CAPIC: Helping Chelsea Families Find Support Close to Home

For many Chelsea families, Community Action Programs Inter-City—better known as CAPIC—is one of the local organizations residents may turn to when a household challenge becomes urgent. CAPIC is a private nonprofit chartered in 1967 to address poverty in Chelsea and Revere, later expanding its designated area to include Winthrop, with a mission focused on helping low-income residents move toward self-sufficiency.

From its main office at 100 Everett Ave., Unit 14, CAPIC lists services that include Emergency Assistance, Fuel Assistance, Weatherization, VITA tax preparation, Responsible Payee support, Crisis Intervention/Domestic Violence services, and Chelsea SUDS & Mobile Outreach. That range matters in a city where residents may need more than one kind of help at once — heat, housing stability, food access, paperwork, transportation support, or a safe place to ask what comes next.

CAPIC’s Emergency Assistance Program provides critical help for at-risk families in emergency situations, including food vouchers, referrals to food pantries, SNAP assistance, rental or utility assistance, clothing, winter coats, household goods, and basic housing search assistance. Its Fuel Assistance/HEAP program helps eligible homeowners and renters with home heating bills, and CAPIC says the program serves Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop.

What residents seem to appreciate most is the practical, direct support. A 2019 Chelsea Record feature reported that CAPIC’s fuel assistance program had aided more than 2,700 residents across Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop, and quoted CAPIC’s energy director describing gratitude from clients whose heat was restored, heating systems replaced, or homes weatherized. More recently, Chelsea awarded CAPIC a $525,600 opioid abatement grant over three years to support harm reduction, connection to care, and wraparound services for people with substance use disorders.