July 2024

Holyoke Safe Neighborhood Initiative
Meeting Notes


Date: July 11, 2024
Time: 1:00pm to 2:30pm
Place: Zoom Meeting


Mission Statement: The Holyoke Safe Neighborhood Initiative is a partnership between local, state & federal law enforcement; city & state government; civic & human service organizations; faith based organizations; the business community; education providers; property managers; and residents coming together with a goal to create safe, healthy & economically viable neighborhoods through information sharing, identifying at-risk youth, referrals and community efforts in specific Holyoke neighborhoods.

Guest Speaker: Robin Neipp: Grassroots for Gun Violence Prevention
Hi, everybody. I'm from Grassroots for Gun Violence Prevention. I was formerly the Western Mass League for Moms Demand Action which was part of every town. Most of that group has stepped away, and we formed Grassroots for Gun Violence Prevention, still doing most of the same work and continuing to support our community partners across the state. So I'm just going to quickly share just a little bit about Grassroots.

We are new and forming so looking for members, we have about five-hundred at this time, and our four pillars of work are mostly on legislation as it reads. There, we are going to be doing and we continue to do a lot of elections work. We also continue to collaborate and support strategic partners in the community. We also do public education, and we try to talk a lot about safe storage ERPO orders, and we continue to publicly put information out there in letters to the editors. So that's pretty much it.

What I'm going to do today is that I'm going to share with you a video that my volunteers put together about a year and a half ago. We do the ‘Be Smart’ presentation. We've gone to the Holyoke schools. Actually, we went after the five-year-old, brought a weapon to school a few years ago and presented that we continue to give out information. We also go to medical practices and talk about how to ask about guns and firearms in the home and talk about safe storage. So what we made was this YouTube link.

In the beginning, you're going to see it says Mom's Demand Action. We're going to continue to do this work. We will probably be doing a different format using other community partners to support this. This is a really eleven min video that can be shared, and I would encourage everybody to share it. I put it in the in the chat. I'm going to play the video now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnEa7qP9VUU

Thank you very much for joining us today. We hope this presentation has been informative, and that it will encourage you to get involved and be smart.

Agency Overview and Updates:

Janet: YWCA
My name is Janet; I work at the YWCA as a Case Manager. My program specifically works with young parents between the ages of fourteen to twenty-two. The support we provide includes obtaining a diploma, child care, applying for housing, etc. The YWCA has a variety of branches which are currently hiring.

Diana Biagioli: Federation for Children with Special Needs
I work for the Federation for Children with Special Needs. I’d like to highlight a new program that we provide. During the pandemic, students lost a lot of services. So if you know anyone born between March 10th, 1998 and September 30th, 2001 they will be granted the opportunity to stay in high school until the age of twenty-two. Secondly, we will be giving away stipends for these young people so feel free to reach out to me.

Wilbert Weche: Willful Change LLC.
I am the owner and operator of this training and development firm, which is local here out in Western Massachusetts. I currently work with organizations that are looking to invest in the development of their leadership teams. I provide leadership training as well as coaching. With my firm specifically, we produce new trainings every month. The training we are providing for this month includes time management and prioritization.

Now, we all know time is money. When an employee is wasting time this is something that can impact the organization as a whole. So for this month, we are releasing a new training for any organization that is looking to develop their leadership staff on time management and prioritization. Some of the key learning objectives that they can expect from this training are learning the importance and benefits of effective time management and prioritization. The individual will be able to identify common time wasters and learning how to eliminate it. The most important thing we will teach individuals is how to apply various techniques and tools to prioritize their tasks based on levels of importance as well as urgency.

An announcement I’d like to make for this month is that Willful Change LLC will offer fifty percent off of first time training, and satisfaction is guaranteed. What does it mean to be provided with a satisfaction guarantee? If you are not more than satisfied, or if I do not exceed your expectations as far as this training is concerned, then training will be free of charge.

Socrates Montas: Gandara Center
We currently have openings for in-home therapy, intensive care, coordination, therapeutic mentorship for in-home services. Our services are based on dudes anywhere from three years old to twenty-one years old with behavioral or emotional issues at home.

Shellie Daries: Department of Children and Families
I am a Foster Care and Adoption Recruiter. We offer virtual information sessions every Monday at 5:30PM and every Thursday at 10:00AM in the morning.

Sara Landaverde: YWCA
I oversee our community-based Domestic Violence Program that serves adults eighteen and older. We also do a domestic violence support group that meets on Wednesdays at two in the afternoon. I oversee the Sexual Assault Counseling Program, which works with ages twelve and older. We also have a Sexual Assault Support Group that meets on Wednesdays at four-thirty. Both programs are currently accepting referrals. Our services are completely free, and no health insurance is required.

Sandy Ward: Funeral Consumers Alliance
We're seeking people to serve us in our mission of educating the public about death care options in Massachusetts. Some specific skills would be helpful with our website.
We also seek someone interested in tracking legislation, passing flyers, or being an interpreter in different languages.

Rafael Santos: Hampden County Sheriff Department
I support the High Risk Offenders and Transition Programs. I also support the Holyoke Safe Neighborhood Initiative Program.

Rafael Irizari- Fields: Staff Attorney Public Defender's Office
We mostly focus on the District Courts in Holyoke and Chicopee, as well as Hampden County Superior Court. Since we are a state agency, our services in terms of what we can provide for people are limited. We prioritize connecting with service providers in the community so that we can help connect our clients with them. With this being said, we are open to taking calls about open warrants in many courts, including district courts, without creating new attorney clientele in our facility, with no strings attached. We strongly support individuals and their situations; we want to see them get the assistance they need.

Nia Johnson: Attorney General’s Office
Right now we have training going on at the Attorney General's Office. We have our AGI, which is general information about our office and the fact that it's the Chief Law Enforcement Office in the State of Massachusetts. We also provide SAVVY 18 training, where we teach you your rights as an adult. Next, I'd like to announce that we provide working rights training for teens and anyone eighteen and up.
We have landlord-tenant rights training, scans and ID theft training, and unauthorized practices of immigration law training.

Millie Ruiz: Way Finders
I am the mobility outreach specialist at Way Finders. My job is to help participants who have a Section 8 voucher through Way Finders to help them with job training. Lastly, I collaborate with Mass Hire's Springfield and Holyoke locations if anyone needs my service.

Madeline Martinez: Way Finders
I am the Employment Supported Services manager. We help our individuals with many things such as getting jobs, doing training, obtaining a driver's license, and/or receiving their ID. Whatever an individual may need, we are here to help them acquire it.

Kevin McAllister: Triangle Solutions
I work primarily with nonprofits to provide affordable consulting solutions designed to support your mission management needs in many ways. I can help you make a better impact on our community. I'm here for all kinds of management solutions that might help you all out. Thanks.

Josh Colon: Holyoke Police Department
We have no updates to report.

John McCarthy: USCIS
TPS for Haiti has both been extended and designated.

Haitian communities should take a look at the Federal Register notice so they can re-register as soon as possible. If they do re-register within the re-registration period, they're eligible for a five hundred and forty-day extension on their EAD (employment authorization documents).

We have two new Field Office Directors in our USCIS District. One Field Director is located in Maine, and the other is located in Massachusetts, the Boston Field Office to be exact. His name is Jerry Ammons, but he goes by Scott.

Lastly, for people who are immigrants seeking permanent residency in the United States, if they are having trouble with filling out medical forms (I693) because of USCIS, there is going to be a change. After November 2023, if you have that form filled out by a physician for your application, the form will not time out.

This means you can get that medical exam without the fear of obtaining it too early and getting timed out. This issue has been resolved.

Georgie Brown: One Holyoke CDC
Every month we have two monthly food banks on the second and fourth Fridays; this means we have one tomorrow and again on the twenty-sixth.

We're always looking for volunteers during this event. The address for anyone interested is 70 North Bridge Street. Our only request is for volunteers to get there at twelve-thirty.

Secondly, we provide financial wellness classes that will be held in our Flood Community Building. The first Financial Wellness class will take place on July 25th from four o'clock to five o'clock in the afternoon.

Lastly, we're starting to look for volunteers and sponsors for our community dinner and walk. The walk will be held on August 31st, and the dinner will be held on December 7th.

Francheska Bermudez: Public Health Institute of Western Mass
The 413Cares Program is a community resource database where you can search for any resources with your ZIP Code and see who or what can help you. We created two new pages that include cooling centers; this can be useful on extreme heat days. We also include summer locations where children can eat for free.

Secondly, the Massachusetts Department of Elder Affairs is updating its action plan for the state. These changes will include making cities more age- and dementia friendly. There will be a listening session for that, which will take place July 24th in Springfield.

Lastly, The Office of Environmental Justice and Equity is hosting a community meeting where the community can go and talk about various questions and/or concerns.

Fiona Cioch: Central Pioneer Valley Health District
I'm a public health nurse, and this is a shared service arrangement funded by a Public Health Excellence Grant. I have no new updates.

Evelyn Mercado: Developmental Psychologist and Psychology Professor at UMass Amherst
I am looking for community partners to offer workshops. What our job is to do is provide workshops on coping with stress, mental health, and building healthy relationships with teens. We offer these workshops in English and Spanish.

Secondly, we have a couple of volunteer opportunities for families and youth who are interested in participating in research experiences. We'd be happy to have individuals participate; the workshops are completely free of charge.

Diosdado Lopez-Martinez: Support Network
We work with families that have children who suffer from social, emotional, or mental health issues. We do a good job working with Hampden Schools and schools in the surrounding area.

Deborah Schaier: Public Health Nurse for Holyoke Board of Health
I investigate communicable diseases, which also include tuberculosis.

We are seeing an increase in migrants to the city. We want to encourage those people working with families to get their vaccinations. We also want to encourage them to follow up with their doctors to get a physical.

Why are we encouraging this? Well, we've noticed that these migrants and/or immigrants aren't finding their way back to a medical practitioner. Once they come here, they kind of get lost in the system. We're finding out that families, adults, and children are falling behind in vaccination, which can be unsafe for themselves and others.

I also work with the Western Mass Hoarding Disorder Program. There will be a virtual conference on September 20th regarding information on how to assist individuals with hoarding disorders.

Charlene Rivera: Holyoke Pediatrics
No new updates.




Cassie Giardina: Rise Above Foundation
Rise Above is a nonprofit that serves youth and foster care at ages ranging from zero to twenty-three. If any youth in that age range needs funding to do any sort of education or attend an educational opportunity like study abroad, sign up for soccer classes, buy an instrument, go to music lessons, support young adults as they transition into their first apartment, or figure out first apartment living situations, we support and help fund these things, so please feel free to reach out.

Gloria Penagos: Holyoke Community College
Next week will be the start of our Summer Line Cook position, including ESOL. The next Line Cook position will start in September. The rest of these events will begin during the fall. Anyone is welcome, so please join us.

Carl Borden: Western Massachusetts Council Scouting America
The majority of our growth is located in Holyoke; we are looking for partners to join us.

I'd like to mention that our troop for girls is growing. There are currently four young ladies enrolled. We recognize that other neighborhoods in Holyoke need scouting. We're still looking to establish a troop for boys at Holyoke Mount Tom Lodge.

Angelique Rodriguez: Community Outreach and Admissions Counselor at Holyoke Community College
No new updates.

Alyssa Golden: Community Legal Aid
We're the Free Civil Legal Services Organization serving all of Central and Western Massachusetts. We represent people on a broad range of civil law issues. These civil legal issues include employment denials, housing denials, public and subsidized housing denials because of CORI issues, criminal record sealing and expungement, and denials of professional licensure and certification because of criminal record issues.

To start, if you or anyone you know is dealing with issues that come up when trying to work in the medical field or get jobs that involve working with populations of people that are considered particularly vulnerable such as young kids, school-aged kids, adults with disabilities, and elders, we are trying to expand on the work we're doing to overcome those employment denials where a state agency level background check is involved.

Not only do people face denials or terminations from employment because of criminal records, but in some instances, individuals are losing their jobs over old criminal records surfacing. This denial or termination is being carried out regardless of how long the individual was employed at the facility before the criminal record was discovered by the staff. This is being highlighted because of the importance our support has on this topic. We are hoping to make more of an impact on these kinds of issues because we understand the racial and sexual discrimination that can come with them.

The Department of Children and Families (DCF) tends to be overrepresented in the lives of households with racial and ethnic minorities, as well as those who have suffered from domestic abuse. This over-involvement is significant because it often leads to the implementation of policies that restrict individuals with criminal records or DCF-reported neglect from entering specific career fields. This disproportionate impact is problematic for several reasons. If you know anyone who falls in this category, please send them my way. I specifically work with them.

Sheryl Maldonado: Way Finder Resident Engagement Leadership
Residents who live in Holyoke and want to be part of the computer class will have the opportunity starting July 29th. We only have twelve spots available, and five out of the twelve spots are filled. We are seeking out seven more individuals to participate.




Ed Caisse: Hampden County Sheriff’s Office and Holyoke Safe Neighborhood Initiative
We're holding our back-to-school event on August 24th; we currently have volunteer registration available to area leaders. Next week we will open up volunteer registration for agencies that work with us. To anyone who would like to sign up and volunteer, it will be from eleven in the morning until three in the afternoon. We will have three shifts running during the event taking place on August 24. We ask if volunteers for the first shift could please arrive at nine-thirty in the morning. We often try to open the gates a little early; I'm predicting ten thirty in the morning, as long as everything is prepared properly.

We are still looking for supplies, but in general, we'd like to have the backpacks all packed up and ready to go. We're looking for color markers, highlighters, and pens. You may be able to find the color markers on sale at Staples or Walmart.

On Friday, August 2nd, we're hoping to have the backpacks packed and ready to go for the event.

Secondly, our Summer Basketball League is coming to an end. We're hoping to have a cookout with the kids and carry out the championship on August 9th. Agencies, please feel free to join us if you'd like.

CHAT NOTES:

Shannon Burke
Medical Home Care Coordinator Holyoke Pediatrics burkes@holypeds.com

Charlene Rivera
Medical Home Care Coordinator Holyoke Pediatrics riverac@holypeds.com

Carl Borden
Western Massachusetts Council Scouting America. Membership Director. carl.borden@scouting.org 413-594-9196 x7003 Growing in the Paper City region. looking for neighborhood partners

Alyssa Golden
Senior Supervising Attorney of the CORI/Reentry Unit at Community Legal Aid agolden@cla-ma.org 413-582-1377

Angelique Rodriguez
Community Outreach and Admissions Counselor for Adult-learners (25+) at HCC. I am always looking for community partners and ways to go out into the community and talk about Holyoke Community College. If interested in connecting, you can reach me at arodriguez@hcc.edu or 413.552.2243.

Julia Popkin
Staff Attorney in the Education Law Unit at Community Legal Aid, jpopkin@cla-ma.org (413) 686-9012

Analu Jaramillo
Holyoke Health Center . Not updates. Just Farmers Markets I Holyoke Tuesday @ Veterans Park and Wednesday @ Holyoke Medical Center parking lot from 11-2 pm. No video today sorry. I’m recovering from Covid.

Diana Biagioli
Federation for Children with Special Needs. We offer support, guidance, training and information for youth with disabilities ages 0-30, their families and any professionals working with them. Here is a link to our website: https://fcsn.org/
And here is a link to a new program we just got funding for to provide funds and services to youth for Pandemic Related Relief. This is for youth born between March 10,1998 and September 30th, 2001 and who stayed in HS until age 22. Here is our page with more inforamation: https://fcsn.org/transition-support/

Sara Landaverde
YWCA of Western MA. I represent the Community Based Domestic Violence Program that services adults 18 years old and older, and the Sexual Assault Counseling Program that services ages 12 and older. We are accepting referrals for both programs. We also offer support groups for DV on Wednesdays at 2pm, and SA on Wednesdays at 4:30pm. All of our services are free and do not require health insurance.

Shellie Daries
Department of Children and Families Foster Care Recruiter please visit mass.gov/DCF/foster care for more information. I can be reached at (413)452-3247 Virtual Information Sessions available Monday's at 5:30 and Thursday mornings at 10:00

Francheska Bermudez
413Cares program coordinator at the Public Health Institute of Western MA
Email: fbermudez@publichealthwm.org
413Cares.org is a community resource hub where you can input your zip code and see what's near you that can help you out. Reach out to me if you would like a presentation done for your organization or would simply like more information.

Robin Neipp
grassroots4GVP.org
We are working on a new presentation in our new group but until then can present in person the Be Smart program. I have Spanish language materials also. We present a different version to Healthcare workers on tips to approach the conversation

Yanitza Torres
YWCA Young parent program, We offer support for young parents between ages 14-22. We are accepting referrals. I'm currently the Case Manager for the parents in program. My email is ytorres@ywworks.org and our programs phone number is 413-536-4080.

Evelyn Mercado
Psychology professor at UMass Amherst, evemercado@umass.edu. I lead a team of Spanish-English bilingual student researchers, we are looking to develop partnerships with community organizations and schools to offer workshops to youth and families on building healthy relationships, coping with stress, and teen mental health. We are also looking for Latinx/Hispanic families with teenagers to voluntary in an ongoing investigation of the impact of racism-related stress on family mental health.

Angela Kelly
Careforth Adult Foster Care - We care for the caregiver at home caring for a loved one. With a care team behind them, tax-free stipend and all the resources at their fingertips through our HIPAA compliant app, we keep care recipients at home for an average of 37 months longer than without the help they deserve. akelly@careforth.com (619)606-6771 I need to leave early today so I will apologize right now. Thank you! Angie

Emily Skoczylas
Education and Outreach Coordinator at Alianza DV Services.
Pronouns: She/her
eskoczylas@alianzadv.org
413.430.9339
Alianzadv.org

Robin Neipp
Volunteers made this video to streamline the presentation and increase distribution but we can come in person and present to your group

Robin Neipp
please https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnEa7qP9VUU this link:
rneipp.ma@gmail.com

Georgie Brown
OneHolyoke CDC Georgianna.brown@oneholyoke.org

Diosdado Lopez-Martinez
the Support Network 413-887-2771 Email: Dlopez-martinez@wmtcinfoi.org

Kevin McAllister
TryAngle Solutions (https://tryanglesolutions.com/)

Socrates Montas
GANDARA CENTER
Community Based Youth Clinical Services (CBYCS)
80 Commercial Street | Holyoke, MA | 01040
Office: 413.234.4568 Fax: 413.846.0447
smontas@gandaracenter.org

Madeline Martinez
Wayfinders Employment Support Services mmartinez@wayfinders.org

Sarah Lynn
MSPCC Prevention https://www.mspcc.org/hf-referrals/

Wilbert Weche
Founder & CEO of Willful Change: Leadership Training & Development: wweche@willfulchange.com: 413-306-4309

Robin Neipp
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/1?ui=2&ik=789ee66458&attid=0.1&permmsgid=msg-a:r-827643748461897170&th=190a2270f7718d3f&view=fimg&fur=ip&sz=s0-l75-ft&attbid=ANGjdJ8CMloUbHs4HyZAq2pwn-WrvMFNtr6bNoEySXe_kGxFsOTMZUSRXr2DZ3a27AWelEEazauPzVXA7sS6_-PeknYk56mvG4aYPVRNntPH05AncFXEAdJ48hORn2o&disp=emb&realattid=EEA18F30-8179-4375-90F8-6EC3ABC674B9

Sandy Ward
Funeral Consumers Alliance of W. Mass. 413-376-4747 (voice mail). I’m now on the Nominating Committee, seeking volunteers to serve on our board or help in other ways (e.g., website work; tracking legislation, distributing flyers…) Contact me at my personal email: sandy@nonotuck.us THANK YOU.

Robin Neipp
Link above for our Action to pass updated Gun Legislation in Massachusetts

Nia Johnson
Office of Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, WMass Community Engagement Coordinator, Nia.johnson2@mass.gov, 413-867-1619, 1441 Main St 12th Floor, Springfield MA

Rafael Irizarry-Fields
4134713392
Committee For Public Counsel Services - Public Defender Division
ririzarry-fields@publiccounsel.net

Millie Ruiz
Housing Mobility Outreach Specialist
Rental Assistance at Wayfinders
413-390-5210
mruiz@wayfinders.org

John McCarthy
USCIS (Citizenship and Immigration Services) John.j.mccarthy@uscis.dhs.gov

Francheska Bermudez
413Cares has created several new pages!
List of Cooling Centers for all of Western MA
List of Summer Eats locations for all of Western MA
The MA department of Elder Affairs is updating their action plan for the state in regard to how to make cities more age-friendly/dementia friendly. Check out the flyer below.
EEA Office of Environmental Justice and Equity is hosting a community meeting where you can share environmental justice concerns and questions. Flyer is also below.
Thank you! Reach out to me at fbermudez@publichealthwm.org is you have any questions!
Sign up for our newsletters

Georgie Brown
Our upcoming events! Check our website OneHolyoke.org for more information

Sandy Ward
FCAWM Website address: https://funeralconsumerswmass.org/ or contact me directly: sandy@nonotuck.us

Evelyn Mercado
Thank you for having me here! Visit FAM Lab - Outreach (google.com)--for workshops, an opportunity for Hispanic/Latinx families with teenagers--FAM Lab - Participate (google.com)

Josh Colon
Officer Josh Colon, Holyoke Police Dept., 264@holyokepd.org

Deborah Schaier
RN schaierd@holyoke.org Public Health Nurse for the Holyoke Board of Heath

Cassie Giardina
Community Outreach Manager with Rise Above. Funding for youth in foster care ages 0-23 for educational opportunities, extracurricular and enrichment activities. cassie@weriseabove.org. www.weriseabove.org

Carl Borden
Western Massachusetts Council Scouting America carl.borden@scouting.org 413-594-9196x7003 www.wmascouting.org

Deborah Schaier
The Holyoke Board of Health offers Tuberculosis skin testing for those individuals who are training to be CNA/HHA. The cost is $10. My number is 413-322-5598 call for an appointment.

Edward Caisse
2,500 (10) packs of colored markers: on sale at Staples and Walmart
2,500 glue sticks: collection box at the Holyoke Fire Department, 600 High Street, Holyoke
2,380 pencil sharpeners: collection box located at the Holyoke Police Department, 138 Appleton Street.
2,500 highlighters
2,300 (10) packs of Pens

Sheryl L Maldonado
Residents Engagement Training VISTA, smaldonado@wayfinders.org, 413-386-6898

Carl Borden
WMA-Scouting America Membership Director
The Holyoke Scout Units will be signing up.

John McCarthy
USCIS John.j.mccarthy@uscis.dhs.gov

Shannon Burke
Ed, how do we get you the supplies once we have the donations?

Charles Knight
Sorry I am so late,
I have not been doing well with the heat and am at the Mason Square Library jgald we could seayhello

CHAT NOTES:

Shannon Burke
Medical Home Care Coordinator Holyoke Pediatrics burkes@holypeds.com

Charlene Rivera
Medical Home Care Coordinator Holyoke Pediatrics riverac@holypeds.com

Carl Borden WMA-Scouting America Membership Director He/Him
Western Massachusetts Council Scouting America. Membership Director. carl.borden@scouting.org 413-594-9196 x7003 Growing in the Paper City region. looking for neighborhood partners

Alyssa Golden
Senior Supervising Attorney of the CORI/Reentry Unit at Community Legal Aid agolden@cla-ma.org 413-582-1377

Angelique Rodriguez
Community Outreach and Admissions Counselor for Adult-learners (25+) at HCC. I am always looking for community partners and ways to go out into the community and talk about Holyoke Community College. If interested in connecting, you can reach me at arodriguez@hcc.edu or 413.552.2243.

Julia Popkin
Community Legal Aid
Staff Attorney in the Education Law Unit at Community Legal Aid, jpopkin@cla-ma.org (413) 686-9012

Analu Jaramillo
Holyoke Health Center . Not updates. Just Farmers Markets I Holyoke Tuesday @ Veterans Park and Wednesday @ Holyoke Medical Center parking lot from 11-2 pm. No video today sorry. I’m recovering from Covid.

Diana Biagioli
Federation for Children with Special Needs. We offer support, guidance, training and information for youth with disabilities ages 0-30, their families and any professionals working with them. Here is a link to our website: https://fcsn.org/

Diana Biagioli
And here is a link to a new program we just got funding for to provide funds and services to youth for Pandemic Related Relief. This is for youth born between March 10,1998 and September 30th, 2001 and who stayed in HS until age 22. Here is our page with more inforamation: https://fcsn.org/transition-support/

Sara Landaverde
the YWCA of Western MA. I represent the Community Based Domestic Violence Program that services adults 18 years old and older, and the Sexual Assault Counseling Program that services ages 12 and older. We are accepting referrals for both programs. We also offer support groups for DV on Wednesdays at 2pm, and SA on Wednesdays at 4:30pm. All of our services are free and do not require health insurance.

Shellie Daries
Department of Children and Families Foster Care Recruiter please visit mass.gov/DCF/foster care for more information. I can be reached at (413)452-3247 Virtual Information Sessions available Monday's at 5:30 and Thursday mornings at 10:00

Francheska Bermudez
413Cares program coordinator at the Public Health Institute of Western M
Email: fbermudez@publichealthwm.org
413Cares.org is a community resource hub where you can input your zip code and see what's near you that can help you out. Reach out to me if you would like a presentation done for your organization or would simply like more information.

Robin Neipp
grassroots4GVP.org
We are working on a new presentation in our new group but until then can present in person the Be Smart program. I have Spanish language materials also. We present a different version to Healthcare workers on tips to approach the conversation

Yanitza Torres
YWCA Young parent program, We offer support for young parents between ages 14-22. We are accepting referrals. I'm currently the Case Manager for the parents in program. My email is ytorres@ywworks.org and our programs phone number is 413-536-4080.

Evelyn Mercado
Psychology professor at UMass Amherst, evemercado@umass.edu. I lead a team of Spanish-English bilingual student researchers, we are looking to develop partnerships with community organizations and schools to offer workshops to youth and families on building healthy relationships, coping with stress, and teen mental health. We are also looking for Latinx/Hispanic families with teenagers to voluntary in an ongoing investigation of the impact of racism-related stress on family mental health.

Angela Kelly
Careforth Adult Foster Care - We care for the caregiver at home caring for a loved one. With a care team behind them, tax-free stipend and all the resources at their fingertips through our HIPAA compliant app, we keep care recipients at home for an average of 37 months longer than without the help they deserve. akelly@careforth.com (619)606-6771 I need to leave early today so I will apologize right now. Thank you! Angie

Emily Skoczylas
Education and Outreach Coordinator at Alianza DV Services.
Pronouns: She/her
eskoczylas@alianzadv.org
413.430.9339
Alianzadv.org

Robin Neipp
Volunteers made this video to streamline the presentation and increase distribution but we can come in person and present to your group
Robin Neipp
please https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnEa7qP9VUU this link:
rneipp.ma@gmail.com

Georgie Brown
OneHolyoke CDC Georgianna.brown@oneholyoke.org

Diosdado Lopez-Martinez
the Support Network 413-887-2771 Email: Dlopez-martinez@wmtcinfoi.org

Kevin McAllister
TryAngle Solutions (https://tryanglesolutions.com/)

Socrates D. Montás
GANDARA CENTER
Community Based Youth Clinical Services (CBYCS)
80 Commercial Street | Holyoke, MA | 01040
Office: 413.234.4568 Fax: 413.846.0447
smontas@gandaracenter.org

Madeline Martinez
Wayfinders Employment Support Services mmartinez@wayfinders.org

Sarah Lynn
MSPCC Prevention https://www.mspcc.org/hf-referrals/

Wilbert Weche
42:09
Will Weche, Founder & CEO of Willful Change: Leadership Training & Development: wweche@willfulchange.com: 413-306-4309

Robin Neipp
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/1?ui=2&ik=789ee66458&attid=0.1&permmsgid=msg-a:r-827643748461897170&th=190a2270f7718d3f&view=fimg&fur=ip&sz=s0-l75-ft&attbid=ANGjdJ8CMloUbHs4HyZAq2pwn-WrvMFNtr6bNoEySXe_kGxFsOTMZUSRXr2DZ3a27AWelEEazauPzVXA7sS6_-PeknYk56mvG4aYPVRNntPH05AncFXEAdJ48hORn2o&disp=emb&realattid=EEA18F30-8179-4375-90F8-6EC3ABC674B9

Sandy Ward
Funeral Consumers Alliance of W. Mass. 413-376-4747 (voice mail). I’m now on the Nominating Committee, seeking volunteers to serve on our board or help in other ways (e.g., website work; tracking legislation, distributing flyers…) Contact me at my personal email: sandy@nonotuck.us THANK YOU.

Robin Neipp
Link above for our Action to pass updated Gun Legislation in Massachusetts

Nia Johnson
Attorney Generals Office
Office of Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, WMass Community Engagement Coordinator, Nia.johnson2@mass.gov, 413-867-1619, 1441 Main St 12th Floor, Springfield MA

Rafael Irizarry-Fields
4134713392
Committee For Public Counsel Services - Public Defender Division
ririzarry-fields@publiccounsel.net

Millie Ruiz
Housing Mobility Outreach Specialist
Rental Assistance at Wayfinders
413-390-5210
mruiz@wayfinders.org

John McCarthy
USCIS (Citizenship and Immigration Services) John.j.mccarthy@uscis.dhs.gov

Francheska Bermudez
413Cares has created several new pages!
List of Cooling Centers for all of Western MA
List of Summer Eats locations for all of Western MA
The MA department of Elder Affairs is updating their action plan for the state in regard to how to make cities more age-friendly/dementia friendly. Check out the flyer below.
EEA Office of Environmental Justice and Equity is hosting a community meeting where you can share environmental justice concerns and questions. Flyer is also below.
Thank you! Reach out to me at fbermudez@publichealthwm.org is you have any questions!
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Georgie Brown
Our upcoming events! Check our website OneHolyoke.org for more information

Sandy Ward
FCAWM Website address: https://funeralconsumerswmass.org/ or contact me directly: sandy@nonotuck.us

Evelyn Mercado
Thank you for having me here! Visit FAM Lab - Outreach (google.com)--for workshops, an opportunity for Hispanic/Latinx families with teenagers--FAM Lab - Participate (google.com)

Josh Colon
Officer Josh Colon, Holyoke Police Dept., 264@holyokepd.org

Deborah Schaier
RN schaierd@holyoke.org Public Health Nurse for the Holyoke Board of Heath

Cassie Giardina
Community Outreach Manager with Rise Above. Funding for youth in foster care ages 0-23 for educational opportunities, extracurricular and enrichment activities. cassie@weriseabove.org. www.weriseabove.org

Carl Borden
Western Massachusetts Council Scouting America carl.borden@scouting.org 413-594-9196x7003 www.wmascouting.org

Deborah Schaier
The Holyoke Board of Health offers Tuberculosis skin testing for those individuals who are training to be CNA/HHA. The cost is $10. My number is 413-322-5598 call for an appointment.

Edward Caisse
2,500 (10) packs of colored markers: on sale at Staples and Walmart
2,500 glue sticks: collection box at the Holyoke Fire Department, 600 High Street, Holyoke
2,380 pencil sharpeners: collection box located at the Holyoke Police Department, 138 Appleton Street.
2,500 highlighters
2,300 (10) packs of Pens

Sheryl/WF/ResidentEngagement
Residents Engagement Training VISTA, smaldonado@wayfinders.org, 413-386-6898

Carl Borden
WMA-Scouting America Membership Director He/Him
The Holyoke Scout Units will be signing up.

John McCarthy
USCIS John.j.mccarthy@uscis.dhs.gov

Shannon Burke
Ed, how do we get you the supplies once we have the donations?

Charles Knight
Sorry I am so late,
I have not been doing well with the heat and am at the Mason Square Library jgald we could seayhello







Contact Information:
Edward Caisse
Hampden County Sheriff’s Department
(413) 858-0225
ed.caisse@sdh.state.ma.us
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