The Caring Force State House Rally was bookended by two impactful events that underscored the strength and solidarity of the human services sector: the Providers of Central Massachusetts’ 34th Annual Legislative Breakfast on May 2 at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, and the MetroWest Human Services Advocacy Coalition’s 21st Annual Legislative Breakfast on May 9 at the Memorial Building in downtown Framingham.
The Central Massachusetts breakfast was hosted by The Arc’s Center of Hope Foundation and supported by a coalition of local agencies. Speakers included Sean Rose, President & CEO of Thrive; Maura Sullivan, President & CEO of The Arc of Massachusetts; and Bill Yelenak, President & CEO of the Providers’ Council. Lorie Martiska, Executive Vice President at Open Sky Community Services, delivered a powerful message on the workforce challenges facing the sector.
At the MetroWest event, the 2025 MetroWest Outstanding Human Service Professional Award in Honor of Bill Taylor was presented to Kettia Alexander, a care coordinator at Advocates, and Amira Elamri, a member of the Refugee Resettlement Housing Team at Jewish Family Services of MetroWest. Courtney Chavez of Advocates gave a moving testimonial about her work and life as a Mobile Outreach Specialist, emphasizing the need for fair wages, recognition, and expanded student loan repayment options for human services workers.
Both events drew strong legislative attendance. Senate Chair Michael Rodrigues addressed the audience at the Central Massachusetts breakfast, where organizations such as CENTRO, Seven Hills Foundation, and Kennedy-Donovan Center recognized their workforce heroes alongside elected officials, including Senators Robyn Kennedy and Michael Moore and Representatives David LeBoeuf and Natalie Higgins.
The MetroWest breakfast featured welcoming remarks from Framingham Mayor Charlie Sisitsky and included a legislative panel with Representatives Dan Sena and David Linsky—co-sponsors of the Providers’ Council’s two priority bills—alongside Representatives Priscilla Sousa and Jack Lewis, and Senator Jamie Eldridge. Panelists reiterated their commitment to supporting the human services workforce and the people they serve.
Each event gathered close to 300 participants to advocate for our legislative agenda and The Caring Force distributed gold t-shirts and other material to get attendees engaged.
See our photo gallery from the events below!
