This Week from OCHE & Partners
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To receive messages directly from the MA Bureau’s of Substance Addiction Services’ Office of Community Health & Equity (OCHE), please contact Andrea.Macone@mass.gov.
From OCHE & BSAS
🗓️ DPH’s Veterans and Allies Employee Resource Group invites veterans, supporters, and partners to a virtual Memorial Day Event on May 14 at 1pm. The event will bring together staff and community members to honor and remember those who gave their lives in military service. Our BSAS colleague Analilia Bautista, a retired Air Force veteran, will share reflections about her service and the personal significance of Memorial Day. Use this Zoom link to join on the 14th!
🗓️ We in OCHE know that substance-related losses affect many of us, and are fortunate to work closely with peer grief support providers Support After Death by Overdose (SADOD) and The Sun Will Rise Foundation (TSWR). TSWR in collaboration with many other partner organizations invites you to upcoming events including a Joy Culture Movement Workshop for bereaved people onMay 16, Community Meals in Taunton on May 28 and Gloucester on June 4, and a Mosaic Community Hub Info Session on June 2. See the attached flyers for more details.
🗓️ Join Collective UpLIFT’s 6th Managing the Moment Webinar, Leading Through Change with Care, Clarity and Courage, on June 3 at 1pm. Craig Aarons-Martin will discuss navigating hard conversations, leading through change without losing yourself or your people, and building cultures where accountability and belonging coexist. Register here!
From our partners
🗓️ Massachusetts Organization for Addiction Recovery (MOAR) will host a Northeast Regional Forum on May 13 from 11:30-2pm in Malden. This event brings together key voices in public health, recovery services, policy, and advocacy to discuss the future of addiction services in Massachusetts and the ongoing efforts to strengthen prevention, treatment, and recovery supports across our communities. See the attached flyer for more information.
🗓️ MOAR will also host a Western MA Policy Forum on May 21 from 5-7pm in Springfield. Get your tickets here.
🗓️ Providers Clinical Support System (PCSS) will host a free webinar titled Supporting Individuals Engaged in Opioid Use Disorder Treatment for Peer Professionals, Recovery Coaches, Mentors, and Related Helpers on May 13from 12-1:30pm. Designed specifically for peer professionals and related community-based helpers, this 90-minute webinar focuses on effective ways to support individuals engaged in treatment for opioid, stimulant, and other substance use disorders. Create a free account and register here.
🤝 Smoke Works Harm Reduction welcomes new and old friends to Volunteer Day on May 16 anytime from 11am-3pm in Braintree. Register here to join, and email teena@smokeworks.org with any questions.
🗣️ The Massachusetts Executive Office of Health & Human Services (EOHHS) will host a Morton Street Redevelopment Community Listening Session on May 19 from 6-7:30pm to engage the community in the redevelopment of the Shattuck/Morton Street Campus. These sessions are an opportunity to learn about the context and history of the Shattuck Hospital/Morton Street campus and redevelopment, engage in interactive discussion, and help ensure the redevelopment meets the needs of the community. See the attached flyers for more information in multiple languages and see more details including Zoom information here.
🗓️ Our DPH friends at the Community Health Equity Initiative (CHEI) invite you to a CHEI: Behind the Scenes webinar on May 20 from 2-3pm. The CHEI team is gearing up to launch the 2026 Community Health Equity Survey and Community Health Qualitative Projects this summer – and they’re pulling back the curtain on what it takes to create, implement, and analyze health equity data tools! ASL interpretation will be provided, and a recording will be shared afterwards. Register here to attend.
🗓️ UMass Boston’s Mauricio Gaston Institute for Latino Studies will discuss Community Responses to Threats to Latino Health: Local Asset-Based Strategies on May 22 at 9am. Panelists across school, healthcare, and community settings will share innovative models and approaches that leverage existing community knowledge and resources to safeguard vulnerable Latino communities as healthcare funding cuts stand to limit healthcare access and worsen health disparities. Register here to attend virtually.
🗣️ DPH’s Office of Local & Regional Health (ORLH) invites municipal public health workers to complete and share a 5-minute survey intended to evaluate and enhance the performance of OLRH to meet your needs better. Complete the survey here by May 29 so your voice is heard!
🤝 Generation Citizen, a nonprofit that works with middle and high school students to build civic engagement skills through real-world projects, is hosting their upcoming Civic Day in Massachusetts, and they’re looking for community members to support student showcase events. If you’re interested in attending student presentations statewide (dates below), reserve your spot here.
- Springfield | May 26th
- Dartmouth | May 29th
- Worcester | June 1st
- Boston | June 5th
🗓️ Join Wild Ivy Social Justice Network and the Respite and Rights Coalition on either May 26 or May 28 for What Harms, What Heals forums about psychiatric oppression and efforts to strengthen rights protections and create more alternatives to the psych system in Massachusetts! Register here or here (or both!)
🗓️ Our colleagues in DPH’s Bureau of Community Health & Prevention (BCHP) have organized a daylong gathering titled Rooted Together: For the Love of the Community on June 10 in Framingham. Racialized trauma can deeply impact how BIPOC individuals and communities experience grief, healing, and identity. This event focuses on creating supportive spaces where participants can reflect on their experiences, explore culturally tailored wellness practices, and move beyond survival and resilience to healing, connection, and joy. Learn more and register here, and note contact information at the bottom if cost is a barrier.
🗣️ The National Endowment for the Arts, a federal funding agency, invites you to join future review teams that will determine where federal funding supports arts programming. Complete a volunteer form here to be contacted about opportunities.
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