1. Foreclosure Prevention
   1. We played a major role in the passage and implementation of the Emergency Homeowners Loan Program, which despite poor administration by HUD, will still enable 568 unemployed Massachusetts homeowners to save their homes from foreclosure.
   2. We played a major role in a national policy to help additional unemployed homeowners prevent foreclosure under what's called a 12 month forbearance policy that was agreed to by the US Treasury and by HUD and announced this July.
2. Youth Jobs funding and policy
   1. We organized and have provide part of the staffing for the Youth Jobs Coalition. Faced in January with no funds commited for youth jobs, we organized and got $3.75 million in new funds passed which is worth over 2000 jobs. 1100 teens and adult supporters marched to the State House for youth jobs in February. Youth led local meetings with legislators to get the to commit to fund youth jobs. When the State Senate passed a $3 million increase for youth jobs in May, five Senators got up and made speeches crediting local meetings with Youth Jobs Coalition members as being the reason they sponsored and co-sponsored the amendments for this funding which then passed.
3. Youth Violence Prevention Funding
   1. The Safe Teens/Safe Communities Coalition that we staff worked in support of the $3.5 million in new funding passed for the Shannon Anti-Gang Violence Grant Program and for funding for the DPH Youth at Risk and DPH Youth Violence Prevention Program.
4. Access to construction jobs for minorities and women
   1. Our work in organizing the Coalition for Equal Access to Jobs played a part in a new policy for the jobs on the $750 million construction at UMass Boston to got to 50% residents, 25% minorities, and 10% women. Meetings with state transit officials have moved new policies forward on training and hiring of minorities and women for construction jobs.
5. What our affiliates did in cities across the state
   1. In New Bedford, on June 20, United Interfaith Action organized 600 residents brought a proposal for innovative pilot or small autonomous schools to their Mayor, Superintendent, and School Committee and got commitments and these are moving toward implemention. In Fall RIver, 400 people from one church won major improvements in public safety and a park. SInce then they are taking the audacious step to try to develop strategies to increase jobs and skill levels in a city that has lost jobs for generations.
   2. In Brockton, Brockton Interfaith Community is organizing a ceasefire initiative against gang violence is well underway and dogged efforts against foreclosures in a city often with the most in the state.
      
   3. In Lynn, the Essex County Community Organization organized youth and adults taking action to help get state funding for youth jobs and a break through of Union Hospital providing youth jobs this summer.
      
   4. In 4 towns in MetroWest, the MICAH organizations is bringing parents and youth together and developing strategies on substance abuse, personal and academic stress.

1. Foreclosure Prevention
   1. Working with our affiliate Brockton Interfaith Community, with the PICO National Network, and other allies, we played a key role in passage of $1 billion for loans to unemployed homeowners facing foreclosure to prevent foreclosures.
   2. Working with allied groups, we helped pass state legislation to protect tenants in foreclosed homes from arbitrary eviction and to create incentives that could lead to more loan modifications to prevent foreclosures.
2. CORI Reform Legislation
   As a member of the Commonwealth CORI Coalition, we helped pass legislation to reform CORI so ex-offenders have a better chance to get jobs and this will also lessen crime and taxpayer costs.
3. Youth Jobs
   We worked to form the Youth Jobs Coalition to fight a 50% cut in the state's YouthWorks youth jobs program. Through numerous public actions and meetings with legislators including a 700 person march of youth on the State House on February 18, this cut was stopped saving 2700 youth jobs statewide.
4. Support for affiliates
   
   1. United Interfaith Action's work on education, immigrant rights, city services in New Bedford and on city services and immigrant rights in Fall River.
      
   2. Brockton Interfaith Community's work on increasing diversity of teachers in the Brockton schools and getting a Street Outreach Worker program started.
      
   3. Essex County Community Organization's work on increasing youth jobs funding.
      
   4. Metropolitan Interfaith Congregation's work on immigrant concerns and opposing Question 3.
      
   5. Worcester Interfaith's work on youth jobs and their youth agenda. Pioneer Valley Project's work on teacher home visit programs and access to construction jobs.
5. Helping Defeat Question 3
   We played a significant role working with unions and community groups in the campaign to defeat Question 3, the proposed 60% cut in the sales tax that would have cut the state budget by $2.5 billion dollars.

MCAN/OLTC and its affiliated organizations, have a number of accomplishments on statewide issues:

I. Crime Prevention and Enforcement

MCAN, along with its affiliated groups, led the campaign in 1993 to establish state budget funding for local community policing efforts. Then we worked to increase that funding and continue it annually and it is now funded at $20 million a year. MCAN also helped win passage and strengthening of the state's Drug Asset Forfeiture Law.

MCAN worked in a coalition with the Black Ministerial Alliance, the Boston Ten Point Coalition, and the Dorchester Youth Collaborative to pass legislation in 2006 to give tools to prosecutors to lessen witness intimidation by gangs. We also helped pass budget appropriations for a State Witness Protection Program funded at $1.5 million and the Shannon Grant Program for $11 million in grants to cities for prevention programs and law enforcement initiatives against gangs.

In July 2006, we worked with the above organizations and with GBIO to gain $700,000 in special funding for teen violence prevention programs in Boston.

II. Affordable Housing

MCAN groups helped negotiate an agreement with Bank of Boston/Bay Banks for $38 million in lower interest rate mortgages over 4 years. We also worked to get the state bond spending for housing spending raised by $30 million in 200. Also, MCAN affiliates worked on the organizing campaign that passed the Housing Trust Fund in 2000 funded annually since then at $20 million a year.

III. Increasing Living Wage Jobs

MCAN/OLTC affiliated organizations worked on successfully in preventing large proposed cuts in the state’s Adult Basic Education program in 2001 and 2002. MCAN helped lead a campaign in 2003-2004 that won $6 million in new state funding for job training.

In 2006 as one of the four lead organizations of the Workforce Solution Group coalition (part of SkillWorks), we organized for passage of $11 million for job traning programs along with $3 million for Adult Basic Education programs. The legislation we organized to pass also will enable community based organizations, cities, community colleges, and unions to receive federal matching funds through the Food Stamp Employment Training Program (FSET) for job training and education they do for working poor food stamp recipients.

MCAN was an active member in the coalition of community groups and unions that worked to get the minimum wage legislation passed in July 2006. It will raise the minimum wage from $6.75 to $7.50 on 1/1/07 and to $8.00 on 1/1/08.

MCAN and its affiliates have worked in support of many campaigns by unions for organizing unions at new work sites and for new, fairer contracts for existing unions.

IV. Health Care

MCAN affiliated groups contributed several thousand signatures to referendum tactic in the campaign for passage of the state's new law to cover the uninsured. We also helped in organizing meetings with legislators on this in two areas of the state.

MCAN is working as a part of the PICO National Network of community organizations on the national campaign to extend the federal SCHIP program for health insurance to children of the working poor.