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Statement from MLRI re Anti Immigrant Rhetoric

Statement of Georgia D. Katsoulomitis,
Executive Director of Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI)
In Response to Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric Against Haitian Community

The Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit poverty law organization that does not endorse any political candidate.  At the same time, as an organization grounded in social, racial and economic justice, we do not and cannot turn a blind eye to injustice.

We cannot remain silent in the face of Donald Trump and J.D. Vance’s relentless, baseless and racist attacks upon all immigrants – and currently against the Haitian people, so many of whom are our cherished friends, neighbors and co-workers in Massachusetts.

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Massachusetts long-term care bill signed into law with provisions limiting MassHealth estate recovery

On September 6, 2024, Governor Healey signed into law an Act to Improve Quality and Oversight of Long-Term Care — Chapter 197 of the Acts of 2024.  The 66-page Act includes many important provisions affecting long term care and related topics including significant changes to MassHealth policies regarding estate recovery.

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A letter from MLRI’s Executive Director, Georgia Katsoulomitis: $20m in federal funds — a small, welcome contribution to a huge challenge

In this Boston Globe Letter to the Editor, MLRI Executive Director Georgia Katsoulomitis calls attention to the $20 million in federal funds secured by Governor Healey to help keep families in Massachusetts in emergency shelter, while still reminding us that this fight is not over.

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FY25 Budget Signed by the Governor Provides Funds for Access to Counsel (ATC)

BOSTON , MA (July 29, 2024) – Today, the Governor signed the FY25 budget and included the House and Senate’s recommendation for $2.5 million to launch an Access to Counsel pilot program to provide lawyers for low-income tenants facing eviction, an investment proven to decrease housing instability and homelessness.

“This is a significant step forward for housing justice and equity. A significant number of households facing eviction are Black or Brown, and very often are families headed by a single mother,” said Georgia Katsoulomitis, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI). “Gov. Healey, Attorney General Campbell and more than 240 legal, housing, healthcare and faith organizations support Access to Counsel as a way to provide tenants a level playing field, keep families housed, and build safe, healthy communities.”

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Massachusetts FY25 Budget Includes 10% Cash Assistance Increase Starting April 2025

BOSTON, MA (July 29, 2024) – The Massachusetts FY 25 budget includes a 10 percent increase in cash assistance benefits for both TAFDC and EAEDC programs starting April 2025, marking another historic step forward for families in Deep Poverty. 

This increase means that the maximum TAFDC grant for a family of three will go from $783/month to $861/month, and the EAEDC grant for an older adult or a person with disabilities will increase from $401/month to $441/month.  Even with these increases, grants are still well below half of the federal poverty level – known as the Deep Poverty level – which is $1,076 a month for a family of three in 2024. 

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MLRI Signs onto TRAC Coalition Letter to the Editor Regarding Coercive Control Bill

Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly received a letter to the editor last week from the Together Rising Against Coercion Coalition, of which the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute is on the Steering Committee. The letter outlines some key facts regarding an Act to Prevent Abuse and Exploitation, popularly known as the ‘Revenge Porn’ bill, in relation to the MLW front page story “Revenge porn law raises bail, dangerousness concerns” (July 1).

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MLRI Joins Over 1,400 Organizations in Urging Congress to Protect and Strengthen SNAP

The Massachusetts Law Reform Institute and 95 other Massachusetts organizations joined with over 1,400 state and national organizations calling on Congress to protect and strengthen the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in the upcoming Farm Bill deliberations. 

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TRAC Coalition Applauds Legislators for Passing Bill to Expand Definition of Domestic Abuse

The Massachusetts Law Reform Institute applauds the Massachusetts’ Legislature for approving legislation to protect survivors of domestic abuse.  An Act to Prevent Abuse and Exploitation expands the definition of domestic abuse to include coercive control, the foundation of all forms of abuse. Coercive control is a pattern of deliberate behavior used by an abuser to restrict their victim’s safety and autonomy. Massachusetts now becomes the seventh state in the nation to recognize coercive control as a harmful form of domestic abuse. The law also aligns Massachusetts with 48 other states who have already outlawed revenge porn, a form of coercive control. Prior law in Massachusetts limited the definition of domestic violence to physical and sexual assault or fear of imminent serious physical harm.

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