Happy New Year Metro North Partners and Supporters!
We hope you all had a safe and healthy holiday season and New Year.
The past year has certainly been one of the most difficult in recent memory. Although the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic are improving for some, many communities are still being hit hard. The majority of the twenty cities and towns in the Metro North region are now categorized as “high risk” for Covid-19 transmission. Four communities in Metro North have unemployment rates higher than the statewide average. Revere, for example, has an unemployment rate 23% higher than the statewide rate. Even prior to the pandemic, certain communities in our region faced disproportionate rates of unemployment, underemployment, poverty, and limited educational attainment.
In the midst of great challenges, many of our local and regional partners, particularly those in communities hit hardest by the dual crises of a global pandemic and systemic inequities, have stepped up to meet the challenge: the great work of La Colaborativa in Chelsea to meet the immediate emergency needs of local families; the work of the Revere Works coalition to address the disproportionately high unemployment rate faced by Revere residents; the thousands of Covid-impacted unemployed workers served by the Metro North Career Centers; and the countless emergency response programs launched by city and town halls across our region to help residents and businesses weather the storm.
At times the challenges before us may seem intractable, but we are optimistic about the prospect for change. To that end, we are announcing the start of a new initiative called Work to THRIVE (https://worktothrive.org), our way of addressing systemic inequities by focusing resources on communities and populations most in need.
We’ve started with a couple projects focused on digital access and inclusion, but look forward to broadening our impact in partnership with you all. We’d love to chat with you about our initiative, so please do not hesitate to reach out! We will, of course, be reaching out to many of you as well.
Please stay safe and healthy!
In partnership,
MassHire Metro North Workforce Board
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