Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley announced this week the successful inclusion of $300,000 in federal community project funding for Chelsea’s La Colaborativa in the FY2022 House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor, HHS) Appropriations bill.
Funding would support the launch of La Colaborativa’s COVID Employment Recovery Program (CERP).
Rep. Pressley has been advocating for this project through Congress’ new Community Project Funding initiative.
“Chelsea, a predominantly Black, brown, low-income, and immigrant community, is one of the cities hardest hit by COVID-19 due to decades of under-investment, systemic racism and other structural inequities—and we need as many resources as possible to get Chelsea residents back to work,” said Rep. Pressley. “This funding would support La Colaborativa’s efforts to re-employ Latinx and immigrant workers impacted by COVID-19, and is critical to ensuring a just and equitable economic recovery from this pandemic. The team at La Colaborativa have been close partners in moving this project forward, and I look forward to continuing that partnership as we work to get this funding across the finish line.”
Said La Colaborativa Director Gladys Vega, “We are grateful to Congresswoman Pressley for listening to voices on the ground of the people who have been deeply affected by economic losses that came with the pandemic. For many, economic recovery and stability will take years to achieve. This investment in La Colaborativa’s Rapid Reemployment Initiative is critical to boosting survival and stability in our community post-pandemic.”
If passed, this federal funding would be used for a rapid re-employment initiative that would help the Chelsea community create pathways to jobs and increased financial stability for those impacted by the pandemic. These funds would help the Chelsea community, which has been deeply impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, rebuild from, heal from, and survive the effects of the pandemic.
This project is among the 10 Community Project Funding requests submitted by Rep. Pressley to the Appropriations Committee. Last month, Rep. Pressley announced the advancement of federal funding for community projects in Randolph and Milton, Cambridge, Boston, as well as Chelsea and Everett. Information on the status of additional requests will be announced in the coming days.
The inclusion of this funding in the FY22 House Labor HHS Appropriations bill is the first step in the funding process, and Rep. Pressley will continue fighting for this funding as the bill moves forward for consideration on the House Floor.
Rep. Pressley was also successful in securing over $18.5 million in federal funding in the House Surface Transportation Reauthorization bill, the INVEST in America Act, which will support several projects championed by the Congresswoman through the House Transportation and Infrastructure committee. The INVEST in America Act passed the House earlier this month, and included several other priorities championed by Rep. Pressley.