MCAN works to develop and support broad based community organizations in New England.  These are made up of congregations, and sometimes other organizations and unions, acting together for their values and interests. Our affiliated organizations work to strengthen households, the community, the work place, and the congregation.  They enable people to act on their faith values and democratic values.

MCAN, along with its affiliated groups have worked together on the following statewide campaigns over the years with these accomplishments. We 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. MCAN also helped win passage and strengthening of the state's Drug Asset Forfeiture Law. MCAN affiliates 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 amount for housing spending raised by $30 million in 2001. MCAN affiliated organizations worked successfully along with adult basic education organizations 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. A current campaign for $20 million in new funding for job training, ESL, GED programs is underway during 2005-2006 in Massachusetts.

MCAN's affiliated organizations and their accomplishments:

It has increased funding for ESL and improved wages and training for nursing home workers. It has made health care more affordable and enabled more people to get health insurance based on agreements with two hospitals. It has gotten banks to increase mortgage lending for affordable homeownership and finance the renovation of abandoned buildings, doubled the after-school programs in the city, gotten drug houses closed, gotten a community policing program started, strengthened state drug free zones law, increased drug education programs, opened pools and playground programs, developed a street worker program, funding for renovating abandoned buildings. BIC raised $2 million for its current campaign to build affordable Nehemiah homes in the Brockton area region and the first homes are being built.

BIC’s membership is composed of 15 Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish congregations and also the Cape Verdean Association.

Brockton Interfaith Community
65 West Elm Street
Brockton, MA 02401
(508) 587-9550
brockton_interfaith@yahoo.com

ECCO runs an innovative job training program along with IUE 201 called the ETEAM and already has graduated 9 classes into living wage jobs as machinists. and secured funding for it and commitments of jobs for the graduates from manufacuturers. It has gotten banks to commit millions to affordable mortgage programs. It has increased summer jobs for youth, gotten after school recreation programs instituted, lots cleaned up, community policing funded, traffic safety improvements, and library services increased.

ECCO’s membership is composed of 14 congregations and also the North Shore Labor Council, Legal Services, and Salem Harbor CDC are members.

Essex County Community Organization
74 South Common Street
Lynn, MA 01902
(781) 592-6167
http://eccoaction.org/

UIA has worked successfully on greatly increasing after school programs, library hours, day care, lessening crime in Fall River and New Bedford, and helping in maintaining state funding for Adult Basic Education Programs for ESL and GED at the state level and increasing it for Fall River and New Bedford, and working to lower the high school drop-out rate, working with hospitals and colleges on job training issues.

UIA campaigns have led to the hiring of 30 community policing officers in New Bedord and development of a street worker program to lessen teen violence in both Fall River and New Bedford. In New Bedford, the city set up a interdepartmental task force to act on irresponsible absentee landlords based on UIA's proposal.

UIA’s membership is made up of 15 congregations in Fall River and New Bedford.

United Interfaith Action of Southeastern Massachusetts (UIA)
160 Rock Street,  Fall River, MA 02720    (508) 673-4670
635 Purchase Street, New Bedford, MA 02740   (508) 993-8976
paulgraham@gmail.com
www.unitedinterfaithaction.org

For an article by Paul Graham published in the New Bedford Standard Times please click here

PVP had successes on access to after school programs, lessening crime, lessening housing abandonment and increasing renovation of housing , support for worker rights, increasing apprenticeships for minorities in construction, increasing hiring of minorities as police officers, and increasing the hours neighborhood library branches are open.

PVP has set up school partnerships to involve more parents in efforts to improve the schools. PVP is working on fair solutions to the problem of years of no contracts for the city's teachers and other issues related to Springfield's financial crisis.

PVP has 16 member institutions from religious congregations and unions.

Pioneer Valley Project
205 Eastern Avenue
Springfield, MA  01139
(413) 827-0780
fredrose.pvp2@verizon.net

WI has reopened city pools, increased funding for youth programs, increased jobs, closed drug houses, expanded community policing, and increased city service funding for sidewalk repair. WI has won passage of an ordinance for the hiring of local residents and people of color on construction jobs in the city and worked with unions to increase participation of people of color in apprenticeship programs. It co-sponsored an ESL class with local labor unions.

WI has increased summer employment for teens and kept community schools open.

WI has 13 member religious congregations.

Worcester Interfaith
111 Park Avenue
Worcester, MA
(508) 754-5001
worcester.interfaith@verizon.net

MICAH has taken action on affordable housing, health care, and immigrant rights issues.

Metropolitan Interfaith Congregations Acting for Hope (MICAH)
1 Morse Road
Sudbury, MA  01176
(978) 443-6027
williamjoeblack@aol.com

VIA held a founding action in June 2005 attended by 1000 people from its member congregations and almost the entire political leadership of the state. It is at work on issues of health care, housing, and youth on a local and regional level.

VIA has developed and is strengthening Local Organizing Committees in a number of congregations.

Vermont Interfaith Action (VIA)
168 Pearl Street
Burlington, VT
(802) 651-8889
jen@viavt.org

OLTC was formed in 1985 and changed it’s name to Massachusetts Communities Action Network (MCAN) in 2005 to reflect its many years of work in organizing a federation of community improvement organization and its work on statewide issues.

We also founded Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance (MAHA) in 1986 and directed that organization through 1990. OLTC worked with the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) to form Greater Boston Interfaith Organization in 1996 and co-directed that effort from 1996-2002. MAHA and GBIO are now organizational allies of MCAN.

MCAN also organizes regional leadership training sessions several times during each year for leaders of our affiliated organizations and allies.

MCAN is affiliated with the PICO National Network, a national federation of over 50 congregation based community organizations located in 20 states around the country. This affiliation gives support to MCAN and additional support to our affiliates and enables participation in joint campaigns on national issues.