鈥淭丑颈蝉听gift is an incredible recognition of the collaborative work HRiA does with our community partners and clients to transform practices, policies, and systems to enable individuals to thrive in more equitable and just communities,鈥� said Steven Ridini, HRiA CEO and President. 听鈥淚t is our staff鈥檚 passion, vision, and tireless commitment – over the decades and today – that set the stage for this tremendous opportunity. Thanks to this gift, HRiA can expand our impact in centering community voices to address health and racial equity.鈥�

We are deeply grateful to MacKenzie Scott and Yield Giving for sharing our vision of healthy people thriving in equitable and just communities.

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Purchases will include:

• Transportation vehicles, ramps, lifts, treatment tables, and other accessories for uploading and assisting patients with physical disabilities;
• Electronic devices, software, and other tools to facilitate language translation and speech barriers;
• Audiometers, otoscopes, retinal imaging cameras, magnification software, portable vital sign machines, bariatric tools, bladder scanners, and other instruments;
• Dental chairs, intraoral cameras, and mobile dental operatories.

Funded by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) and managed by 天涯社区官网 (HRiA), PAIGP aims to help MassHealth providers who may experience challenges making significant capital investments to purchase equipment and other resources.

PAIGP awarded grants of up to $75,000 to each awardee. Providers who applied for the 2020 Cycle 2 grant, included, but were not limited to, physicians, dentists, women鈥檚 health, early intervention, behavioral health, or other healthcare providers. All PAIGP grant award recipients work in a setting that is not a hospital or owned by a hospital or hospital system.

EOHHS anticipates offering another cycle of awards under the MassHealth Provider Access Improvement Grant Program (PAIGP) in 2021. For more information about PAIGP and the 2020 Cycle 2 grant awards, visit .

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Go directly to Action Items.

HRiA鈥檚 commitment to getting out the vote

HRiA has joined , a national movement of employers to promote and support voting among employees. We believe voting and civic engagement are essential to a strong democracy, and we have taken the following steps to promote this among our staff:

• Staff members can use a personal day to volunteer as a poll worker on November 3^rd.
• We sponsored a Voter Mobilization Training Session with a representative from , a nonpartisan voter outreach campaign of the Center for Common Ground. Staff members were able to use an hour of professional development time to participate in this training on phone banking.
• Staff members can flex their schedules or use personal time to vote in person.
• We distributed to staff and our networks information and online resources about voting, deadlines, and how to register or request mail-in ballots.

These are a few simple ways that organizations can support their staff members and promote civic engagement. We invite you to share your ideas and strategies with us on social media!

Voter suppression and why voting is so important

The right to vote is the core of our American democracy. However, it has never been available to all of us. Over centuries, we have had to fight to expand the right to vote to include Black men (, 1870) and women (, 1920). In 1943, Chinese immigrants earned the right to citizenship and the right to vote. In 1948, Arizona and New Mexico became the last states to extend full voting rights to Native Americans in defiance of the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924.

Today, the criminal justice system has taken away the right to vote from millions of people due to a felony conviction and incarceration. While many states reinstate voting rights after a period of time, , the loss of the right to vote is permanent. And because Black and Latino men are disproportionately and than whites convicted of the same crime, they are disproportionately disenfranchised.

Immigrants鈥攊ncluding those with proper documentation and long-term residency whose contributions are vital to our economy and societal health鈥攁re not eligible to vote in the US without completing the arduous process of becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen. Currently, the voting rights of U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico, like the voting rights of residents of other听, differ from those U.S.听citizens in each of the听听and DC. Residents of听听and other U.S. territories do not have voting representation in the听, and are not entitled to听听蹿辞谤听.

Even when the right to vote is secured, tactics make it difficult or impossible to exercise it. 鈥攗sing tactics such as literacy tests and poll taxes 鈥� prevented many Black Americans from voting for nearly 100 years until 1965鈥檚 . But , often targeting , people with disabilities, youth, and elderly, with such as voter ID laws, gerrymandering, reducing polling locations, purging voter rolls, charging modern day , and even .

Voting is vital to our democracy. Recent events have shown that the foundation of our democracy is fragile, built upon just over 7,500 words written in our Constitution and its amendments. Our freedoms, principles, and institutions (including the right to vote) aren鈥檛 guaranteed 鈥� they require our active engagement and vigilance to protect and strengthen them.

And not only is it our civic duty to vote, it is also healthy!听In fact, civic participation (which includes voting) was as part of the Social and Community Context domain of Healthy People 2020. A of 44 countries found that voting was associated with better self-reported health.

With so much on the line, HRiA has compiled a list of actions that you and your organizations can take to GET OUT THE VOTE!

Action Items

The information below focuses on voting in Massachusetts. For information about voting in other states, visit .

Register to Vote

Check your .
Register or by by October 24, 2020.

Vote by Mail

Request a mail-in ballot by filling out this and returning it by mail or email to your . If you鈥檙e not sure if you will vote in person or by mail, you can request the ballot and decide later. The deadline to request a mail-in ballot is October 28. Don鈥檛 wait 鈥� do it now.

If you decide to vote by mail, return your completed ballot ASAP. Your ballot must be POSTMARKED by November 3 (election day) and RECEIVED by November 6. You can mail it back or .

Vote in Person

You can vote early in person October 17 thru October 30 at select locations in your town (find your early voting location ). You can also vote in person on November 3 at your regular polling location.

If you鈥檙e going to vote in person, make a plan! Confirm where you vote, reserve time in your calendar, and make travel plans. Ask your employer or boss if you can adjust your work schedule. If you’re an employer, consider allowing your staff to adjust their schedules or provide flexibility so they can make time to vote on election day.

Spread the Word听

Send this blog to at least five people in your personal and professional networks!

Other Civic Engagement Options

• to be a poll worker in your town.
• that would change the way we elect state and federal legislators, using 鈥渞anked-choice voting.鈥�
• Join efforts to fight gerrymandering and promote fair redistricting and voting reforms across the US, such as听 or .
• Join efforts to fight听voter suppression nationwide, such as (see training opportunity below!), 辞谤听.
• Pick a campaign and get involved! Candidates and causes need your energy, time, and resources NOW. You can donate, make phone calls, send text messages, write letters, and other things to encourage people to vote.
• Encourage your family and friends to vote. Forward this email to your friends, and post to your social media and professional networks.听If you aren鈥檛 eligible to听vote, you can still talk with others about the importance of voting and encouraging them to do so.

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Moving Towards Justice in Maternal Health: A Roadmap for Action

Join us on October 14th, 21st, and 28th from 5:00pm – 7:00pm ET as we discuss maternal justice and the key systems that impact maternal health.

The goal of the symposium is to be a connector and safe space for individuals with lived experience, researchers, and providers to create tangible action items for addressing maternal health.

Our objectives are:

1. Share and receive feedback about prioritized content from patient champion listening sessions to inform the patient-centered research agenda.
2. Create an infrastructure for sustainability by bringing together various stakeholders and uplifting the work of others.
3. Center the experiences of birthing people while making a collective impact towards action.

To register and learn more about our exciting speakers, discussions, and presentations, visit us at .听

The National Maternal Health PCOR Network (NMHPN) is comprised of patients/patient representatives, researchers, clinicians, and other stakeholders to develop a patient-centered agenda to improve maternal health outcomes. Long-term objectives include establishing a sustainable multidisciplinary network; disseminating current and future best practices and models of care; increasing participation among the clinical/social-science research community in projects focused on maternal health; strengthening collaboration among multiple sectors, and between patients and professionals, to address maternal health; and increasing accountability to move toward system-level change.

The 2020 NMHPN Symposium is funded through a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute庐 (PCORI庐) Engagement Award Initiative #14327-HRAI. The content does not necessarily represent the views of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), its Board of Governors, or Methodology Committee.

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Racial and ethnic inequities contribute to disproportionate COVID-19 burden in communities of color. Factors including larger household size and larger proportion of food service workers, foreign-born non-citizens, non-high school graduates may explain some of the disproportionate burden in Latinx communities in Massachusetts. These same factors do not appear to explain disproportionate infection and death rates in Black populations, suggesting that structural racism may be a contributing factor.¹ COVID-19 Community Grants are intended to engage community- and faith-based organizations in the development and delivery of effective messages and to further support hard-hit communities with education, training, and funding to effectively meet their communities鈥� specific needs. Grant activities will build upon existing local and state efforts, including the Commonwealth鈥檚 new public messaging campaign, and be coordinated with the COVID-19 Enforcement and Intervention Team.

Potential applicants can attend an informational webinar on 1-2pm or view the recording, participate in virtual 鈥渙ffice hours鈥� for additional application support, and submit questions. Learn more about this grant opportunity made possible by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and administered by 天涯社区官网.

^[1][1] Figueroa, J. F., Wadhera, R. K., Lee, D., Yeh, R. W. & Sommers, B. D. (2020). Community-level factors associated with racial and ethnic disparities in COVID-19 rates in Massachusetts. Health Affairs.

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Racism is embedded in every system and structure of our country 鈥� housing, education, employment, and healthcare to name a few. Racism is so entrenched in our history and the way in which we function as a society, that it influences all of us and the decisions we make. It is no wonder racism has a profound impact on the daily life experiences and the health of black people in this country. Everyone should have the opportunity to live the healthiest, longest life possible, yet black men continue to have substantially lower life expectancy than any other racial group, from birth.

As a white male CEO who is committed to health and racial equity, I recognize my responsibility to use my privilege and power to lead HRiA in seeking to eliminate racism. All too often, white people, myself included, look to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color to address the injustices resulting from the systems and policies created and perpetuated by white people for centuries, when we should be doing the work ourselves. I am calling on other white CEO鈥檚 to step forward in solidarity with our black and brown siblings. We can do so by reaching inside ourselves to explore and challenge our own beliefs, attitudes, and actions that contribute to and perpetuate white supremacy culture and to take deliberate actions by:

• Affording time during the workday and/or additional time-off for staff members to engage in self-care, connect with others, reflect, and recover during crisis times.
• Creating space such as Affinity groups for staff members to connect with others who share racial, ethnic, and culture backgrounds.
• Committing organizational resources to dismantle institutional racism.
• Collaborating with community partners to ensure that our mutual work addresses the root causes of racism and leads towards health equity and racial justice.
• Pursuing policy and systems change approaches to dismantle institutional and structural racism to create sustainable change.

Let鈥檚 be clear 鈥� this is hard work. As we uncover the ways in which racism operates at HRiA, we have to be responsive to additional challenges, such as:

• How do we intentionally and regularly check-in with black staff members and other staff of color who are disproportionately affected by racial injustices without creating more burden and trauma?
• How do we reconcile our history of predominantly white senior leadership?
• How do we ensure that appropriate financial and human resources are allocated to sustain our anti-racism efforts during these uncertain economic times?

The work must continue. 400 years is too long. 天涯社区官网 stands in solidarity with black communities and leaders to listen, learn, and take collective action to transform ourselves and our society to ensure a more equitable future for all.

Photo credit:

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HRiA has provided treatment referral services for over 22 years. We understand that people recovering from substance use disorders are at risk of a setback, and emergencies like COVID-19 can add stress on their continued recovery. In addition, people in recovery may have weakened immune systems from long term substance use. This article explores how people can continue in their recovery and stay healthy and how loved ones can help during this or any future public health crisis.

For those who are actively using substances, our friends at the Harm Reduction Coalition have put together a .

UPDATE 4/7/20: The Mayor of Boston’s Office of Recovery Services put together .

Guidance for those in recovery:

1. Recognize that this is a stressful time, and that鈥檚 okay. It is completely normal to be concerned about staying sober right now.
2. Connect with your sponsor or a trusted loved one. Call, text, or email a trusted friend. Let them know how you鈥檙e feeling and ask for what you need.
3. Review your plan. In your recovery, you鈥檝e created a plan of action to avoid a setback. Review your plan and use it when necessary.
4. Identify online resources to supplement your plan. If your plan involves going to meetings that are no longer being held in person, you can easily find online meeting alternatives:
   • For help finding additional resources in your community, dial local information for assistance. In Massachusetts, that number is 211. (For assistance in recovery, contact a Helpline.)
5. Review your plan for emergencies. Your emergency plan should not change because of a public health emergency. Your health and wellbeing in recovery continue to be an important part of your life.
6. Change your plan to meet your current needs. Think about the things that you can do while staying safe during social distancing. Some things you can add to your plan:
   • Start and keep a .
   • Limit screen time.
   • Be active 鈥� take a walk or .
   • Watch your favorite television show or movie at home.
   • Read a good book.
   • Try or .
   • Write in your journal.
7. Stock up on a 30-day supply prescribed medications and supplements to keep yourself healthy and safe. Some medications have limits on the quantity and frequency of refills, especially those for addiction treatment (MAT), like methadone or buprenorphine. Contact your care team to plan for getting your medications as needed.
8. Check the news a little less while staying informed. In an emergency, it鈥檚 important to know what鈥檚 going on. However, this can be overwhelming and cause a lot of anxiety. Try turning off notifications on your phone and check it less often, perhaps once or twice a day. When checking the news, stick to quality sources and avoid the comments section.
9. Change your social media settings. Staying connected during social distancing is healthy, but sometimes social media can be a source of anxiety. Mute, snooze, or unfollow people who are sharing triggering, upsetting, or incorrect information as you see fit. Look for sources of positive content.
10. Focus on your health.  Eat well, hydrate, sleep, and stay connected to loved ones. Stay as active as possible while remaining safe. Be aware of other addicting behaviors like overeating and gambling.
11. For those recovering from opioid use: get Narcan (naloxone) and keep it on hand for emergencies.
    • Massachusetts residents can learn more about accessing Narcan .

If you鈥檙e at risk of a setback (sometimes called a relapse):

1. Read from our Massachusetts Helpline.
2. Call someone you trust. This can be you sponsor, recovery coach, or other trusted support.
3. Contact a helpline. HRiA manages helplines in three states. If you can鈥檛 find a helpline in your state, please contact the national hotline.
   • Massachusetts: 800.327.5050
   • Illinois: 833-2FINDHELP
   • Vermont: 802-565-LINK (5465)
   • National: 1-800-662-HELP (4357)

If you have a setback鈥攗se your emergency plan.

1. Call 911 if you have an emergency and need medical or mental health care.
2. Call someone you trust. This can be you sponsor, recovery coach, or other trusted support.
3. Keep in mind that a setback is part of the process and a chance to reset and restart your journey.

Guidance for loved ones of those in recovery:

1. Call, text, or email your loved one. Let them know that you are there for them, even if it鈥檚 just virtually.
2. Acknowledge that this is a stressful time, particularly for those trying to overcome addiction. Talk openly and honestly with your loved one and let them know that you know that this situation can be triggering.
3. Ask your loved one how you can best support them right now.
4. Share this resource with them!
5. If your loved one is in recovery from opioid use, find and obtain Narcan to keep on hand.
   • Information on how to obtain Narcan in Massachusetts can be found .

Additional resources:

As you move through this challenging time, remember that this too shall pass. This is not the first challenge you鈥檝e encountered in recovery, and it certainly won鈥檛 be the last. Stay strong and healthy, and remember that there is always hope.

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After six years on hiatus, the Youth Work Intensive (YWI) Conference returned in full force on Wednesday, March 4, 2020. Hosted by HRiA鈥檚 , YWI welcomed nearly 220 participants, presenters, and staff for a full day of learning, networking, and professional development in celebration of the Initiative鈥檚 20^th anniversary.

The day began with warm remarks from HRiA鈥檚 Laurie Jo (LJ) Wallace and Mo Barbosa, the emcees for the day. They were joined by Daisy Ortega, the conference lead, who thanked folks in the room for being a part of the youth worker community, emphasizing how the BEST Initiative would not be celebrating 20 years without the strong group of youth workers represented in the room. She also encouraged participants to take advantage of the skill-building offered by presenters, and to use the day to learn with and from each other. HRiA鈥檚 president Steven Ridini also stopped by, along with Nikki Vanderpol, director of conference services at Simmons University (the location of the conference) to help welcome folks before participants were directed to their workshops.

The day chugged along busily, as I watched from behind the registration table. Excited participants were guided by enthusiastic team members to their workshops, which covered a range of topics including supporting LGBTQ+ youth; college readiness; self-care; engaging youth in evaluation; and supporting creative expression in young people. The middle of the day was highlighted by the presentation of the Youth Worker of the Year Award (also known as the YOUTHIE) to Lamar Brown-Noguera from . Lamar was recognized for their incredible work in the LGBTQ+ community in Worcester, and their dedication to the young people they serve. Mo Barbosa summed it up best when he said that Lamar is doing 鈥渨ork in a place that鈥檚 really hard to work in general, supporting a population that doesn鈥檛 get a lot of support in Worcester County . . . facing barriers that we don鈥檛 always face [in Boston] . . . [and] doing it with grace and aplomb.鈥�

As the day wound down, participants were invited back inside the main room for closing remarks and to compete for donated raffle prizes. A competitive game of rock-paper-scissors ensued to win a beautiful self-care basket (donated by Trader Joes). Other prizes included a Tasty Burger gift card; tickets to several Boston attractions including the New England Aquarium, Institute for Contemporary Art, and Boston Duck Tours ride; and more. With the sun shining outside, Mo and LJ brought folks back together for a final closing circle. Participants were given a chance to speak into the circle a few take-aways from the day that they would continue to think about moving forward. Themes that emerged included: the sense of community at the conference, the dynamic workshops, and the warm atmosphere created by this group of youth workers.

听鈥淢y favorite part of the day,鈥� commented LJ Wallace, 鈥渨as really how the youth workers felt valued and appreciated and had a space for them, a conference that was for them where they could really think about and talk about their own issues and concerns. [I]t was really fun and exciting to bring lots of different folks to lead workshops that hadn鈥檛 had that opportunity before.鈥�

While reflecting on the day myself, I was struck by the simmering, excited energy of the participants. My sentiments were echoed by other staff, who shared some of the following reflections:

鈥淸I]t鈥檚 encouraging to have so many people that serve youth . . . in one place.鈥�

鈥淸I]t鈥檚 clear that youth workers put in so much time and effort into their programs, and it was amazing to see them all in one room connecting with each other and sharing their best practices and experience over a hot meal. The day was full of laughter, learning, and a mutual respect for the youth work field.鈥�

Despite the six year break preceding the 2020 Youth Work Intensive, staff left feeling inspired by the day and looking forward to hosting this conference annually once again for many years to come.

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HRiA and its many partners, particularly the youth advocates of movement, are so proud of this milestone. We asked some of the team members to reflect on their experiences as part of this successful movement.

Read more about the Fight All Flavors campaign.

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We at HRiA have made a commitment to health and racial equity, and we are truly grateful for the opportunity to continue our internal conversations with the guidance and wisdom of a leader in this space such as Dr. Jones. In light of her visit, we asked some of our staff members to reflect on her talk and their own personal experiences.

“There is something about seeing a woman of color share her expertise with such warmth and confidence that made me sit up in my seat a little straighter, almost as if I could perhaps gain a little bit of that energy simply by being in the same room as her. And although we lived very different lives, and don鈥檛 quite identify the same way 鈥� there were pieces of Dr. Camara Jones鈥� story that felt like my own. I could see my own relatives in the lines on her face and the texture of her hair, calling to mind the utter importance of representation 鈥� seeing women of color across all levels and stages within our work, to inspire us, to motivate us and to bring our voices to the table.

“One of the things that struck me most about her talk was not something that she had prepared on a slide or one of her famous allegories. It was a story she shared of her experience of racism in the professional world. To watch her open-up so honestly and unapologetically seemed almost out of place in a room where we have our staff meetings and discuss expense reports. Dr. Jones (a public health superhero in my eyes) suddenly looked very human, and in the most heartening way. She told us how she left that position and how much more supported she is in her current one. She鈥檚 able to joke and laugh about it now as she shares with us, and in the sharing of that particular story, she showed her humanness, her vulnerability – that even public health superheroes experience the impact of the white supremacist culture that permeates our country. It begged me to reach back to my own stories and experiences, to re-examine my own vulnerabilities so that perhaps even my own stories can be used to empower others.” – Gina Rodriguez, project manager, Community Health Training Institute

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“I am energized by her courageous leadership.”

Nineequa Blanding, vice president of Grantmaking

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“I remain moved by Dr. Camara Jones鈥� recent visit with us at HRiA. Within two precious hours, she led us through a powerful and thought-provoking session centered on the importance of explicitly naming and addressing racism in our collective efforts towards health equity 鈥� the assurance of optimal health for everyone.

“How do we achieve health equity? In order to answer this question, I will share two of her messages that deeply resonated with me: 1) At an institutional level, we must ask ourselves, 鈥淗ow is Racism Operating Here?鈥� and take a critical look at the ways in which racism manifests through our organizational culture, policies and practices. 2) We can use our position of influence to transform systems and create 鈥渂ubbles bursting with opportunity,鈥� particularly in areas where there is need.

“The way in which Dr. Jones delivered her presentation filled the room with hope and inspiration. For me personally, I am energized by her courageous leadership which has led to spearheading a national dialogue around an issue that is undeniably the biggest barrier in assuring optimal health for everyone. I am also inspired by her unwavering commitment to share her knowledge with others matched with a genuine desire to learn from others along the way. As I thanked her for her leadership contributions, she referenced an important lesson from nature: Geese typically fly in a V formation. When the lead goose tires, it rotates back into the formation and another goose flies to the lead position. In the context of health equity, for me, this example is a reminder of the importance of shared leadership and collaboration in order to progress forward. There is greater likelihood of success in advancing health equity through our collective efforts toward change.” – Nineequa Blanding, vice president of Grantmaking

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鈥淏e bold. Name Racism鈥he whole word. Don鈥檛 just stop at race.鈥�

Dr. Camara Phyllis Jones

Please enjoy some images from our visit with Dr. Camara Jones

is a family physician, epidemiologist, and Past President of the American Public Health Association whose work focuses on naming, measuring, and addressing the impacts of racism on the health and well-being of the United States and the world. She is currently a Leverhulme Visiting Professor in Global Health and Social Medicine at King鈥檚 College London. She is a renowned as a public health leader that is valued for her creativity and intellectual agility.

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