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Lori Trahan

Pride on the march in 3rd District and beyond

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LOWELL — The commonwealth is home to almost 7 million residents with nearly half a million Bay Staters identifying as LGBTQ+.

June is Pride Month, which honors the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in New York City, when police violently raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar, igniting a riot that led to the gay liberation movement.

U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan kicked off Pride Month with a roundtable at UMass Lowell Thursday morning at which she heard from 15 community leaders who provide resources, services and support for the LGBTQ+ community.

She introduced herself to the group as an ally, saying that she was committed to standing “shoulder-to-shoulder with you” to create opportunities and safe spaces for people in her 3rd Congressional District, in the state and the nation.

“It is up to all of us to ensure that we are protecting the lives and livelihoods of LGBTQ+ citizens across the world,” she said, before opening up the floor to hear from the participants who worked in academic, governmental, health care, business and nonprofit sectors across the state.

Some attendees, like Isa Woldeguiorguis and Masada Jones, hail from Lowell. Both work at the Center for Hope and Healing, whose mission is to end sexual violence.

Junior Peña is the executive director for Student Diversity, Equity, and Belonging Initiatives at Fitchburg State University, whose work focuses on identifying biases and creating a welcoming space for students on campus.

Overall, all the members present spoke to elevating awareness and visibility of the community through their outreach and educational programs. They all spoke to feeling that Massachusetts was a leader in creating an equitable environment, even as they recognized financial, political and societal challenges to the effort.

Same-sex marriage was legally recognized in 2004, Maura Healey is the first woman elected governor in the commonwealth and the first lesbian governor in the U.S., and roundtable speaker Julie Chen is the first LGBTQ+ chancellor of the UMass system.

Chen said inclusion was one of the pillars of UMass Lowell’s four-point strategic plan.

“We are very conscious of making sure that everybody at this university feels like they belong,” she said. “So that you can be your best self here at this university.”

She cited a survey of undergraduates in 2022 in which more than 1,000 students identified as LGBTQ+.

“We want to provide whatever resources our students need so that they can be successful,” Chen said.

The city of Lowell was represented by City Manager Tom Golden who said the “city stands with all of you.”

“We want to make sure that everyone who comes to Lowell feels welcome,” he said. “To make people feel comfortable, safe and to want to be part of our community to build a better tomorrow.”

Members of the community said their work was threatened by white supremacy groups like the Proud Boys. Anti-LGBTQ+ groups like Mass Resistance and the Mass Family Institute are headquartered in Massachusetts.

Anthony Bovenzi is the president of NoWoCoPride, a gay and lesbian organization based in Fitchburg that produces events and activities in North Worcester and beyond.

“Massachusetts is great on many fronts, but (it) is also the biggest safe haven for white supremacist groups, and they are constantly threatening our Pride,” he told Trahan. “Right now, I’m receiving 10 death threats a week from white supremacist groups all over New England including Massachusetts.”

The organization works closely with state and local police to monitor the threats and increased their security budget.

“There are five white supremacist groups based in Fitchburg alone,” Bovenzi said. “The Proud Boys are based in Brookfield and Spencer.”

The gains made in trans rights are also threatened by racist-based groups operating in the commonwealth, said Dallas Ducar. She is the executive director for Transhealth, based out of Western Mass., which provides gender-affirming care for people across the state and New England.

Besides its medical services, the organization also trains students, doctors, physician assistants and nurse practitioners in gender-affirming health care.

Like Bovenzi’s NoWoCo, a portion of Transhealth’s budget also goes to security to protect against anti-trans threats.

“As a clinic we had to go silent until we received Homeland Security funding to be able to have safety,” she said. “We had to take our providers off the website.”

She said the threats represent an extreme, radical element with the majority of people expressing a bipartisan support for LGBTQ+ issues.

That was a position that Woldeguiorguis pushed back at, saying, “There’s a notion that white supremacists are the fringe. They are built off of a foundation of white supremacy in this country that has existed long before Proud Boys.”

In closing, Trahan said the conversation was enlightening and she was committed to elevating the work and partnering with the groups represented at the table.

“We’re going to continue leading with joy but being vigilant along the way,” she said. “We are partners in this effort.”

The city of Lowell kicks off Pride Month on Saturday, June 3, at 10 a.m., with a flag-raising ceremony and a performance by the New England Pride Colorguard Ensemble, in front of City Hall, 375 Merrimack St. The public is also invited to join the Colorguard and The Party Band as they lead a parade from City Hall to Kerouac Park, 75 Bridge St., for a noon to 4 p.m. festival. For information, call 978-674-1482 or email rdei@lowellma.gov.

Lori Trahan celebrates service academy nominees

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LOWELL — Each June, U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan’s office begins the process of accepting, vetting and nominating 10 applicants each to four of the nation’s five U.S. service academies — West Point, the Naval Academy, the Air Force Academy and the Merchant Marine Academy.

Monday night, Trahan recognized the 24 nominees from her office in a ceremony held in the venerable Hall of Flags at Lowell Memorial Auditorium, celebrating what she called, “this remarkable group of young adults.”

They ranged across the 35 3rd Congressional District communities, hailing from Pepperell, Lancaster, Acton, Clinton, Fitchburg, Lunenburg, Concord, Dracut, Carlisle, Westford, Lowell and Tyngsboro.

Trahan made her remarks standing at the front of a room lined with flags depicting Veterans’ Council organizations, early American history and the state flag. She cited the hall’s significance as a place of honor dedicated to the men and women veterans of Lowell, especially those who died during time of war.

“As your representative in Congress, my role in this process — nominating the students to our world-class service institutions — is one of my greatest honors, and it’s a responsibility that everyone on the team takes very seriously.” Trahan started her congressional career serving on the Armed Services Committee.

That team included Air Force veteran and Trahan’s Director of Constituent Services Jorge Morales-Lopez, who told the crowd that a service academy education is “rooted in leadership, discipline and the skills necessary to become an officer in the armed forces.”

The application season opens on June 1 and ends Oct. 31. Students must submit three letters of recommendation, a resume of extracurricular activities, an official high school transcript, SAT and/or ACT scores and a 500-word essay on attending a service academy.

“As officers in the U.S. military, you will form the ‘tip of the spear’ in that effort,” Trahan said. “Seeing the drive that got you here, and the courage you have shown in taking this step, reassures me that America’s best days are ahead.”

A nine-member Service Academy board of past and present military, recommended the nominees on behalf of Trahan’s office. Both U.S. Army Sgt. First Class (Ret.) John Moses, of Chelmsford, and former U.S. Naval Academy graduate and Marine David Cote, attended the event representing the board.

“We don’t just look at your grades or your SAT scores,” Trahan said. “We look for students rich in character and leadership, and with unwavering enthusiasm and determination, driven by the steadfast commitment to serve our country and our common good.”

The Air Force Junior ROTC honor guard from Lowell High School opened the ceremony, presenting the flags that flanked the stage and later became a backdrop for family photos with Trahan and military leadership.

Among that group was cadet and nominee Kaiden Man, of Lowell, who attended the ceremony with his family. He said his parents “nudged” him to join the high school’s ROTC program four years’ ago. Although he did not receive an appointment to a service academy, Man said he was going to continue a military path by enlisting upon graduation in June.

Six women were among the nominees, which Trahan said reflects the commitment of the Board to nominate students representative of the 3rd District.

Sophie Russell, of Chelmsford, received nominations to West Point, the Naval Academy and the Air Force Academy. She’ll report to Naval Academy Preparatory School in Newport, Rhode Island. Service runs in her family, she said.

“My mother, my father and all of my grandparents were in the military, so I wanted to follow in their footsteps,” Russell said. “I was in the Air Force auxiliary for two years. I found out in January that I was nominated.”

Another legacy of family service was reflected in Elizabeth “Lisa” Fitzgerald’s decision to apply to and receive an appointment to the Air Force Academy.

“Both my parents went to the Air Force Academy, and served in the military,” the Concord resident said. “I found that inspiring. My three older siblings — two sisters and a brother — also went to the academy. That motivated me to pursue a life of service.”

Of the 24 nominees, eight received an appointment to a service academy, with Morales-Lopez noting that, “Receiving a nomination is in of itself an accomplishment.”

Lars Jansson, of Tyngsboro, knows both sides of the nomination process. Jansson was a nominee last year, but did not receive an appointment to a service academy. He enrolled in UMass Francis School of Engineering, and applied again this year, receiving an appointment to West Point.

“We nominate the students,” Morales-Lopez explained. “But the academy’s make the final determination on admission. He did not receive an appointment last year, but I encouraged him to come back and apply.”

After the speeches recognizing their accomplishments, Trahan, Col. Taona Enriquez and Chief Master Sgt. Alan Weary conferred the certificates upon the nominees. Afterwards, Trahan spoke again to highlight the impact the young people had on her work in Congress.

“We have a collective duty to secure our future and our children’s future by defending our values wherever they are challenged aboard or at home,” Trahan said. “As officers in the U.S. military, you will form the tip of the spear in that effort, and seeing the drive that got you here, and the courage you have shown in taking this step, reassures me that America’s best days are ahead.”

She wished the nominees the best of luck on their future endeavors, and thanked them for the honor of nominating them. “I’m so present for this moment, looking into your faces knowing that our best days are indeed ahead with you at the helm.”

The nominees who received appointments are:

West Point

• Adrien Lam – Groton, United States Military Academy Preparatory School.

• Lars Jansson – Tyngsboro, University of Massachusetts, Lowell – Francis College ofEngineering.

• Anthony Petracca – Lancaster, Trivium School.

Naval Academy

• Fiona Cullen – Andover, Austin Preparatory School.

Air Force Academy

• Zachary Aster – Fitchburg, University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

• Elizabeth Fitzgerald – Concord, Austin Preparatory School.

•Keira Lonadier – Concord, Concord-Carlisle High School.

Merchant Marine

• Robert Baum – South Hamilton, Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School.

Lori Trahan, Making Opportunity Count celebrate nearly $6 million in federal funding

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FITCHBURG — The city’s youngest students — and their parents — just received a significant boost courtesy of U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan.

On Tuesday, Trahan, joined by state Sen. John Cronin, state Rep. Michael Kushmerek, Mayor Stephen DiNatale and several Making Opportunity Count leaders, celebrated nearly $6 million in federal funding for MOC’s Head Start education initiatives. The programs promote school readiness and provide quality educational and community-based services to local children and families.

Trahan stressed that such Head Start programs are “critical” from an early educational perspective as parents look to re-enter the workforce post-pandemic. She also referred to MOC as a “shining example” of the effectiveness of those programs and said she “couldn’t be happier” to deliver federal funds to such a deserving “community action agency.”

“Head Start and other high-quality child care and education programs are more important than ever,” Trahan said. “They’re critical in that they let parents get back into the workforce and are hugely important as far as preparing our students to enter the classroom for the first time, limiting learning losses and ensuring they have the ability to hit the ground running.”

“Making Opportunity Count has served countless families through their exceptional programs and, as a proud supporter of Head Start in Congress, I couldn’t be happier to see these federal funds go towards expanding and improving MOC’s services in the Third District,” she said.

The $5,681,284 secured by Trahan will be used to enhance MOC’s center-based Early Head Start and Head Start programs. Both programs stimulate interest in education in a “developmentally appropriate environment” and promote students’ social, emotional, physical and cognitive development.

Each program serves children between the ages of 15 and 33 months or 3 and 4 years old at the time of application, respectively. The Early Head Start program is available in Leominster and Gardner, while the regular Head Start program can be found in, Fitchburg, Leominster, Gardner, Athol, Clinton and Winchendon.

MOC Executive Director Kevin Reed called the funding “essential” and said MOC was “grateful” for Trahan’s continued support and investment. DiNatale exclaimed that, through MOC, Trahan “once again” delivered “much-needed resources” to the people of Fitchburg.

“I would like to thank Congresswoman Trahan for her commitment and advocacy to our Head Start programs,” Reed, said. “This essential funding allows us to provide services that lead to family success and prepare children for bright futures beyond the classroom.”

“We’re grateful for this investment in our future,” he said.

Beyond their Head Start programs, MOC also serves the local communities in a variety of other areas, including healthcare, social services as well as housing, food and fuel assistance. Trahan said she was thankful for the opportunity to work with and support such a “credible” and “trusted” partner that truly “understands the needs of the community and can meet those needs every single day.”

“[MOC] serves families across North Central Massachusetts and I always look for ways that I can help bolster those efforts,” she said. “It’s so helpful to have a credible, trusted partner on the ground, whether we’re talking about child care, fuel assistance, rental assistance, SNAP or WIC, you name it.”

Trahan also thanked her local and state partners — DiNatale, Cronin and Kushmerek, among others — for their continued dedication to and advocacy for their shared constituents.

“We work hand in glove on so many of these programs,” Trahan said. “And it’s not just federal investments, it’s bolstering state investment, it’s identifying where those investments go and are needed at the local level.”

“We can’t do it alone — and I’ve just been so lucky in my four years to have a working partnership with [DiNatale], [Cronin] and [Kushmerek],” she said.

Looking ahead, Trahan emphasized the importance of continued investment in childhood education and said she hoped to see further investments like Tuesday’s in the future. She also said reverting to pre-pandemic problems that plagued the childcare and education sectors “just isn’t an option” going forward.

“I’m a firm believer that we should continue to increase that federal investment in the years ahead,” Trahan said. “There’s no greater return we’ll see than from an investment in our children, their education and future success.”

“I think a lot of people forget that we were on the brink of a childcare crisis in 2020, so simply reverting back to the issues we faced before the pandemic just isn’t an option. Families here in Massachusetts and across the country deserve better — and it’s on us to continue working at all levels of government to deliver for them,” she said.

Next biothreat response? Lori Trahan listens to health leaders on lessons from COVID

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LOWELL — Are we ready for the next pandemic? What lessons were learned?

These questions were discussed during a pandemic preparedness roundtable hosted by U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan at UKG on Monday. She was joined by Massachusetts Health and Human Services Secretary Kate Walsh, and 15 area health care leaders, in a frank conversation about recovering from and preparing for the next COVID-style biothreat.

The congresswoman is a cofounder of the bipartisan Congressional Pandemic Preparedness Caucus, that is working to secure reauthorization of the Pandemics and All-Hazards Preparedness Act.

“I want to ensure that your perspectives help shape the way I approach this legislation, whether it’s testing, therapeutics, disease countermeasures or public health infrastructure,” Trahan said. “You were on the front lines; I will benefit from this discussion and your input.”

The act was first signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2006, and reauthorized in 2013. The purpose of the act is “to improve the Nation’s public health and medical preparedness and response capabilities for emergencies, whether deliberate, accidental, or natural.”

As is her style, Trahan opened the forum, before stepping back to allow the attendees to guide the conversation, which she called a “listening session to inform the legislative space.”

The participants hailed from organizations involved in direct patient health care, public health, biotech and medical manufacturing. They shared their best practices — or skin-of-the-teeth strategies — that guided their  response to an unprecedented public health emergency that has caused the deaths of more than 1 million Americans, and continues to reverberate throughout the health care field.

Walsh said that in her 40 years of public health service, nothing prepared her for COVID.

“I never spent so much time counting masks and trying to predict how many days they were going to last,” she said, as people in attendance nodded in agreement. The inequity of access to care was her biggest concern going forward.

“A colorblind virus wasn’t so colorblind,” she said. “Six days into vaccinations being available, of the people that were eligible to get the vaccine, 66% of the people who were white had it, and 6% of Black people got it. How we react, how we respond, really needs to be through an equity lens.”

Michael Curry, who is president and chief operating officer of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, said his biggest takeaway from the pandemic was that community partnerships worked. He was one of four such nonprofits represented at the table.

That observation was endorsed by CEO Susan Levine of the Lowell Community Health Center.

“We reach over half the population in the city of Lowell,” Levine said. “We learned during the pandemic how critical community health centers are in being the trusted providers of care for our communities.”

Staffing up medical facilities was on the mind of other providers such as Lawrence General Hospital Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Offiver Robin Hynds and Lowell General Hospital CEO Jody White, both of whom noted the high staff burnout after an almost three-year, all-hands-on-deck event.

“We still had to run our day-to-day operations on top of managing this unexpected situation,” Hynds said. “COVID really hit Lawrence. We’re still today, the highest incidence of COVID in the commonwealth.”

She thanked Trahan and her staff for helping the hospital find resources, and “keep our heads above water,” including an extension of a National Guard contingent in early days to manage the patient load. National Guard members were also sent to Lowell General.

“At one point we had 115 COVID patients, today we have five,” Hynds said, but noted that workforce challenges remain, creating “a burden on top of a burden,” a situation she called unsustainable.

White put a hard number on that impact to operations telling Trahan and Walsh that Lowell General had a $50 million loss in 2022, and will have another bad year in 2023. The hospital had layoffs in January.

“We’re still in the middle of cleanup mode,” he said. “It’s impossible to get nurses now, they’ve been scared out of the business. The emergency stop is May 11, and the federal dollars are going to shrink, and the hospitals are still trying to recover.”

Themes from both public and private companies tracked along the same lines: loosen regulatory obstacles to increase response flexibility; eliminate bottlenecks in reimbursement for pandemic-related outlays; continue community partnerships, surveillance and testing strategies; invest in the workforce; prepare a stockpile according to the predicted biothreat; conduct a pandemic debrief to discover best practices; build in surge capacity so that organizations aren’t scrambling or competing for resources; and keep listening and talking to one another.

The conversation that got the attention of Trahan and Walsh came from consultant Steve Wolfe, who also serves on the steering committee of the Medical Countermeasure Coalition.

“The lack of resources for the level of the challenges (with COVID) were staggering,” he said. “There was no one person responsible at Health and Human Services.”

Walsh wondered if Wolfe was suggesting that preparedness be pulled from HHS, to which he sighed, and offered, “After 9-11, the decision was made that the government didn’t have a structure, so the Department of Homeland Security was created.”

Trahan’s engagement in the discussion extended well beyond the allocated one-hour timeframe. In closing, she thanked the participants for their candid input.

“We’re focused on the reauthorization of PAPHA,” she said. “This will be one of many opportunities for Congress to take the lessons learned from COVID and actually legislate to prepare our systems to be ready to respond to an unknown future public health threat.”

Congressional quintet celebrate more than $20 million in federal funding for Massachusetts community projects

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U.S. Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, along with U.S. Reps. Lori Trahan, Jim McGovern and Richard Neal are touting successful efforts to secure federal funding for a number of community-based projects across the state in December’s end-of-year omnibus spending package.

In a press release, the lawmakers said they had secured over $20 million for 16 projects across the state, with more than $7 million directed toward projects in Fitchburg, Leominster and Gardner. Markey said the projects existed “at the forefront” of efforts to promote “health, environmental, and economic justice across our Commonwealth.”

“These projects will use federal dollars to add beds and improve systems at regional hospital campuses, promote educational resources and programming for immigrant communities, and enhance critical water infrastructure for our cities and towns in Central Massachusetts,” he said.

Funding in Fitchburg included $450,000 for HealthAlliance-Clinton Hospital’s Fitchburg Campus to acquire and install a digital breast tomosynthesis that will expand access to life-saving screenings. Additionally, $2 million was dedicated to Fitchburg State University’s Theater Block Revitalization Project to build a learning laboratory and black box theater to strengthen the city’s cultural and educational infrastructure.

Community Health Connections was awarded $2.5 million. CHC is a federally qualified health center that has served the low-income, underinsured, uninsured, publicly housed and homeless populations of Fitchburg, Leominster and other nearby communities for more than 20 years. The funds will be used to establish an 8,000-square-foot facility to meet the growing need of mental and behavioral health services for children, including outpatient therapy services, psychiatry, in-school therapy, therapeutic case management, peer mentoring and parenting classes.

North Star of Leominster was awarded $1 million to develop 15 units of affordable housing, while an additional $1 million was awarded to the city of Gardner to replace a 141-year-old water transmission main line and maintain the public health and safety of residents.

Trahan celebrated the work of the quintet and said “delivering for our state and our communities” has always been her “top priority.” Warren stressed the importance of these projects to the region while McGovern and Neal said these projects “will [affect] real change” and “undoubtedly go a long way” in their respective communities.

“I’m proud of all that the Massachusetts delegation has achieved together in securing funding that will make the Commonwealth an even better place to call home,” Trahan said.

“Federal investments like these will help fortify our aging water infrastructure, provide critical resources for immigrants and veterans, and advance health equity across this region,” Warren said. “I’ll keep pushing to ensure the federal government is a strong partner to communities across the Commonwealth.”

“These projects will effect real change, like expanding patient bed access and making our health system more equitable,” McGovern said in the press release. “For me, public service has always been about listening to and helping people, and after working with so many community leaders to move these projects forward, I’m proud we are delivering results and I look forward to seeing the impact these investments have on the Second District.”

“The more than $20 million in federal funding secured for central Massachusetts will undoubtedly go a long way in making many of these long-awaited projects a reality,” Neal said. “Congress has the fundamental responsibility to oversee the expenditure of the public purse, and I firmly believe that these projects are worthwhile investments for the people of central Massachusetts.”

Trahan cleared by FEC regarding campaign finance complaints

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LOWELL — The Federal Election Commission has dismissed complaints against U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan’s use of campaign funds.

In a letter addressed to Trahan’s attorneys Jan. 26, the commission announced it had “no reason to believe” the Lori Trahan for Congress Committee violated campaign finance law when accepting loans from the representative’s husband David Trahan, nor when they failed to record when the loans were received, the source of those loans and the committee’s cash on hand in two quarterly reports.

The commission concluded its investigation Jan. 10.

Trahan, who represents the 3rd Congressional District, came under fire in 2019 when she admitted to using $300,000 of her husband’s earnings to fund her campaign the previous year during a contentious primary. While she, at first, denied the funds were not her own, she later revealed it was money shared by her and David Trahan through their joint bank account. She also reported to have borrowed $71,000 from a home equity loan.

The Democrat, who hails from Lowell, went on to beat challenger Dan Koh in the election by 145 votes.

The House Committee on Ethics cleared Trahan of such allegations in July 2020, when she was still a freshman in Congress.

Two additional complaints were filed with the FEC, which were left outstanding as the commission didn’t have a full quorum for long stretches of 2019 and 2020. There is now a quorum of six commissioners, composed of three Democrats and three Republicans, that requires a majority vote to dismiss.

In a statement, Trahan expressed her approval of the findings.

“I am pleased that bipartisan commissioners of the Federal Election Commission have confirmed – just as the bipartisan House Ethics Committee voted unanimously two years ago – that my campaign acted lawfully,” Trahan wrote. “Representing the district that I was born in, that I was raised in, and that I’m now raising my two young girls in is the honor of a lifetime, and I will continue to go to work every day to make our community and our Commonwealth a better place to call home.”

David Trahan is a local home builder and developer who disclosed, in a prenuptial agreement, 29 different assets, including several realty trusts, The Villages at Merrimac Landing LLC and Lowell Building Associates LLC. The prenup was used as evidence in the House Committee on Ethics’ ruling.

In 2018, spouses could not make more than $2,700 in donations, while candidates could — and still can — contribute an unlimited amount of their own funds.

More details on the findings will be available when related documents are publicly released within 30 days. Myles Martin, a public affairs specialist at the FEC, said that’s the commission’s policy when closing “an enforcement matter.”

Those documents, Martin said, could include commissioners’ reasoning behind their vote.