Federal Dollars Delivered by Pressley to Help MGH Address Statewide Shortage of Bilingual, Culturally Diverse Mental Health Providers

Photo (Dropbox) | Video (Facebook)

CHELSEA – Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) visited Chelsea HealthCare Center to celebrate $1,150,000 in federal community project funding she secured to support Massachusetts General Hospital’s (MGH) efforts to address the statewide shortage of bilingual, culturally diverse mental health providers for immigrant and limited English proficiency communities. Rep. Pressley was joined by MGH leadership, impacted families, and community leaders for a roundtable discussion and press conference to discuss how the funding will support a just and equitable recovery in the Massachusetts 7^th Congressional District.

“Everyone deserves access to high-quality mental health services and wraparound care, including our immigrant neighbors,” said Rep. Pressley. “This federal funding will meet a critical need across the Commonwealth by supporting MGH’s life-saving efforts to provide comprehensive, culturally congruent care to vulnerable communities. These are the types of trauma-informed resources that deserve bold deserve bold federal investments, and I am so proud to partner with the MGH team and our local partners to get this critical funding over the finish line.”

Joining Rep. Pressley was Tom Sequist, MD, MPH, Chief Medical Officer, Mass General Brigham; Fiona Danaher, MD, MPH, Director, MGH Center for Immigrant Health (Pediatrics); Rahel Bosson, MD, Associate Director, MGH Center for Immigrant Health (Psychiatry); Betty Descilien, Immigrant/Mental Health Community Health Worker, MGH Center for Immigrant Health; Dinanyili Paulino, Executive Vice President, La Colaborativa; Tracey Taldon, LICSW, Founder, Wellness for Our Future; Ana Espinal, MGH Center for Immigrant Health Nutrition Program participant and MGH Chelsea patient; Lyvien Feto, MGH Center for Immigrant Health Resource Navigation Program participant and former shelter resident; and MGH leadership, impacted families, and community leaders.

“Our immigrant patients and colleagues have traveled many different paths, and they have so much to teach us about courage, tenacity, and resilience,” said Fiona Danaher, MD, MPH, Director of the MGH Center for Immigrant Health. “We are proud to build upon the longstanding work of our colleagues at the MGH Chelsea HealthCare Center, and throughout the broader Mass General Brigham system, in welcoming new arrivals to Massachusetts with dignity and compassion.  We are immensely grateful to Congresswoman Pressley for her leadership in this shared mission.”

“As a healthcare system, our clinicians are often on the frontline of welcoming immigrants and refugees in need of medical care. Across Mass General Brigham, we will continue to offer the highest quality of care to for all our patients, regardless of immigration status, with the respect and dignity they deserve,” said Elsie Taveras, MD, MPH, Chief Community Health and Health Equity Officer for Mass General Brigham. “We are grateful to Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley for securing this much needed funding to support mental health efforts for immigrant communities and those with limited English proficiency.”

Photos from the event are available here and video of the press conference is available here.

Rep. Pressley secured the federal funding for the program in the Fiscal Year 2023 government spending package that passed Congress and was signed into law by President Biden in December 2022. Rep. Pressley has secured approximately $35 million in federal community project funding for the Massachusetts 7^th since Fiscal Year 2022.

• On April 22, 2204, Rep. Pressley and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) visited Nubian Square in Roxbury for a roundtable discussion to celebrate the $1,000,000 million in federal funding they secured for the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts (BECMA).
• On March 28, 2024, Rep. Pressley visited Roxbury to celebrate the $1,000,000 in federal funding she secured to provide emergency childcare support for families experiencing homelessness in the City of Boston.
• In February 2024, Rep. Pressley visited Chelsea City Hall for a roundtable and press conference to celebrate the $750,000 in federal funding she secured for the City of Chelsea’s and City of Everett’s Island End River Coastal Flood Resilience Project.
• In January 2024, Rep. Pressley visited Somerville to celebrate the $2.4 million in federal funding she secured to support the community-led transformation of the Clarendon Hill housing community, an ethnically, linguistically and economically diverse neighborhood.
• In December 2023, Rep. Pressley visited Brighton to celebrate $400,000 she delivered for Amplify Latinx’s ALX Small Business Program.
• In November 2023, Rep. Pressley visited Roxbury Community College (RCC) to celebrate $1 million in federal community project funding she secured for Northeastern University’s Roxbury Associate’s to Master’s Workforce Accelerator (RA2MWA).
• In June 2023, Rep. Pressley visited Chelsea to celebrate $2,000,000 in federal community project funding she secured to improve the Broadway Corridor—home to an array of BIPOC-owned small businesses, vibrant public spaces, high frequency public transit routes, and dense residential housing.
• In April 2023, Rep. Pressley visited Randolph to celebrate $524,000 she secured for Randolph Public Schools to support a mobile library and STEM programming.
• In March 2023, Rep. Pressley visited Dorchester to celebrate $250,000 in new Community Project Funding she secured for Big Sister Association of Greater Boston’s one-to-one mentoring and enrichment programs for girls.
• In February 2023, Rep. Pressley visited the African Community Economic Development of New England (ACEDONE) to celebrate the $643,003 in community project funding she secured for ACEDONE to support small businesses in predominately Black, brown and African immigrant communities.
• In October 2022, Rep. Pressley visited The Dimock Center in Roxbury to celebrate $1 million in federal community project funding she secured to support substance use treatment and programming at the health center. 
• In August 2022, Rep. Pressley visited Randolph to deliver $275,000 in federal community project funding for culturally responsive resources and digital literacy tools for Randolph Public Schools.
• In June 2022, Rep. Pressley visited the Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology to deliver $300,000 in direct federal funding for the development of a Clean Energy Building Automation Systems certificate and associate degree program.
• In May 2022, she visited Bunker Hill Community College to celebrate the $1,000,000 in federal community project funding she secured to expand the City of Boston’s Tuition-Free Community College program.
• In April 2022, she visited Randolph to deliver $1,000,000 in federal community project funding for a new school-based community health center at Randolph High School. 
• In March 2022, she visited La Colaborativa in Chelsea to celebrate the $300,000 in federal community project funding that she delivered for La Colaborativa’s COVID Employment Recovery Program.

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