MPHA Announces Deputy Director
 
We are thrilled to announce that Oami Amarasingham will join MPHA as our new Deputy Director on January 1, 2022. This position includes the policy and campaign work that Maddie Ribble has spearheaded over the course of his time at MPHA, as well as partnering with the Executive Director and Board in the overall management of the organization. Oami currently serves as the Deputy Legislative Director at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Massachusetts. Prior to that role, she worked at the ACLU of Maine for seven years, ending her tenure there as Advocacy Director. Last year, Oami participated as a panelist in our Annual Conference, where she spoke about our work together on police reform as part of the Task Force on Coronavirus & Equity. Please join us in welcoming Oami to MPHA in the New Year!
Your Voice Is Needed to Transform Local Public Health!
 
Great news! Earlier this week, the Senate Ways and Means Committee released its bill to allocate federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds coming to the state of Massachusetts. Thanks to the efforts of our legislative champions, the Senate has included a $251 million investment in the Commonwealth’s local public health system! This transformational funding that will allow us to fix our broken local public health system. But we are not done! To ensure the lasting impact of this investment, Massachusetts needs policy change to go along with it. Our Senate champion, Jo Comerford, is filing an amendment to include the SAPHE 2.0 bill in this ARPA legislation. This will establish minimum health standards for every community, credential public health workers, create uniform data collection and reporting systems and build a state funding mechanism for local boards of health. Please take a moment to contact your State Senator TODAY and request that they co-sponsor this amendment!
Join us for MPHA’s Annual Conference on Community Power Building
 
Looking for inspiration and new ideas? Join us at MPHA’s virtual Annual Conference & Meeting: Creating Health Equity by Building Community Power on 11/16 from 10 AM to 1 PM. The program includes a keynote address by Xavier Morales, Executive Director of the Praxis Project, who will share their recently released Social Determinants of Health Equity Framework and discuss their focus on community power building. This will be followed by Power Building on the Ground, a panel featuring Megan Gaydos of Human Impact Partners (HIP) and Dwaign Tyndal of Alternatives for Community & Environment (ACE), two organizations that are leading in this area. Finally, we will wrap up the day with an optional workshop on the Power of Student Activism. Register today!
Rally Builds Support for Housing Bill
 
On October 21, MPHA joined the Homes for All Coalition and housing justice advocates on the State House steps to mark a full year since the expiration of the state’s moratorium on evictions and foreclosures. Since then, more than 24,000 evictions have been filed across the state. Over 16,000 of these cases were attributed to failure to pay rent, despite the availability of more than $800 million in rental assistance from the state. In addition, at least 30,000 homeowners remain at serious risk of foreclosure. Immediate legislative action is needed to protect tenants and homeowners, preserve public health and mitigate the devastating toll that COVID has already taken on low-income households and communities of color. Join us by taking action to call for the immediate passage of the COVID-19 Housing Equity Bill (H.1434/S.891)—the time is now!
MPHA Receives Partnership Grant from Dana-Farber
 
For years, racism has shaped urban planning decisions, resulting in greater exposure to air pollutants for residents of color. To address this inequity, MPHA and our partner, Alternatives for Community & Environment (ACE), were recently awarded a 4-year grant from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to improve air quality in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston and beyond. These funds will support mobilizing residents and community organizations to advocate for policies that make Massachusetts a cleaner, safer place to breathe. Most importantly, these funds will help build power among those most burdened by poor air quality to shape transportation, housing, and environmental policy decisions.
Massachusetts Public Health Association