December 2, 2020

Massachusetts Community Health and Healthy Aging Funds Awarded to Community Legal Aid

Community Legal Aid is pleased to announce that it has received a grant from the Massachusetts Community Health and Healthy Aging Funds awarded by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH). Community Legal Aid is among 35 community partners of organizations across Massachusetts receiving grants. In making these awards, DPH and its implementing partner Health Resources in Action, Inc. are recognizing the complex ways in which systems impact health, and awarding funds to organizations that will lead efforts to address the root causes of health inequities by disrupting systemic barriers to health and tackling institutional and structural racism head-on. During the pandemic, the need to support such efforts is even more imperative.

Community Legal Aid is coordinating with the Franklin Regional Council of Governments on the Improving Housing to Improve Health (IH² ) Project to individuals in Franklin County and the North Quabbin region who face barriers in accessing safe and affordable housing. With its award of $40,000 a year for five years, Community Legal Aid will work with community stakeholders to reduce the barriers to housing and employment faced by people with a history of criminal court involvement and substance use disorder. The opioid epidemic has ravaged this area of the state. In its wake, many residents have struggled with substance abuse disorder, or became criminally involved or incarcerated due to charges connected to their addiction to opioids.

Criminal court involvement or allegations related to a substance use disorder can be an impediment to securing safe, stable and affordable housing. This funding allows Community Legal Aid to remove barriers by assisting people with criminal record (CORI) sealing and expungement, and by providing legal representation to people unable to access affordable housing programs due to CORI or a substance use disorder-related issue.

Jennifer Dieringer, managing attorney of Community Legal Aid’s Franklin County office, said “Community Legal Aid is delighted to collaborate on this grant with our partners in Franklin County. We hope and expect that our work will reduce the significant housing barriers that people with a history of criminal court involvement and substance use disorder face.”

The Massachusetts Community Health and Healthy Aging Funds were created in January 2017 when DPH completed a landmark revision of its Determination of Need regulation, which authorized the creation of these Funds.  DPH provides overall guidance to the Funds, and Health Resources in Action, Inc. acts as a fiduciary and implementing partner. The Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs partners with DPH to support the Healthy Aging Fund. More information about the Funds can be found at https://mahealthfunds.org/

Contact:  Thomas Navin, Development Director

Phone: (413) 727-7115

Email: tnavin@cla-ma.org