The Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers (MAPS) is inviting the community to attend the grand opening of the organization’s new Lowell office in the heart of the Portuguese-speaking community at 490 Central Street. The inauguration ceremony will take place on Thursday, December 9, 2021, from 4 to 7 pm.

In addition to taking a tour of the newly renovated building, community members attending the ceremony will be able to meet the organization’s Lowell staff, learn about its many free health and social services programs, and enjoy local musical entertainment, appetizers, wine, and other refreshments. If you are interested in attending, please RSVP by December 8, 2021, by contacting Lowell Office Manager Alessandra Fisher at afisher@maps-inc.org or by calling 978-970-1250.

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.

“After 24 years of being in Lowell, this is a great milestone for MAPS, and we are so happy to welcome the community to our newly-renovated office building,” said Paulo Pinto, MPA, MAPS Executive Director. “This new location in the heart of the Portuguese-speaking community in Lowell will allow us to increase our accessibility and provide even more services to thousands of community members.”

The two-story brick building was purchased in February of 2021 and underwent extensive renovation work from May until November, including building six new private offices, a reception area, conference room, kitchen, and restrooms on the first floor, and partially renovating the second floor, including the installation of a new wheelchair lift funded by a grant from the Theodore Edson Parker Foundation.

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