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March 19, 2024
Greetings!
Our hearts are filled with gratitude for all of your support for our March 7th Legislative Action Day at the State House! Thank you to all the attendees for joining us in the fight to end homelessness. We had 200 people with us: families, youth, and adults with lived experience of homelessness, providers, advocates, and legislators all speaking up for solutions to homelessness, housing instability, and poverty, and taking action to ensure that everyone has a place to call home.
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A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR COMMUNITY SPEAKERS!
We are SO incredibly grateful for advocates, people with lived experience of housing instability and homelessness, and our nonprofit partners who shared their stories and remarks on the importance of addressing housing and homelessness issues NOW. See more information about the speakers below:
- Doctor Aura Obando, MD, Family Team Medical Director, Boston Health Care for the Homeless
- Doctor Aisha James, MD, Adult & Pediatric Primary Care Physician, MGH Everett Family Care
- Calvena DeVoe, Advocate/Activist
- Donnie Lee Renrick, Street Advocate and Activist/Founder/President of Bostonstreetunion.com
- Jack Diaz, Associate, Breaktime
- Mari Brooks, Associate, Breaktime
- Marybeth Bacigalupo-Worden, Member, Worcester Fellowship
- Tri Tran, Director of Public Policy, Rosie's Place
- Reverend Doctor Sandy Range, Founder/Board Chair/CEO, Grandmothers’ Village Project (remarks presented by Enyonam Edoh)
- Andrea Park, Director of Community Driven Advocacy, Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
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A BIG THANK YOU TO OUR STATE HOUSE PARTNERS!
We are so thankful for Rep. O'Day for hosting the event, the legislators and legislative staff who came to the event, and especially, the legislators who provided remarks on advancing bill and budget priorities that address housing and homelessness issues.
- Representative Jim O'Day, Host
- Representative Christine Barber
- Representative Marjorie Decker
- Representative Kay Khan
- Representative Smitty Pignatelli
- Senator Lydia Edwards
- Senator Pat Jehlen
- Senator Robyn Kennedy
- Senator Liz Miranda
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THANK YOU to all of our public policy team intern and volunteers, and event-day team who made LAD a success:
- Allison Alter
- Tina Baptista (MCH's A Bed for Every Child Program Director)
- Sr. Linda Bessom, SND
- Cindy Concepcion
- Enyonam Edoh
- Mark O’Lalor
- Andrea Park
- Kristina Reid
- Nina Shamsi
- Julia Shields
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Ken Zee
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We also are very thankful to everyone who met and/or called legislators and staff in the afternoon to advocate for key homelessness and housing bill and budget priorities. Links to fact sheets on the Coalition's key FY'25 budget requests (PDF), 2023-2024 bill priorities (PDF), and other materials can be found here.
If you did speak with legislators and staff, please complete the legislative response form. If you didn't, it is not too late! Please contact your State Representative and State Senator and/or their staff in the week ahead to express your support for the Coalition's budget and bill priorities. Ask your State Senator and State Representative to actively support these priorities throughout the FY'25 budget process and this bill session. Legislators' contact information can be found at https://malegislature.gov/Legislators or at https://malegislature.gov/Search/FindMyLegislator. Here are some other tips for talking to legislative offices.
For more photos from the event, access the LAD photo album here.
From across the Commonwealth, we raised our voices with one message, and took action to end homelessness. Let's continue to build up that momentum. Thank you for your partnership and solidarity!
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Stay Tuned:
With gratitude,
Julia and Kelly
Julia Garvey
Community Organizer/Legislative Advocate
julia.garvey@mahomeless.org
Kelly Turley
Associate Director
kelly@mahomeless.org
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