Our Story

MLRI re-launches MassProBono.org, the statewide website that connects attorneys, advocates and law students seeking pro bono opportunities with legal services in Massachusetts.

In partnership with The Devenscrest Tenants Association (DCTA), MLRI succeeds in efforts to preserve 114 affordable homes in Ayer, Massachusetts.

MLRI addresses the safety of EBT cards, as the FY25 budget includes funding to upgrade EBT cards with chip technology to prevent theft.

Brokers Fees law goes into effect, thanks to work by MLRI and other housing partners, which makes landlords responsible for broker fees, reducing tenants’ upfront rental costs.

Massachusetts legislature enacts law that allows tenants to petition to seal their eviction records, protecting them from landlord and screening discrimination.

MLRI celebrates the re-launch of MassLegalHelp.org, after a culmination of a years-long project to improve upon and expand legal information for Massachusetts residents.

Massachusetts passes legislation spearheaded by MLRI advocacy that protects victims of domestic violence by expanding the definition of coercive control.

Gov. launches Access to Counsel program to increase legal representation for low-income tenants in eviction proceedings, after years of advocacy by MLRI and a coalition of partners.

Following MLRI’s advocacy, the FY24 budget extends in-state tuition and access to state financial aid to all students, regardless of immigration status.

New Massachusetts law supported by MLRI limits MassHealth’s estate recovery practices, a shift that protects more families against financial hardship.

MLRI, working with the MA Coalition for the Homeless, succeeds in obtaining basic benefits and medical services for homeless people, including homeless veterans.

Legislation passes that mandates interpreter services for limited English proficient and non-English speaking people in the courts and health care settings.

MLRI launches a health justice initiative, in partnership with MA Community Health & Healthy Aging, to reduce barriers to MassHealth for individuals returning to the community after incarceration.

MLRI and Feeding our Neighbors Coalition celebrate the Governor restoring state-funded food assistance (SNAP) to legally present immigrants who are ineligible for federal benefits.

MLRI and Brown Rudnick win lawsuit against the Dept. of Children and Families, which had violated the due process rights of a mother in obtaining a hearing, in a major win for low-income families.

Massachusetts launches the Common Application for Means-Tested Public Benefits, advocated for by MLRI, which makes access to benefits more efficient and effective for low-income residents.

MLRI files L.F.O.P. v. Mayorkas, resulting in a major national policy change benefiting thousands of Special Immigrant Juveniles in Massachusetts and nationwide.

Extensive litigation and advocacy saves public benefits and health programs from cuts, including increasing cash assistance grants by 10% in 2021, and four more grant increases through 2025.

MLRI celebrates win with the signing of Meal Debt legislation, which addresses the challenge that children and families living in poverty face when it comes to unpaid school meal debt.

MLRI and partners secure a federal ruling in Noerand v. de Vos that bars federal education officials from denying emergency educational grants to immigrants under a new COVID-era law, solely because of their immigration status.

MLRI turns 50!

MLRI, GBLS, Jobs Not Jail and many coalition partners win major criminal justice reform, aiming to develop a more equitable system that supports vulnerable groups, reduces recidivism, increases judicial discretion, and enhances public safety.

MLRI and 150+ partners expand Massachusetts Housing Court to serve all Massachusetts residents–initiating a statewide expansion of the court to serve approximately two million citizens across six counties who previously had no access to Housing Court.

Creation and expansion of the Massachusetts Housing Court division which provides specialized expertise, services and support to low income tenants and landlords.

MLRI wins lawsuit allowing equal access to state merit scholarships for immigration students in Lopez v. Board of Higher Education.

Longtime Executive Director Allan Rodgers retires, and passes the mantle to Georgia Katsoulomitis.

MLRI’s advocacy on CORI leads to the unanimous passage of an ordinance to implement fair criminal records screening and hiring practices, the first of its kind in Massachusetts.

MLRI successfully removes barriers for nearly 20,000 US citizens wrongly denied Medicaid.

As a result of MLRI advocacy, state officials agree to issue a new policy improving college affordability for aspiring immigrant “Dreamers,” granting undocumented citizens brought to the US as children the ability to pay the in-state college rate.

MLRI and allies advocated to federal officials to grant Temporary Protected Status to Haitians who fled their country and arrived in the US following the 2010 earthquake and cholera epidemic.

MLRI, Massachusetts Legal Services Programs and the Kirwan Institute to produce “Geography of Opportunity” report to understand how low‐income groups and racial and ethnic populations are situated in the Commonwealth.

MLRI strengthens Indigent Court Costs Law to ensure that the process for waiving court fees was not onerous and that indigent litigants could not be barred from court due to financial hardship, acting as a model for state-level reforms.

The Massachusetts Legal Aid Websites Project launches as a special statewide initiative funded by MLAC, providing online legal information and resources to the general public and to the state’s advocacy community.

MLRI wins Ngwanyia v. Gonzales, a lawsuit brought on behalf of 150,000+ asylees who waited unecessary additional years to become permanent residents and gain work authorization.

MLRI launches its Food Stamp Advocacy Project, which increases food stamp participation by 88%, and results in triple the average monthly benefit amounts for recipients.

MLRI expands access to permanent residence for thousands of Central American asylym-seekers and improves the application process for those who could not afford a lawyer.

MLRI and partners save the Brooke Amendment, which was almost eliminated by Congress’ “public housing reform” bill that intended to deregulate public housing and put 2.7 million households in danger of losing a rent-cap safe guard.

MLRI successfully fights back in the courts, in cases like Healey v. Commissioner of Public Welfare, Smith v. Commissioner of Transitional Assistance, and Langlois v. Abington Housing Authority.

MLRI’s advocacy for a centralized court interpreter office is signed into law, representing a win for residents for which English is a second language.

MLRI is a plaintiff in a successful lawsuit that prevented the Legal Services Corporation from defunding regional legal services training centers (Mass. Law Reform Institute v. Legal Serv. Corp.).

MLRI files a successful class action lawsuit, Atkins v. Parker, that prevents thousands of families from losing their right to emergency food stamps.

MLRI & GBLS file 15,844 Welfare Recipients v. King, and as a result, the state was prohibited from improperly combining welfare fraud investigations with routine eligibility reviews.

The Massachusetts Abuse Prevention Act (Chapter 209A) is passed, which enabled people facing abuse to protect themselves from abusers by providing immediate safety through court-ordered protection..

MLRI, with the MA Union of Public Housing Tenants, succeeds in passing a statewide law to prevent the sale and loss of state public housing.

New law goes into effect thanks to MLRI housing advocacy: including protecting children from lead poisoning, tenants from unfair evictions and security deposit abuses, and low-income people from housing discrimination.

MLRI advances new Chapter 40B zoning reforms that resulted in the creation of over 50,000 affordable housing units in Massachusetts.

MLRI wins federal lawsuits against the state eliminating discriminatory tests for police, fire, and mass transit jobs.

Consumer Protection Act signed into law, which enabled the Attorney General and consumers to take legal action against unfair or deceptive conduct in the marketplace.

MLRI is founded and Allan Rodgers becomes its first Executive Director, launching a statewide center for anti‑poverty advocacy, then called “Voluntary Defenders Committee.”