Children with medical complexity have significant, chronic health problems that affect multiple organ systems, resulting in functional limitations, high health care need or utilization and often the need for or use of medical technology. Their care is typically fragmented, and their families often experience stress and financial hardship. Providers routinely…

The Catalyst Center works to achieve the following objectives:…

The team includes physicians, dentists, nurses, social workers, and psychologists who collaborate to deliver integrated care in underserved communities. During the two-week service trip, the medical brigade provides essential physical and mental health services while training local professionals—nurses, community health workers, and lawyers—on trauma-informed approaches. This collaboration strengthens the capacity…

Social workers are advancing justice, driving innovation, and shaping change across every sector that influences health and well-being—from housing and education to climate, public health, and beyond. Yet their leadership often goes unrecognized in national dialogues, policy spaces, and strategic decision-making. The Social Work Leadership Identification Project (LIP) is changing…

SURE Housing initiative is implementing and evaluating housing-related interventions for HIV positive people, including youth and young adults (aged 18-24), people involved in the legal system, and people who identify as LGBTQ+. The four-year project, funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration HIV/AIDS Bureau, funds 10 Ryan White HIV/AIDS…

Adapted from a previous iteration, CoK is specifically tailored to meet the developmental needs of displaced children experiencing heightened vulnerability due to trauma before, during, and after migration. The program delivers 45-minute, play-based sessions in mobile classrooms—buses converted into vibrant preschool environments—which travel to 10 shelter sites in Central Massachusetts,…

The U.S. healthcare system faces a critical challenge: how to improve outcomes, contain costs, and address long-standing inequities. Social workers are uniquely positioned to meet this moment. Trained to integrate the social, psychological, and structural dimensions of care, they are often embedded across healthcare settings—providing essential services to individuals navigating…

Our Approach Children with disabilities who experience multiple forms of marginalization face significant barriers to health care, education, and community inclusion. These children often have dramatically different health outcomes compared to their peers. The DIVERSE Collective is addressing these disparities through: Project Timeline & Deliverables Research & Analysis Phase (2022–2024)…

Research Initiatives The Hub serves as a national resource center dedicated to supporting research, training, policy, advocacy, and knowledge translation in smart technology implementation for paralysis care. Our team of experts—including engineers, physicians, therapists, social workers, and individuals living with paralysis—continuously evaluates the effectiveness of our interventions to improve outcomes.

BU-ALPS is one-year HRSA-funded project dedicated to strengthening public health social work education at Boston University and nationally. Public health social work is a sub-discipline within social work that draws on both social work and public health theories, frameworks, research and practice to promote health equity and mitigate human health…