Boston Mayor Michelle Wu offers LGBTQ immigrants $500 wellness allowances
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Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s office is denying reports that city funds were used to support a program offering LGBTQ migrants up to $500 in “welfare” benefits, after a local advocacy group announced the benefits and then scaled back its description due to backlash.
Through its “Belonging Matters” program, the group planned to offer yoga, art and other recreational services.
“No funds were distributed or appropriated for these purposes. This organization received a $7,500 grant through a city program to support mental health services. These funds were not intended and cannot be used for the voucher program mentioned,” a city spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
The dispute highlights conflicting claims about what the “Belonging Matters” program actually offered and whether city-backed funding was tied to those benefits, drawing scrutiny over how Boston distributes and oversees grants to outside advocacy groups.
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OUTnewcomers is listed as one of 45 beneficiaries of a larger $200,000 campaign to support Boston’s LGBTQ communities. The $200,000 amount was approved by Wu last year as part of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ+ Advancement (MOLA).
According to Boston officials, OUTnewcomers received a $7,500 mini-grant allocated in the 2026 budget. The city has not green-lighted grants or cash assistance.
“These investments represent our continued commitment to uplifting LGBTQ+ Bostonians by putting resources directly in the hands of trusted community organizations,” Wu said in a press release at the time.
The mayor’s office declined to answer questions about why the $7,500 fund was initially approved.
The Belonging Matters registration form offered applicants yoga, breathwork and meditation, a gym membership, creative arts, peer support, storytelling, nature-based wellness and hair styling. If approved, the program promised applicants between $250 and $500 in “welfare benefits” assessed on a case-by-case basis.
But the organization later described the program as offering vouchers of $50 or less, creating a disconnect between how the initiative was initially presented and how it was subsequently characterized.
“Our City of Boston-funded program is modest and needs-based. It provides small vouchers of $50 or less to eligible LGBTQ+ immigrants living in Boston to access limited wellness assistance, such as haircuts, acupuncture or massages,” the organization said in a press release.
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Boston, Massachusetts, skyline. (Getty Images)
The program has faced scrutiny online, with critics calling it a waste of taxpayer dollars.
“Handing out perks and benefits like this while telling Boston taxpayers they have to pay more because we have a huge deficit in our budget,” one commenter wrote in a message to X, referring to property tax hikes approved by the Boston City Council in 2025.
OUTnewcomers did not respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment on the number of expected registrants or how many have signed up so far. The group announced Thursday that it had temporarily suspended the program due to “security threats.”
Founded by Sal Khan, a queer journalist originally from Pakistan, OUTnewcomers describes itself as a “grassroots, volunteer-run organization based in the Greater Boston area” focused on “community advocacy, resource navigation, and collective care.”
Mayor Wu speaks as the mayor and city leaders hold a press conference on violence and drug use at DTC on February 26. (Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald/Getty Images)
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OUTnewcomers only launched its website recently, in April, according to a post on X by the organization.
Their website does not list a Form 990, the required disclosure for nonprofits that normally outlines an organization’s structure, management and revenue.
