MASSACHUSETTS ALLIANCE OF PORTUGUESE SPEAKERS INC
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Mission Statement
The Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers (MAPS) is a private, non-profit, community-based organization that has provided a wide range of culturally and linguistically competent health and social services to Portuguese speakers and other residents of eastern Massachusetts since 1970. MAPS' Mission is to improve the lives of Portuguese-speaking individuals and families from Massachusetts and help them become contributing, active participants in American society while maintaining strong ethnic identity and a sense of community. MAPS works with and for the Brazilian, Cabo Verdean, Portuguese and other Portuguese-speaking communities to increase access and remove barriers to health, education and social services through direct services, advocacy, leadership and community development.
About This Cause
The Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers (MAPS) is a private, nonprofit, community-based organization that offers a variety of programs that break down language and cultural barriers to health and social services, education and economic opportunity for Brazilians, Cabo Verdeans, Portuguese and other Portuguese-speaking individuals and families throughout Greater Boston, Greater Lowell, MetroWest and beyond in eastern Massachusetts. Background: MAPS has served the Portuguese-speaking communities of Massachusetts since 1970 - providing targeted services and support to help community members stabilize their lives and become more independent, self-sufficient, healthy and successful. MAPS in its present form was created in 1993 by the merger of two other organizations. The former Somerville Portuguese American League (SPAL) and Cambridge Organization of Portuguese Americans (COPA), had served area Portuguese speakers separately for more than 20 years. They merged to improve service provision and further unify the Portuguese-speaking community, including immigrants from eight countries around the world. Service Population: Most MAPS’ clients in the Boston area, MetroWest and northeastern Massachusetts are low-income, limited English-speaking individuals and families from Brazil, Cabo Verde or Portugal. The MAPS staff and Board of Directors come from linguistic and cultural backgrounds that reflect the diversity of the agency’s clientele. During FY2020--our 50th Anniversary year--MAPS served nearly 18,000 community members despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. With the help of many generous foundations, government agencies, individuals, businesses and organizations, MAPS has been able to provide a variety of emergency assistance to large numbers of community members whose lives were turned upside down during the ongoing pandemic. The agency also has been providing updated COVID-19 information, referrals to testing, and, since mid-2021, community-based COVID vaccination clinics in conjunction with our partner, Health Innovations. MAPS also continued providing all of its regular services throughout the pandemic--at first remotely, then on a hybrid basis with many staff back working full-time in their respective offices. Since 2021, MAPS has also provided free, short-term, remote Mental Health Counseling for clients coping with COVID-related trauma and challenges. Office Locations: MAPS offices are located in the heart of the Portuguese-speaking communities of Cambridge, Somerville, Boston (Dorchester and Brighton), Lowell and Framingham. The organization opened its first Boston office in Allston in 1995 to serve the large and growing Brazilian population in that neighborhood. MAPS expanded its service area northward in 1997, opening its new Lowell office at the urgent request of the city’s Portuguese-speaking community. A second Boston office opened in Upham’s Corner, Dorchester in 2001 to serve the surrounding Cabo Verdean community. In 2006, MAPS opened a part-time office in Framingham to provide services to the large Brazilian community of the MetroWest area. The MAPS Allston Office moved to Brighton in 2012. In 2021, MAPS was able to realize a dream of purchasing its own building for the Lowell Office, with partial help from a federal PPP loan that was forgiven, as well as a generous renovation grant for disability access upgrades from the Theodore Edson Parker Foundation. The new office at 490 Central Street opened in the fall of 2021, when all Lowell staff and programs transferred there. Programs and Services: The agency offers a wide range of social services and educational programs that help community members with limited English skills adjust to American society, manage daily life issues and remain safe from harm. MAPS also provides services designed to promote healthy lifestyles and prevent disease. Current programs include: - Immigrant Integration Services (IIS), providing advocacy, information, case management and referrals on a variety of daily life issues such as Citizenship Assistance, Housing Searches and Assistance, Employment Assistance, Public Benefits Application Assistance, Translation and Notary Public Services and much more. This program also refers clients to U.S. Citizenship preparation classes within and outside MAPS, as well as to attorneys, health and mental health services, educational programs, and other community partners to meet their specific needs; - Elder Services, including case management in Cambridge and Lowell, and the MAPS Cambridge Senior Center, which provides elderly community members with daily nutritious lunches, social, cultural and educational activities, health screenings, case management and much more Monday-Friday; - HIV/AIDS/Sexually Transmitted Infections Prevention, Screening, Referrals and Case Management Services; -Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Services, providing community outreach, education, safety planning, advocacy, assistance, case management, support groups and more; - Family-Based Support Services for abused, neglected and at-risk youth and their families, which includes In-Home Therapy—providing assessment, treatment and other services for families with MassHealth coverage—as well as Child & Family Stabilization services for families referred by the MA Department of Children & Families; - Court-referred intervention services comprised of the Intimate Partner Abuse Educational Program for abusive men and an Impaired Driver educational program for clients convicted of driving under the influence; - Translation and Notary Public services. MAPS also offers advocacy, leadership and community development services for Brazilian, Cabo Verdean, Portuguese and other Portuguese-speaking community members. The Portuguese-Speaking Community: Portuguese speakers are one of the largest linguistic minority groups in Massachusetts, about a half million strong including immigrants and their immediate descendants who mainly speak Portuguese. This estimate is based on recent Census and American Community Survey data, school enrollments, and other key data sources.