Your stories, our campaigns

Accessing healthy and affordable food

Over the past couple of years, Revere has been growing its Food Economy to ensure that all residents have access to healthy affordable food. The Massachusetts Food Trust will provide an opportunity to fund the growth of local retailers such as the Revere Farmers Market, which has been transforming into a small food business incubator and space for new jobs and economic development.

Dimple Rana
Revere on the Move

Championed by MPHA, the Massachusetts Food Trust Program officially launched in fall 2018. The Massachusetts Food Trust Program will use capital funds to seed new and expanded healthy food retailers and local food enterprises in low- and moderate- income communities that currently lack access and will create strong local job opportunities.

Advancing community health integration

MPHA’s leadership of the Alliance for Community Health Integration has been extremely helpful to our goal of advancing community health workers as a fully recognized and sustained part of the workforce. What’s more, because of MPHA’s vision, ACHI has quickly become a powerful collective voice in health care policymaking, ensuring that the social determinants of health are front and center in discussions with hospitals, ACOs, MassHealth, and the Legislature.

Lissette Blondet
Massachusetts Association of Community Health Workers

The Alliance for Community Health Integration launched in 2018. In the first year, it has been successful in advocating for more substantive incorporation of the social determinants of health (SDOH) in the Attorney General’s updated Community Benefit Guidelines for hospitals, securing a state budget amendment ensuring public availability of MassHealth data on the SDOH, providing informational trainings for Community Benefits Advisory Council members who work outside the health care system, and bringing the voice of public health and consumer advocates to the table on the implementation of health care reform.

Enhancing transportation equity

I always tell my children “have a plan B.” It’s not because I expect plan A to fail, it’s for just in case. So when my RTA in Worcester faced a budget that might not be met, meaning service cuts and no weekend service, I had to go into Plan B mode. Better transportation right now means having options. I am a Paratransit user and disabled so my options are already limited. It’s important that our transportation system work for everyone and that the needs of all transit users are considered by policy makers so that service meets need.

Nancy Garr-Colzie
Transportation Planning Advisory Group

The Regional Transit Authority Advocates Coalition (RTAAC), established in 2018 and co-led by MPHA and Transportation for Massachusetts, was crucial in securing increased funding in the FY19 state budget in order to maintain current transportation options for cities and towns beyond Metro Boston.

MPHA also led 11 informational and advocacy sessions on transportation policies around the state, engaging and educating community leaders on how to take action to improve transportation options. Improved transportation was identified as an essential need in virtually all of the community health needs assessments in the Commonwealth.

Strengthening local public health

Most people expect clean water, clean air, safe food, and protection from communicable diseases. From addressing childhood obesity to the opioid crisis, our residents expect someone will lead the efforts. Local health departments are often the primary guardians of these expectations, and the chief health strategists to lead prevention initiatives. As a diverse community, our work in Framingham is especially important, since many of our residents may not be able to advocate for themselves and are at risk for health inequities.

Sam Wong
Framingham Public Health Department

Through the Special Commission on Local and Regional Public Health, stakeholders across the state have been engaged and educated on the need to strengthen the local public health system in the Commonwealth. The Special Commission, created through a MPHA-led legislative campaign, will release a final report in early 2019 that will provide the foundation for further advocacy.

Your stories, our campaigns — 2018

Your stories, our campaigns

Accessing healthy and affordable food