Partners
Opening Doors is based at the Institute for Community Inclusion, which is a joint program with the University of Massachusetts Boston and Children’s Hospital Boston. Partnering organizations include:
Parent Advocacy Coalition for Educational Rights (Minnesota)
PACER Center was founded in 1977 by parents of children and youth with disabilities to help other families facing similar challenges. Today, PACER Center expands opportunities and enhances the quality of life of children and young adults with disabilities and their families. PACER is staffed primarily by parents of children with disabilities and works in coalition with 18 disability organizations.
Project role:
- Integrate research findings and developments into the national parent education agenda
- Advise project staff on the family perspective on national policy issues affecting families and youth with disabilities and special health care needs
- Partner in developing the year three State of the Science conference
Partners for Youth with Disabilities
PYD is committed to empowering young people with disabilities to reach their full potential for personal development, and has a long history of establishing successful mentor relationships for children and youth with disabilities and special health care needs.
Project role:
- Using their expertise, advise project staff on finding and maintaining successful child-mentor matches
- Provide project staff with methods for interviewing, screening, and training adult mentors
Opening Doors Community Partners
Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center
improves the quality of life for Boston’s Asian-American community and for residents of Boston’s Chinatown, South End, and South Cove communities. The organization provides bilingual education, child care, cultural, social, youth and recreational programs.
Eritrean Community Center
works to promote social and cultural interactions among Eritrean-Americans as well as area residents and friends for mutual understanding and awareness, integration, economic self-sufficiency, Eritrean heritage, and youth leadership.
Ethiopian Community Mutual Assistance Association, Inc.
is a nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)3 community-based organization that responds to the needs of the growing Ethiopian community in Massachusetts.
Project role:
- Serve on the community partnership board
- Assist RRTC staff to work directly with community members
- Identify opportunities and methods to reach families and youth with information about supports and solutions for children and youth with special health care needs and disabilities
- Be a cultural broker to ensure that communities are aware of Opening Doors and can access research and training activities
Haitian American Public Health Initiatives, Inc.
provides Haitian Americans living in greater Boston with the information and skills they need to improve their health and well-being.
Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers
works with and for Brazilian, Cape Verdean, Portuguese, and other Portuguese-speaking communities to increase access and remove barriers to health, education, and social services through direct services, advocacy, leadership, and community development.
Massachusetts Asian & Pacific Islanders for Health
is a nonprofit organization that promotes health, HIV and sexuality awareness, and access to care in Massachusetts’ Asian, South Asian, and Pacific Islander communities through public and one-on-one education, technical assistance to other health care providers and organizations, and advocacy on the federal, state, and local levels.
Somali Development Center
assists all New England Somalis (and people from other African communities) to obtain basic resources, services, information, and skills, regardless of immigration status. Abdi Yusuf, of SDC, is the chair of the CBO partnership committee.
Soul Touchin’ Experiences
is a progressive corporation with the goal of providing unique products and services for people across age, disability, culture, geography and socio-economic status. Along with their families, policy makers, educators, businesses and community leaders we help to strategize and implement changes that address the issues and tapping the vastly underutilized potential that exists.
