The Mutual Assistance Association Coalition of Massachusetts (MAA)
MORI supports grassroots ethnic community organizations, known as Mutual Assistance Associations or MAAs, to provide an array of community outreach, education and direct services to refugee communities in Massachusetts. Through grants administered by MORI, MAAs provide Social Adjustment Services, including Post-Resettlement Community Services (PRCS), and Youth Adjustment Services (YAS). Direct services may include helping an individual to schedule an appointment, enroll in a class, fill out an application form or understand a letter from their child's school.
In addition, participating MAAs receive crucial support from the MAA Coalition to develop organizational capacity and benefit from coalition projects to reduce barriers to success for refugee communities. The Coalition structure provides a community of support for new MAAs to learn from the experience of their predecessors as they move forward to build strong organizations. These organizations provide programs, including English classes, job training, mental health support, civic education, and others those refugee community members need to succeed in their new lives in the United States.
MAAs participating in Social Adjustment Services includes:
- Bosnian Community Center for Resource Development (BCCRD)
- Congolese Development Center (CDC)
- Eritrean Community Center (ECC)
- Ethiopian Community Mutual Assistance Association (ECMAA)
- Haitian American Public Health Initiative (HAPHI)
- Somali Development Center (SDC)
- Southern Sudan Solidarity Organization (SSSO)
- Refugee and Immigrant Assistance Center (RIAC)
- Russian Community Association of Massachusetts (RCAM)