Federal Funding Secured by Pressley Will Help Provide Emergency Childcare Support for Families Experiencing Homelessness in Boston

Video (YouTube) | Photos (Dropbox)

BOSTON – Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) 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. Rep. Pressley was joined by Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, city officials, and advocatesat Horizons for Homeless Children to highlight the project, which will help provide bridge childcare vouchers to families experiencing homelessness with young children from birth to five years old.

“Families and children who are unhoused deserve quality and accessible resources that meet their everyday needs and help them get back on their feet, and that includes essentials like childcare,” said Congresswoman Pressley. “I am proud to deliver this meaningful, intersectional federal investment in our most vulnerable communities right here in the Massachusetts 7^th, and I am grateful to Mayor Wu and our community partners for leading with compassion. With investments like these, we’re continuing to chart a path towards a more just and equitable district and country.”

“The resources delivered from Congresswoman Pressley and our federal delegation have been pivotal in building an infrastructure for serving unhoused families with young children,” said Mayor Michelle Wu. “Making Boston the best city for families takes a village, and I’m so grateful to our partners and community for making all this possible.”

“High quality early education with wraparound services are critical to helping young children experiencing homelessness thrive and only with federal and state funding is this possible, said Kate Barrand, President and CEO of Horizons for Homeless Children. “We are deeply grateful to the Mayor and the Congresswoman for their leadership in bringing these federal dollars to children in Massachusetts.”

At Horizons for Homeless Children, Congresswoman Pressley held a roundtable discussion and press conference with city officials and advocates to tout the project’s impact locally. Joining Rep. Pressley and Mayor Wu at the event were Claire McNally, Vice President of Programs at Ellis Early Learning; Justin Pasquariello, CEO of East Boston Social Centers; Kate Barrand, CEO of Horizons for Homeless Children; Laura Perille, CEO of Nurtury Early Education; Mayra Rosado, VP of Business Development at Nurtury Early Education; Linda Stansbury, Vice President of Early Education & Child Development; Sandra McCroom, President & CEO of Children’s Services of Roxbury; Dr. Eurnestine Brown, Director of Relational Equity & Belonging at Children’s Services of Roxbury; Kristin McSwain, Senior Advisor for Early Childhood for the City of Boston; Peninna Delinois-Zephir Child Care Housing Manager for the City of Boston; and parents at Horizons for Homeless Children.

Video from the press conference is available here and photos of the roundtable are 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.

• 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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