I spent the morning speaking with children’s behavioral health providers at a conference with Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth, Inc.. These are the people who are on the ground every day doing the important and critical work of supporting our youth and ensuring that they can thrive. As House Chair of the Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery, children’s mental health is a priority for me. It was great to share the strides we made with the Children’s Wellness bill including expanded access to health insurance for children who have been in DCF custody, maintaining updated provider networks, and addressing care for children with medically complex cases. I continue to be inspired and look forward to report out legislation that ensures our children get the care they need where they need it and when they need it.
As I said this morning, we don’t wait until someone is in a diabetic coma to treat them, and we don’t wait until someone with heart disease needs a quadruple bypass to intervene. But we do wait for children to be in acute critical care before we treat them--and even then we are not prepared. We must change this.
A heartfelt thank you to the providers for sharing your stories. The work continues. ... See MoreSee Less

2 days ago  ·  

This morning Sean Garballey and I were joined by renewable energy advocates, public health experts, business leaders, and labor representatives, as we continue to highlight the need for strong, meaningful legislation to combat climate change and move towards a just transition to 100% #renewableenergy in Massachusetts. Every day we continue to hear about the threat of climate change, but the reality is that we are already being impacted. Our public health, our public safety, and our economy are all suffering the effects of rising global temperatures, but we can help reverse some of these changes. Our bill ensures that #environmentaljustice communities and #labor are centered in a just transition towards a sustainable, renewable energy future. ... See MoreSee Less

2 days ago  ·  

Congratulations small businesses of Observatory Hill, we had a blast seeing so many of our friends and neighbors. ... See MoreSee Less

2 days ago  ·  

I am proud of Divest Harvard, Harvard Graduate Students Union - UAW, and students for organizing a rally calling upon Harvard University to divest from fossil fuels. Mindy Domb, State Representative and I filed An Act relative to public investment in fossil fuels to make sure that our Commonwealth does the same with our state pensions. #nobodywins when fossil fuels are prioritized over people. #DivestNow

Here is a link to our bill: bit.ly/2s6wwrO ... See MoreSee Less

5 days ago  ·