Federal Dollars Help Roca Support Youth Cycling Through Incarceration and Correctional Officers Addressing Trauma

Pressley Has Led Efforts in Congress to Address Trauma and Build a More Just, Equitable Criminal Legal System

Photo (Dropbox) | Video (YouTube)

CHELSEA – Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) visited Chelsea to celebrate the $922,000 in federal community project funding she delivered for Roca, Inc’s “Managing Trauma in Corrections” program. The federal dollars secured by the Congresswoman, which passed under a previous spending bill signed by President Biden, helped create the new program at Roca, which supports young people cycling through incarceration and correctional officers addressing and mitigating trauma.

Congresswoman Pressley has led efforts in Congress to address trauma and transform our criminal legal system to center the dignity and humanity of every person.

During her visit, the Congresswoman participated in a roundtable discussion, tour of the building, and press conference with Roca leadership, staff, and impacted families and youth served by Roca.

“The team at Roca have been incredible partners in our shared work to end cycles of trauma and violence across Chelsea and across our Commonwealth,” said Congresswoman Pressley. “It was a joy to visit Roca, to hear directly from the people they serve, and to celebrate the vital role they play pouring into our young people and strengthening our communities. While Trump and Republicans terrorize our communities and traumatize our children, I’m grateful for organizations like Roca who’ve been standing in the gap.”

“Our intervention model has proven to be very effective at helping the highest-risk young people heal their trauma and learn skills required to achieve long-term behavior change,” said Molly Baldwin, CEO and Founder of Roca, Inc. “That drives dramatically reduced rates of recidivism and helps young people choose a better, more productive path, while enhancing public safety and saving taxpayers money. We are enormously grateful for Congresswoman Pressley’s leadership in securing this funding. This allowed us to impact more young people through our reentry work and expand our Rewire4 training, which helps corrections staff better understand and support the individuals in their custody.”

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

Photo Credit: Congresswoman Pressley’s office

The Managing Trauma in Corrections (MTC) program modified Roca’s existing Rewire4 training materials being used by the Baltimore Police Department as training materials to support their officers addressing vicarious trauma, for use by correctional facilities across Massachusetts. The project would also serve all emerging adults with customized services designed to give young people the tools and skills critical to behavior change, regardless of the length of time they are detained or incarcerated.

Since its launch, Roca’s MTC program has achieved strong outcomes, significantly advancing its goal of reducing recidivism and improving behavioral health for high-risk, justice-involved emerging adults across Massachusetts. Grounded in Roca’s Intervention Model—combining relentless outreach, Rewire CBT, life skills development, and community partnerships—the initiative substantially exceeded its original service targets, engaging over 1,051 young people statewide compared to a goal of 400–500 between July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025.

Rep. Pressley has secured approximately $43 million in federal community project funding for the Massachusetts 7^th since Fiscal Year 2022.

• On September 23, 2025, Rep. Pressley visited Chinatown to celebrate the $425,000 in community project funding she secured for the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center.
• On March 27, 2025, Rep. Pressley visited East Boston to celebrate the $1 million in federal funding she delivered to expand the Digital Literacy (DigLit) Initiative in Boston, a critical program that helps workforce development programs address digital literacy gaps.
• On October 18, 2024, Rep. Pressley visited Randolph for the formal ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Turner Free Mobile Library, a bookmobile carrying books, movies, Wi-Fi, and other resources for community members, made possible by the $524,000 she delivered in funding for the library and STEM programming.
• On October 10, 2024, Rep. Pressley joined Just A Start, elected officials and community advocates and members for the formal ribbon-cutting ceremony to unveil the Economic Mobility Hub at Rindge Commons, a 70,000-square-foot facility designed to address the evolving needs of the community.
• On June 18, 2024, Rep. Pressley visited Boston Medical Center (BMC) to celebrate $370,000 in federal community project funding she secured to support BMC’s Violence Intervention Advocacy Program.
• On June 18, 2024, Rep. Pressley 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.
• 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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