Newton seniors struggling with rent, utilities or unexpected repairs can seek emergency assistance through a local nonprofit that provides up to $1,000 per person each year.

The Senior Citizens Fund of Newton, also known as the Newton Senior Fund, distributed $12,873 through 21 grants in 2025, board member Marion Cooper Pollock told Fig City News.

Residents can start by contacting a resource navigator at the Cooper Center for Active Living. Navigators help older adults identify benefits and services, including confidential financial assistance.

For one 83-year-old homeowner, a grant bought time to address a leaking roof. The woman, who asked Fig City News to withhold her name, had lived in her house since 1959. Water damage had led to mold, and she sought help from the Cooper Center.

The $1,000 grant covered a temporary repair while she searched for a contractor to replace the roof. She told Fig City News that without the repair, the leak would have caused “a lot more damage.”

Other grants have helped residents pay MassHealth premiums, utility bills and rent, as well as storage costs following homelessness.

Henry Moche, a resource navigator and licensed clinical social worker at the Cooper Center, told Fig City News that requests for assistance arrive steadily. Food, heating and housing expenses are among the needs residents bring to the center.

The fund began more than 30 years ago to supplement the senior center’s resources. Its work now includes emergency grants, exercise-class scholarships, subsidized meals at the Cooper Café and support for special programs, according to the nonprofit’s website.

Pollock, whose mother Audrey Cooper was the center’s namesake, said the organization wants more residents to know help is available.

“I don’t think people know about us,” she told the Newton Beacon.

The Cooper Center is at 345 Walnut St. in Newtonville. Residents can reach its resource navigators at 617-796-1672 or [email protected].

The center’s main number is 617-796-1660. An automated text assistant is available at that number around the clock, including after office hours.

More information about assistance is available on the city’s resource page. Donations can be made through newtonseniorfund.org.