Author Archives: Matilde Castiel

About Matilde Castiel

Dr. Matilde "Mattie" Castiel was appointed as the City of Worcester’s Commissioner for Health and Human Services in September of 2015. She oversees the divisions of Public Health, Youth Services, Human Rights and Disabilities, Veterans Affairs, Elder Affairs, and Homelessness along with advancing important new initiatives that fall under the scope of homelessness, mental health and the current opioid crisis. Dr. Castiel has worked in the Worcester community for over 26 years, including UMass Memorial Medical Center and Family Health Center of Worcester and also as an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine, Family Medicine and Psychiatry at UMass Medical School. In 2009, Dr. Castiel founded the Latin American Health Alliance (LAHA), a nonprofit organization in Worcester dedicated to combating homelessness and drug addiction. LAHA’s programs consist of the Hector Reyes House and Casa Reyes, a substance abuse treatment facility and transitional house for Hispanic males. In 2015 she opened Café Reyes on Shrewsbury Street, an innovative jobs training program for the residents at Hector Reyes House and Casa Reyes. At present she continues to serve as its Medical Director and sees patients there once a week.

Addressing addiction at the local level

By | November 9, 2017
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As the City of Worcester Commissioner of Health and Human Services, I have developed city-wide initiatives and worked on policy change to address three primary health issues prevalent in our community, those being addiction, mental health, and homelessness, which all tend to occur hand in hand. Addiction is the largest public health and public safety… Read More »