MACI - About US

Welcome to MACI! As a support network for the chemically injured throughout Massachusetts, we are pleased to acquaint you with our organization.

The Massachusetts Association for the Chemically Injured was formed in 1994 beginning as a local support group. By 1996 MACI incorporated as a non-profit, tax-exempt organization to serve residents of Massachusetts. As an organization, we have grown into a statewide support, education, resource, and referral network for people living with illnesses related to chemical injuries, their families members and people who care about the prevention of illnesses related to environmental exposures. MACI is an organization of diverse people and is run completely by our members who volunteer their time and talents. As we have grown, we have expanded the services we provide to an increasing population of chemically injured people and their families in Massachusetts and throughout our neighboring New England states. At the same time, we have gained recognition as an advocacy group and have established relationships with other local, state, regional and national organizations working to protect public health, expand public education and advocate for the needs of the chemically injured.

MACI's goals are:

To provide a welcoming forum of support and to serve as a source of information to persons living with multiple chemical sensitivity and their family members.
To promote and facilitate local support groups for persons with multiple chemical sensitivity.
To increase public awareness of multiple chemical sensitivity, the needs of the chemically sensitive, and to prevent new injuries through education.
To encourage medical research and advocate for public policy on multiple chemical sensitivity.
To sponsor educational activities addressing issues of the chemically sensitive and social events where our members can meet and socialize in an environment that accommodates their needs.

MACI members are individuals who are chemically or multiply chemically sensitive, their family members and individuals dedicated to prevention of the illness. We provide friendship and support and exchange information through the ECHO and MACI News, within discussion groups, via the telephone – and now the internet! Monthly support group meetings are held in the greater Boston area, at sites north and south of Boston, on Cape Cod and in Central MA. We have additional contacts in Western MA. All meetings are smoke and fragrance free! Members are welcome to bring respirators or oxygen to increase their comfort during meetings. Our growing membership has indicated a need for more meeting locations throughout the state. MACI would like to continue expanding our network of support groups and we would appreciate your suggestions for new locations and accessible meeting facilities.

The support group meeting formats alternate between open discussions and invited speakers. We invite a variety of speakers to address the support group every other month. These programs are audio taped with permission of the speaker and are available through the MACI lending library to our members. Please check our calendar page to see a listing of topics and speakers for the coming months. Check out our Library page to find past speakers of interest to you. Do you know of an interesting speaker you can suggest? Please let us know – (MACIMCS@aol.com). On alternate months we host open discussions where members can bring questions, concerns or items of interest to share with the group. As an additional resource for our members, MACI maintains a reference library of books and videos of interest to and available for loan to our members.

MACI collaborates with other organizations on issues relative to the chemically injured. We have sponsored workshops and we distribute materials at conferences. We have a representative who serves as a liaison to The Massachusetts Healthy Schools Network, The Environmental Health Coalition of Western MA and the Disability Policy Consortium. MACI networks with other state, regional and national support and action groups such as The Environmental Health Coalition of Western MA, Ecological Health Organization (ECHO), the National Center for Environmental Health Strategies (NCEHS), and is a member of the National Coalition for the Chemically Injured (NCCI). Currently, we are embarking on a new educational project about MCS with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

As a statewide organization for the chemically sensitive in Massachusetts we are often asked the question, "How many members do you have?" We would like to count you as a member. We hope you will support MACI and become a member of our organization. As a 501(c)(3) organization, MACI is eligible to accept tax deductible donations. With your contribution MACI will be able to provide support, education, advocacy and collaboration for the chemically sensitive and serve as a resource to the many people who contact us.