Logo: Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers.
Make Donation: Support MAPS with your donation.
Join MAPS: Join MAPS today.
Volunteer: Volunteer your time to the Portuguese-speaking community.
Answers to FAQs: Get answers to your questions about MAPS.
Request Information: Ask your question online.
Portuguese: Click for Portuguese version of this website.

The MAPS Endowment Fund: A Legacy for the Future.

MAPS Annual Banquet: Join us at our Annual Banquet, or learn more about previous ones.

MAPS Special Events: Find out about our Prize-O-Rama, Food & Music Festival, Film Festival, and other special events.

Partnered with
Partnered with United Way of Massachusetts Bay and of the Merrimack Valley
of Massachusetts Bay and of the Merrimack Valley
Home: MAPS English Homepage What's New: Press Releases, Newsletters, Upcoming Events, and Employee of the Month. Services: Social Services, Health Services, and Statistics. Community Info and Links: Worldwide, Massachusetts, and useful links. About Us: Our Mission, History, and Funding Sources. Employment: Employment opportunities at MAPS. Contact Us: Frequently Asked Questions, Office addresses and phone numbers, and directions.
Mission: MAPS mission statement.History: Learn about the history of MAPS.Making a Difference: See how MAPS makes a real difference in peoples' lives.Board & Staff: The MAPS Board and a list of staff by office.Funding Sources: A list of generous donors who help to fund MAPS.


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About Us

History

The Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers (MAPS) is a private, non-profit, community-based organization that has provided a wide range of health and human services to Portuguese speakers and other residents of eastern Massachusetts since 1970.

The agency offers a variety of programs that break down language and cultural barriers to health and social services, education and economic opportunity. MAPS in its present form was created in 1993 by the merger of two other agencies. The agencies, the former Somerville Portuguese American League (SPAL) and Cambridge Organization of Portuguese Americans (COPA), had served area Portuguese speakers separately for more than 20 years. They merged to improve service provision and further unify the Portuguese-speaking community, including immigrants from eight countries around the world. Most MAPS' clients in the Boston area and northeastern Massachusetts are from Brazil, Cape Verde or Portugal. The MAPS staff and Board of Directors come from linguistic and cultural backgrounds that reflect the diversity of the agency's clientele.

Agency offices are located in the heart of the Portuguese-speaking communities of Cambridge, Somerville, Boston, Lowell and Framingham. The agency opened its first Boston office in Allston in 1995 to serve the large growing Brazilian population in that neighborhood. The agency expanded its service area northward in 1997, opening its new Lowell office at the urgent request of the city's Portuguese-speaking community. A second Boston office opened in Upham's Corner, Dorchester in 2001 to serve the surrounding Cape Verdean community. In 2006, MAPS opened a part-time office in Framingham to provide services to the large Brazilian community of the MetroWest area. MAPS also continues to provide advocacy, leadership and community development services to Brazilian, Cape Verdean and Portuguese residents of eastern Massachusetts.

 

 

Copyright © 2002 Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers, Inc. All rights reserved.