Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers to open new office in Somerville
SOMERVILLE - The Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers (MAPS) has recently signed the lease for a new office in Somerville on 362 Somerville Ave.
The space will soon undergo renovations and the organization hopes to be able to open it to the public in December of 2023.
In August, MAPS was forced to leave the office it occupied in Somerville for 45 years due to a City order, after Somerville officials determined the building was in dire need of repairs - worth more than $7 million - and it was no longer fit for occupancy.
MAPS purchases office building in Everett, plans to open new office in early 2024
“We are committed to serving the large Portuguese-speaking community in Somerville, and so it was imperative that we continue to look for an affordable space in the city,” said MAPS CEO Paulo Pinto. “We are thrilled to have found an adequate space that meets our needs and budget and look forward to inviting our community to a grand opening, hopefully later this year.”
The new office, smaller than the organization’s previous space on Union Square, will host a smaller team of MAPS staff who will assist community members by appointment only, and several MAPS programs regularly, with other services being made available on rotation through clinics and drives.
One of those core programs is Immigrant Integration Services (IIS), which will assist clients with citizenship applications and other immigration-related issues, and those looking to apply for or renew health insurance plans, including MassHealth.
MAPS’ new Somerville office will also offer HIV/ STI Prevention and Screening services, which provide no-cost and confidential testing for HIV/AIDS, Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, and HEP C, and access to HIV prevention medications such as PrEP. MAPS’ community health workers also offer community education and outreach and routinely offer testing at community events and gathering places.
In addition to IIS and HIV/STI services, the new office will host MAPS’ court-mandated programs, namely the Impaired Driver Education classes, a 16-week First Offender program for court-referred English and Portuguese-speaking drivers convicted of driving under the influence, and the Intimate Partner Abuse Educational Program, a 40-week program that teaches men how to stop engaging in abusive behavior against their partners/ spouses by providing them with the tools to engage positively with their emotions.
The new office will also host several of MAPS’ outreach events throughout the year, such as World AIDS Day, the White Ribbon Day Campaign, Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and regular vaccination and health clinics.
MAPS has served the Portuguese-speaking communities of Massachusetts since 1970. The organization currently offers many free health and social services through its five offices in Cambridge, Brighton, Dorchester, Framingham, and Lowell, and soon out of the new Everett and Somerville offices.
To learn more about MAPS, visit maps-inc.org
This article originally appeared on The Herald News: MAPS to open new office in Somerville in December
