Local Accomplishments in the Senate Budget

Expanding access to behavioral healthcare

I secured $160,000 in the Senate budget to support the Arlington Youth Counseling Center (AYCC). The AYCC is a licensed mental health counseling facility that currently serves over 390 Arlington youth and their families. This funding will help AYCC expand access to important behavioral healthcare services, allowing more youth to be treated without being placed on a waitlist for an extended period of time.

 

Modernizing our infrastructure

Our transportation infrastructure requires continual maintenance and revitalization. We must invest in projects that seek to preserve and modernize our roads, bridges, and intersections. I’m proud to have secured $75,000 in the Senate budget to support the design and construction of the Lexington and Glad Valley project in Billerica. This funding will help Billerica make necessary improvements to this important, heavily used intersection.

 

Improving our transportation system

I secured $125,000 to support the Middlesex3 Transportation Association’s initial launch of shuttle transportation services between Burlington and Lowell. Currently, there are hundreds of new restaurant and retail jobs available in Burlington and Lowell, but no consistent public transportation to and from both destinations. This shuttle would connect potential employees to available jobs, supporting working families and energizing our regional economy. Once the shuttle service is in place, it will be funded by the involved area businesses.

 

Supporting our students

The Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO) program seeks to expand educational opportunities and increase diversity in our classrooms by allowing students in various cities and towns to attend public schools in other communities. There are many students in my district enrolled in the METCO program, but these students too often face school transportation challenges. To address this, I secured $40,000 in the Senate budget to provide late afternoon and evening transportation for METCO students attending public schools in Arlington and Lexington. Expanding access to late afternoon and evening transportation will ensure that METCO students have the opportunity to fully participate in after school athletics and extra-curricular programs at Arlington and Lexington high schools.

 

Empowering our immigrant community

Individuals who have immigrated to Massachusetts from another country often face English language barriers, which pose challenges to those individuals as they seek to integrate into American society, including difficulty gaining employment, communicating their needs to health professionals, and accessing community resources. To help address these barriers, I secured $100,000 to support English language instruction for immigrants and refugees at English at Large in Woburn. This funding would provide greater resources for English language learners, empowering them to contribute to and thrive in their communities.