: A lot of families don’t have access to technology; they might have one device that they're sharing among several people. So, we rely on phone calls and texting more than you might expect. Some families are reluctant to go to food sites because of their immigration status. There is a high demand for food and it is going up quickly.

SY: What are your top priorities at this point?

JP: The demand for food is a critical need right now. There's a moratorium on evictions if people can't pay rent for COVID-related reasons. We know that some families might be afraid to advocate for themselves, particularly given immigration status, and so we want to help them. We need to get rental assistance out now and also want to avoid evictions later. We are working with other providers to figure out how reopening will work, especially for early education care providers given social distancing, the lower numbers of kids that can be in the classroom, the cleaning protocols, etc.

SY: Are there any silver linings in this difficult time?

JP: I feel like it's a hopeful time. I think it's a chance for us to think about how we can do things better on the other side. In our sector, particularly on the early childcare side, the crisis is showing how essential those programs are—not only for child development, but also for families to be able to work. I can envision reinventing childcare and having more robust systems for our country. I’ve been in conversations about how we might be able to partner with private sector employers who are going to lay people off. Is there a way we could get some highly skilled people to help us? I'm on the board for the Massachusetts Association for Early Education and Care, and we’ve been talking with some of the leading Boston care providers and learning from them. It's been super helpful to have such terrific collaborators.

SY: What do you feel like your organization is doing right?

JP: Our motto is “when all give, all gain.” Our team is really embodying that now.

Our staff, various parent partners, and community volunteers have been working so many hours and going above and beyond to meet the needs of families and seniors. They have been flexible and understanding and creative, whether it is delivering diapers and wipes, getting food to those in need, or helping people pay their bills.

SY: What has given you hope and inspiration?

JP: There's a mutual aid society that people have developed: a lot of people have been asking how to help their neighbors. They are stepping up and doing those pickups and deliveries for each other and making phone calls to check in on each other. That gives me hope. In the midst of crisis, sometimes we can give birth to better ways of doing things—figuring out how to control housing costs, provide better education and childcare, improve healthcare. We are working on solutions that aren't just in this moment, but that can get us to a better place.

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