The Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers (MAPS) welcomed the community to its new offices in Lowell on December 9, 2021.  Over 100 guests including elected officials, organizational partners and community leaders, as well as members of our community attended the opening celebration, which also featured local musical artists Fernado Holz and Jose Gabriel  Almeida.  

During the grand opening ceremony, MAPS received a Congressional citation from Congresswoman Lori Trahan as well as an official citation from the Massachusetts State House, presented by State Representative Vanna Howard. The Mayor of Lowell, John Leahy, also presented a citation from the city and conducted the ribbon cutting alongside Vice-Mayor Rita Mercier, City Councilor Sokhary Chau, MAPS staff and Board members.

“After 24 years of serving greater Lowell, this building inauguration is a dream come true for many of us at MAPS,” said Paulo Pinto, MPA, MAPS Executive Director. “We strongly believe that if we do our job well, our clients will become empowered with knowledge and resources they need to eventually achieve the goal of self-sufficiency.  Purchasing this building is an investment for the future of MAPS and our community, creating a solid base from which we can also achieve our own self-sufficiency as an organization.”

The guests took tours of the new offices and newly renovated building, met the organization’s Lowell staff, and learned about its many free health and social services programs while enjoying Portuguese wines and other refreshments, including delicious appetizers representing the cuisine of our Portuguese-speaking communities.

Located in the heart of the Portuguese-speaking community at 490 Central Street, the two-story brick building features six new private offices, a reception area, conference room, kitchen, and restrooms on the first floor. MAPS also partially renovated the second floor, including installing a new wheelchair lift funded by a grant from the Theodore Edson Parker Foundation. The MAPS Lobby was also made possible by a generous donation from longtime supporter and community leader Luis M. Pedroso, President of Accutronics, who led the efforts to have MAPS open its first office in Lowell 24 years ago.

The building was purchased in February of 2021 and underwent extensive renovation work from May until the end of November.  With this new space, MAPS hopes to improve access and increase its visibility, creating a new vibrant community hub. The new building will also allow the organization to become more self-sufficient by saving on rental costs and generating rental income from the second-floor unit, which the organization hopes to lease.

MAPS expanded its services to Lowell in 1997 as a response to the city’s growing Portuguese-speaking community. The organization provides free citizenship assistance, immigrant integration, HIV/STI, domestic violence/sexual assault and family support services and more to thousands of community members each year.