March 2022

Holyoke Safe Neighborhood Initiative
Meeting Notes


Date: March 10, 2022
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.



Welcome & Introduction 1:00pm - 1:05pm
Ed welcomed everyone and informed everyone that today would not be our typical networking meeting, because we would be having a long presentation from Dan Cortez on the Chelsea Hub. Ed did ask folks to place their name, agency and agency updates in the chat, which he will ensure is added to the notes after the meeting.

Dan Cortez: Community Engagement Specialist/Hub Coordinator Chelsea Police 1:05pm - 1:20pm

Chelsea hub – A model for Community Safety and Well-Being

The idea is for Holyoke to adopt the Chelsea Hub model, which they received from Canada in 2015. Involves sharing information of individuals who are highly at risk. We thought there was high levels of crime, gang violence, and we have a huge Central American population, we had youth that were coming over at the time, unaccompanied, who were finding themselves at risk here as well. There was a lot of drugs, alcohol, homelessness, there was so much happening in our city, we were running and putting out fires. This was an opportunity to all come together and discuss important information amongst each other, so we can intervene in persons lives and hopefully save the lives and help folks get out of risk. There are currently 16 Hub Tables in Massachusetts.

In reference to video shown. Chelsea has a lot of issues in the community including a lot of homelessness, kids who are gang involved, addiction with opioids and alcohol. Many challenges for people in this community where people from all classes struggling with trying to get to where they were trying to go, however there are many programs put into place to assist these people in getting to where they want to go. “The Chelsea Hub brings key community, social service and police agencies together to provide support services to high-risk individuals.” The Hub community, they are able to point out individuals who need help and strategize together on how to give them help, so that these individuals are not being rearrested. “Each week, the Hub brings together over 15 agencies to discuss and reach out to high-risk individuals.” Since the Hub has started, many barriers were broken down that prevented people and agencies in the community to work together. “Since 2015, the Hub has served hundreds of individuals, improved inter-agency collaboration and enhanced trust between the community and the police.” Since then, working together has improved and with that, the service provided to others has improved. Visiting families in person is what builds trust to the individuals within the community to realize people are there to help them get out of the high-risk situations. Police, Fire, EMS, and other first responders are great at getting to the scenes where something bad has happened with their sirens, however, we could identify these people who are at risk before it happed rather than after. “The Chelsea Hub’s approach to community safety has given agencies a renewed sense of purpose and its residents new opportunities for health, safety and well-being.”


What is the hub?
A “situation” table that brings service providers together on a weekly basis.

It is not a new program, it is not a new entity, it is simply a gathering of service providers that meet weekly to discuss individuals who are highly at risk that can be introduced by any of the participating agency. Teams are mobilized based on risk factors. Could be elderly, mentally ill, etc. Need to have wrap around services to assist them.

Participants collaborate in how best to connect individuals to services that are facing elevated levels of risk.

Why do this?
To help people. Stop the expectation of individuals who are facing a crisis in their lives to navigate everything on their own. Often times people do get it done on their own.
Push individuals to go places, to apply things, and to be sure they are doing these things because people often say they will do these things but lack the actual action of doing and completing these things.
This builds relationships among participants and works to eliminate silos.

The existing systems of care:

People navigate disjointed supports to get help, often falling through the cracks of Healthcare, Housing, Substance use recovery, and Child Services.

The Chelsea Hub system of care:

Hub navigators work with other agencies to offer rapid, wrap-around legal, health, housing, school, and social supports.

This system is a lot more aligned. We created an eviction task force last January, in response to the eviction moratoriums. It has kept so many people from leaving their homes. We have also created a downtown task force that is more environmental about why bad things are happening in certain areas. There are three weekly meetings all on the different topics.

Risk factors that have been looked at:

Alcohol
Drugs
Gambling
Mental Health
Cognitive Impairment
Physical health
Suicide
Self-Harm
Criminal Involvement
Crime Victimization
Physical Violence
Emotional Violence
Sexual Violence
Elderly Abuse
Supervision
Basic Needs
Missing School
Parenting
Housing
Poverty
Negative Peers
Antisocial/ Negative Behavior
Unemployment
Missing/Runaway
Threat to Public Health and Safety
Gangs
Social Environment


Most communities have start hubs because of a visual mental health, drug, homeless problems, etc. in their community, they think hubs will get rid of these problems, but they quickly realize that it will be easier and more effective to help all sorts of risk factors. It is also important to help the youth, and resolve these problems within our young community, and we have done a great job on that.

Chelsea had a huge substance use and alcohol problem, but it has gone down quite a bit. This has improved, especially around the gang issues from 2015 to the present things have really improved. You will see some slides of individuals that many thought they would never change, never be accountable, but have had their lives transformed.

Who should be part of the Hub?
Agencies like; schools, mental health agencies, youth serving agencies, addiction services, child welfare services, hospitals, law enforcement, housing agencies, high risk serving agencies, probation (youth and adult) and emergency services. Basically, any agency that can provide services that can assist folks to get to better places or an agency that is encountering individuals that are having high levels of risk. DYS actually created a reverse Hub, they created a Hub to focus on kids that really should be incarcerated and got them connected to resources to assist them.

Dan spoke about the seven-minute video that folks can find on-line, go to You Tube and type Chelsea Hub, it is also a video that he will show during the training. He explained the longer video speaks about how the four filters works, which he will speak a little about during the presentation.

What are the benefits of the Hub Situation Table in Your Community?
The Hub attracts other systems of care and gets us all working together. We felt in Chelsea that they had very limited resources. What we realized is that once we began talking, we found out that there were so many services available to their residents. They were not really aware of the services until they started getting together and talking. A lot of the work is just becoming aware of what is out there and have coordinated efforts.

The Hub helps identify individuals and / or families at risk and connects them to needed services. It is a process for discussion amongst groups that may not be talking to each other. This helps build relationships with service providers, schools, hospitals, law enforcement, non-profits and other organizations.

Dan mentioned there was a hospital in Everette that prior to the Hub, they never talked to, but now there are three or four nurses that they go back and forth with. The coordinated efforts get to the root cause of why individuals are at risk. The Hub increases accountability amongst service providers. It’s an effective strategy to increase community safety and wellbeing. The Hub creates an automatic networking tool. Later he will show some slides on how their crime levels have gone way down.

The Hub creates greater satisfaction amongst social workers. When you work together on a frequent basis, you will have better outcomes. The follow-up on situations, creates the accountability. There is a recorder at the meetings that keeps track of de-identified data, such as gender, age range, risk factors, who introduced, what agencies will be participating in the intervention to work towards the outcomes.

What is interesting about the Hub is that one week you present a situation and the following week you provide and update on the situation. The success rate for the Chelsea Hub is about 65%, there are a lot of folks that no matter how much you provide services, some choose not to accept services and sometimes you can’t find the people again.

During the meeting, agencies will access data to see if they are working with an individual or family. Hub coordinators from East Boston and Chelsea work together. East Boston has a Hub that Chelsea folks attend, and they also attend the Chelsea Hub, they had a lot of shared individuals that go back and forth.

The Hub improves the relationships amongst service providers. Some comments from providers feel the work is thoughtful and intentional.

In Chelsea there is a high level of police commitment, the model is designed to be police lead, but in some areas, police do not lead the Hub. In some communities the Public Health take the lead or other agencies. The police encounter many individuals that are brought to the Hub table. The discussion about reimagining the police, they realize they have been doing it since 2015 when they began the Hub. The Hub has changed police community relations. We believe this has attributed to a drastic change in crime.

Dan facilitates the meetings in Chelsea, the meetings are very structured about an individual at risk, very generic information if provided. Once everyone at the table agrees that the person is at elevated risk, they share brief information about the person, so they can find out if agencies are engaged with the person.

The Hub builds a System of Care, One step at a time. They have Navigators that are funded by the city, the navigators are recovery coaches, but they work on the streets. There are wrap around services also funded to support Navigators. There are case managers funded to follow individuals in recovery. Through the Hub they are able to create a timeline of care, “from initial street engagement to long term recovery.”

They did a little “where are they now” and found that many of the situations that were brought to the Hub are actually doing well.

Question from the Chat:
What happens when you have a person that needs something that the Hub can’t provide, such as housing? How does the Hub handle situations that are beyond its capacity to provide?

Ans: The Hub doesn’t have the services, the various agencies that are part of the Hub have the services to provide. The Hub is not a service provider. The Hub figures out how to being such services to the table. There is a Center of Responsibility (COR), which will identify supplanting resources and bringing additional services to the table.

Dan showed a slide that compared the Current System to the Hub System.

Current System:
People navigate disjointed supports to get help.

Isolated care needs

Social agencies working separately

Police viewed as enforcement only

Community responsibility for safety and well-being

Hub System:
Social agencies collaborate to offer holistic supports

Integrated care needs

Police as support, enforcement as a last option

Community responsibility for safety and well-being

Police will reach out to navigators to get the person the help they need rather than just arrest them.

Dan showed a picture from the Boston Globe that did a story on a female that was struggling with addiction, who is now doing well. The Hub brought services around the female, which assisted her in getting her life back on track.

In 2017 the Chelsea Hub received an award called the 2017 Culture of Health Prize, which they coined “How to Keep People from Falling Through the Cracks.”

They received the 2018 Champion City Award: Reducing Crime with Preventative Care.

City Manager Thomas Ambrosino stated, “This opportunity will allow us to continue our work to alleviate the root causes of violence, poverty and homelessness in Chelsea-and to connect residents to the help they need.”

Dan stated that everyone does this work every day, but they usually do it on their own. What is different about the Hub is that agencies work together on situations rather then doing it on their own.

In 2018 there was a news article stating that “Chelsea Police Create a Culture of Health.”

In Chelsea they have a larger alcohol problem than drugs.

Question from the Chat:
How do you pick the cases that you are going to help, do the agencies bring them to the table or are they referred?

Ans.: Dan answered the question by sharing a little more about the Hub process. He stated, “The meetings are facilitated in a very structured manner, so there isn’t information shared that should not be shared. So, we start the meeting with updates then ask if there are any situations that are being brought to the table, there are usually about three or four situations brought to the table. An example is DCF may bring up a situation that they have a 14-year-old not going to school, being bullied at school, has siblings, threats to the family, experimenting with drugs and staying out late at night. This is an opportunity for DCF to ask the community for help with this individual and family. Find out they are with housing authority, mental health services come in, maybe social worker wasn’t aware of what was going on, there was a fight that wasn’t reported, when you pull back the onion, you figure out there is so much going on and it’s an opportunity for everyone to work together.

Male, 10-15, risk factors are the ones mentioned above, written consent signed by the family. The Hub is set up so that agencies can intervene without a consent or not. After the situation is presented, Dan asks a series of questions, facilitators are provided with a Hub script, that way all Hub participants operate the same way. Dan asks if there is a consensus of a high probability of harm, everyone will say yes, then he asks if there is a high predictability that the harm will continue. Are we crossing several service sectors? This is really important, because, if this was just mental health, you don’t bring it to the Hub, you just refer to a mental health agency. If it’s mental health, substance use, truancy, potential criminality, fighting, or other risk factors, you are crossing several service sectors. Last question is, therefore are we in acutely elevated risk? Part of the training, we do a deep dive on what acutely elevated risk is, which is basically a threshold.

For an example, if the police encountered this kid repeatedly at two or three in the morning, they would be able to introduce the situation to the Hub without consent. The police department is not a covered entity with HIPPA, which by the way we had multiple meetings with the department of civil rights, with the Health and Human Services, which is a governing agency for HIPPA. They told us “We can’t tell you that you can’t do this, and we can’t tell you that you can do this, but we are fans of what you are doing.” He stated that was an endorsement that they accepted. The next question is, is this a family or individual issue, does the mom need help to?

At that point, they will ask DCF to share the name, date of birth and address of both the youth and parent. This is important because we all need to know what we are dealing with. When identifiers are mentioned, agency start to share that they are working with the family. Many times, agencies don’t to go searching for families that disconnected from services through their agency, which is how families slip through the cracks and the Hub can get them re-connected. Dan asks if there is recognition, meaning are agencies familiar with the situation brought up, he then asks if there are current services in play. He then asks what agencies should be part of the intervention. Dan mentioned several agencies that would be part of a similar situation mentioned above: Chelsea housing authority, Chelsea public schools, mental health, family resource center, juvenile probation.

DCF, schools and the hospital will always get consent prior to bring a situation to the table.

Questions from the chat:
Consent from the individuals themselves if the person is over 18 or does the Hub focus on youth?

Ans.:
A consent form can be filled out by person over 18 or by parents of a youth. The Hub is a citywide focus on both youth and adults.

Dan introduced Rosa Hanks from DCF from the Harbor / Chelsea area. Rosa explained the Hub is the heart of their work in Chelsea right now. She stated in the beginning it wasn’t fun to see DCF at the table, but through working together at the table, becoming allies, they are welcomed at the table now. No one is too careful about saying something at the table that could break up a family. They work together prior to filing on a family, DCF tries to mitigate. Before filing, they try to get specific services to the families. In the beginning of DCF at the table, folks didn’t understand the filing process.

The way DCF utilizes the Hub is to streamline the help that they need for the families. On their own, they don’t have all the answers, but through the various providers, they are able to get families connected to needed services. DCF sits at the table every Tuesday because they need the help of community providers. They want to get families connected to support prior to legal councils and removals of youth. The Hub is the reason they don’t have many removals of youth from families, although sometimes 51a’s are filed, but they use the resources available at the Hub to try other options to filing. DCF provides situations to the Hub often, she explained that when they peal back the onion as Dan mentioned, they see the needs the families have and getting them connected to services through the Hub helps keep the families intact.

Dan stated that when he first started working in Chelsea, there were so many families in need, you would always hear about DCF when something bad happened. He admitted when DCF first came to the table, it was awkward. They quickly found out that when they all work together, they have seen positive impacts in the Chelsea community.

Dan discussed how the Hub impacted crime in Chelsea. When he first stated working in Chelsea in 2012, they were rank 14th in the nation on the top 100 most dangerous cities. In 2013 they moved up to 11th and in 2014 they remained 11th. In 2015 they dropped to 38 and in 2016 they dropped to 46 in 2017 they dropped to 58 and in 2018 they dropped to 83 and in 2019 they dropped out of the top 100 list.

Dan stated they were the number one in the state for crime and since he has been there, he has seen a drop down to 23rd in the state of Massachusetts. He thinks they crept back up to 20th in the state, but a huge difference from where they were in 2013.

Outcomes:
Transformations across organizations and the community

Stronger collaboration amongst existing organizations.

Integrated care makes efficient, effective use of resources.

New way of policing and deeper community trust in police.

Collective responsibility for Chelsea’s safety and well-being.

Dan showed a slide of several individuals that have been impacted by the Chelsea Hub. Individuals that have hope where previously there was no hope.

New Pathways
New hope for residents

Humanizing the issues to solve root causes

Rethinking community safety

Different possibilities for policing and service delivery

Dan stated that Chelsea was a place where you went and bought used stuff and now it’s a place where you go to get help.

Question from the chat:
How can Western MA get funding for a Hub?

Ans.:
The interesting thing about a Hub is that it doesn’t require funding to run a Hub. The resources themselves come from the agencies that provide the services through their organization. Stated that Pittsfield and North Adams recently launched Hubs.

Question from the chat:
What are the challenges in implementing the Hub?

Ans.:
Thinks that the biggest hurdle communities have is not understanding how you can share information without having a consent signed, usually the biggest hurdle. He stated they had that fear and actually met for five months prior to launching the Hub. Stated they realized there are actually previsions within HIPPA that you are obligated sometime times to share information when people are at high levels of risk, like you know the person is going to die, or continued to be victimized or continue to be arrested. That is usually the biggest hurdle and once communities launch, they never look back. Chelsea is currently at over 900 situations, which is including about another 300 situations that get intervened with outside of the actual Tuesday Hub meeting, not once have we had anyone complain.

Question from the chat:
What role has EMS played in the Chelsea Hub?

Ans.:
Who would have thought that we have EMS at the Hub. They are dealing with the same people; they have been a big part of the work of the Chelsea Hub.

Question from the chat:
Are most of the cases identified in the idea of crime prevention, folks that could potentially go down the wrong path or because of poverty issues a family that needs a lot of support.

Ans.:
Hub do reduce crime. If you get folks that are committing crimes because of their addiction, you can prevent them from committing crimes. Everybody knows each other and make connections or find resources for folks in need. The Hub is designed to focus on individuals that are a high level of risks. Many times, agencies are not aware that their clients are at risk.

Question:
Is there a database, to check where a person is at?

Ans.:
There is no database with identified information. If the Smith family was introduced last year as a situation, they were stabilized and 18 months later they are back at a high level of risk, you introduce the new situation. The only database that is kept is with de-identified information. If you are an agency that has a client, you will have them in your agency database.

Dan read a note from the chat “Hub strengthens communication among service providers throughout the community improving the overall service to the community.” Dan mentioned that could be on a brochure. He stated they were approached by MIT; they were being asked to come up with some sort of AI (Artificial Intelligence) where they could predict if people were going to commit crimes. They read about the Hub and stated we shouldn’t do AI, we should be doing the Hub with service providers and offering services. Their whole thing is if you bring a group of people together on a consistent basis, present them with issues they are going to have better outcomes.

Question from the chat:
How long do meetings last?

Ans.:
The meetings are pretty quick. The updates are a few minutes, new situations take a few minutes each. The filter four is where it takes a little while. That is the time that the four, five or six agencies that will be part of the intervention meet to discuss the situation in more detail.

Situations don’t usually stay on for several weeks. The goal is to get the wrap around services to the situations, which in most cases will stabilize them.

Next Steps
There will be a two-day training, which will be more like a day and half. The first day would be on Friday, April 8th from 9am to 3:30pm, breakfast and lunch will be provided. The second day would be Friday, April 11th from 9am to 1:30pm, refreshments would also be provided.

We would like to keep the training to 75 folks, wear a mask during the training and practice social distancing. Per HCC protocol, we would need to register folks that have been vaccinated.

The training would provide all the information we need for us to be able to successfully be able to manage a Holyoke Situation Table.

Question was asked if there would be a Hybrid option. Ed stated there would be an option for a Hybrid but would like to see if we can get a large number of folks committed to the in-person training. Ed asked folks that register to only register if they are 100% going to be attending the training, so we can ensure everyone that wants to attend can attend.

Question:
Do you stick with a family long term?

Do you do any goal setting with youth and families?

Ans.:
The agency partners would do that both stick with the family’s long term and set goals with youth and families. The agencies that would be working on a given situation will discuss what resources need to be brought to a specific situation. The case managers from a given agency would stay connected to the individual situations. The Hub is starting to realize that every family that comes to the Hub can be case managed.

Ed reiterated that we know there may be agencies on the call that are part of Systems of Care within their agencies or working with other agencies. The goal of the Holyoke Hub is not looking to replace those systems, but to work closer together with them to support them and hopefully have them support the work of the Holyoke Hub. We believe as a team that has been meeting for a long period of time that there are a lot of folks in the community that are not connected and getting the support they need, and we certainly want to see those situations brought to the table and have support wrapped around them.

Ed is going to take the chat notes and place them in the meeting notes from today’s meeting. If you have information you want to get out, please place it in the chat and we will get it out with the notes.

Dan closed with mentioning that the Hub model is being looked at worldwide. Prior to COVID, they were going to fly out to London to an international police conference to make a presentation on the Hub. They were approached by Israel; the model has caught the attention worldwide. The original model came out of Scotland but was adopted by Canada and they improved the model. Chelsea was one of the first in the country, they were trained with Springfield, Mass.

Rondey Allen mentioned that he fully endorses the Hub and that is why he is looking forward to investing in the model. Feels like we are set up for this and can take this model and really implement something like this in warp speed and hopefully it will help deepen the connections in our community on a lot of levels.

Israel Rivera mentioned that he appreciated a lot of the people that are here on the call now and the ones that are asking the questions. “Ultimately, for me, my perception of what the Hub would bring to the city is a stronger connection amongst all of us, community service providers. That will help us, our community overall, because once we strengthen our communication amongst one another, it’s easier to service the people that we are dealing with. We all deal with the same people, just in different avenues, so when we can get that all on the same page or on the same tree with branches, which would be awesome, and I feel like we can actually make a larger impact as a community with that.”

In closing, Ed mentioned he believes Holyoke is very special, so many of you from different agencies really go up and beyond, doing so much work to make Holyoke a better place. I think with all of you, Holyoke is in good hands, it’s an honor for me; one to see you on this meeting, but just to be able to work with you guys on some meaningful projects, within the community, I look forward to continued work. I personally want to thank each of you for coming today and for what each of you do. A special thank you to the Holyoke Public Schools for their partnership on the Holyoke Hub project.

If you are interested in registering for the training, you can click on the link below:

https://forms.gle/86TQGFo5HvDTtHMh6

Notes from the Chat:
David Rudder:
David Rudder, Springfield College- Assoc. Dean for School of Social Work & Behavioral Sciences

Dr. Milagros Martinez-Schettini
From Paulo Freire Social Justice Charter School (413) 536-3201, Ext. 131, mmartinez@paulofreirecharterschool. Org

Denise Kelly-Lachat
Denise Kelly-Lachat, Diversion Specialist, Hampden District Attorney's Office, Holyoke District and Juvenile Court

Maria Pagan
Hello. This is Maria from Holyoke Public Library library@holyoke.org. 413-420-8101 Great work, Ed. I appreciate you including the library



Lauren Carpenter
Lauren Carpenter, Addiction’s nurse, Holyoke Medical Center

Janette Vigo
Janette Vigo, Way Finders

Adair medina
Adair medina Holyoke Pediatric Associates

Michael Moriarty
Michael Moriarty OneHolyoke CDC

Sasha Espada
Sasha Espada MassHire Holyoke

Miguel Arce
Miguel Arce, Springfield College

Tyler Slater
Tyler Slater, Community Legal Aid

Patty Chavez
Patty Chavez, Director of Early Childhood Learning, Holyoke Public Schools

Marian Vazquez
Probation Officer Marian Vazquez

Stephen Fay
Stephen Fay, Holyoke Mayor's Office

Kate Nye
Kate Nye, Suicide Prevention Coordinator, Department of Veterans Affairs

Nichelle Brooks
Nichelle Brooks Holyoke DCF

Sean McBride
Chief Sean McBride Holyoke District Court Probation Department

Meris Bergquist
Hello, my name is Meris Bergquist, Mass Fair Housing Center. Good to be with you all. Unfortunately, I have to leave for another meeting. Thank you for sharing this information. It's very inspiring!

Dan Cortez
Rosa Hankd - DCF Harbor/Chelsea area

YAD Investigator Ami Jackson, (She/Her)
Ami Jackson, MPAStaff Investigator Committee for Public Counsel Serviceswww.publiccounsel.netYouth Advocacy Division- Springfield413-750-1640ajackon@publiccounsel.net


Maria Flores-Lopez
Maria Flores-Lopez The Salvation Army 271 Appleton St, Holyoke, Ma 413-532-6312

Sophie Chambers
Sophie Chambers, CLA Family Stabilization Project I have to hop off, thank you!

Dr. Milagros Martinez-Schettini
Dr. Milagros Martinez-Schettini From Paulo Freire Social Justice Charter School (413) 536-3201, Ext. 131, mmartinez@paulofreirecharterschool. org

Takiah Helton
Takiah Helton M.EdAdmissions CounselorSpringfield Technical Community CollegeOne Armory Square, P.O. Box 9000Springfield, MA 01102-9000Phone: (413) 755-4328Fax:(413) 755-6344Email: Tshelton0001@stcc.edu

Sarah Lynn
Sarah Lynn, MSPCC Holyoke/ healthy families and parents as teachers slynn@eliotchs.org

Frank Mcneil
Frank McNeil - Action Ambulance I’m familiar with the hub concept and am a big advocate. As an EMS provider our service encounters many individuals on a regular basis, what role has EMS played in Chelsea?

Shalyn Kempema
Shalyn Kempema, Director of Resident Services - Wayfinders

Melissa White
Melissa White from VOC, Valley Opportunity Council

Maureen McGuinness
Mo McGuinness Assistant Coordinator for HCC Line Cook Training.

Nichelle Nicholas
My phone number is (857) 236-6145

Ellery Pool
Hi all! I'm Ellery Pool, Service Member from CISA (Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture) - 508-498-9057, Ellery@buylocalfood.orgcontact me with any questions about the Healthy Incentives Program!
The Holyoke Farmers' Market has one more winter day on Saturday, March 19th 10am-2pm! We have $20 vouchers to use at the market and there will be a dance party with 413 Family Fitness! Also reach out to me if you want to schedule an info session where I can tell you all about SNAP and HIP so can help your clients have more access to fresh, local food

Justin Chellman
Rob Crawford Springfield Dept of Health and Human Services Youth Substance Misuse Preventionrcrawford@springfieldcityhall.com

Rondey Allen
Rondey Allen, Executive Director of CrossPoint Clinical Services https://www.crosspointclinical.org/ Great job with the presentation Dan!

Kaydance Scotto
Kaydance Scotto, DIAL/SELF Youth & Community Services, AmeriCorps Program Coordinator. Currently have positions open for the upcoming school year: 10-month, full-time AmeriCorps positions at schools and community centers supporting youth development and community connectedness. Email me for more info: kscotto@dialself.org



Marqual Watkins
Hello everyone. My name is Mark Watkins I am the Coordinator of the SHINE Young Adult Housing Program out of the Gandara Center. We service young adults in Hampden County Hampden County CoC has a triage line for young adults 18-24 who are experiencing homelessness. Please share and feel free to call the triage line with any questions or referrals :) 413-316-4979

Nasir Islam "ROCA Western Ma"
Nasir Islam "Out Reach Coordinator" ROCA Thank you.

Alan Dallmann
Alan Dallmann Food Bank of Western Massachusetts

Deepika Shukla
Deepika Bains Shukla US Attorney’s Office

Christina Dillon
Christina Dillon - Impact Center Springfield Program Supervisor

Jahaira Rosario
CleansSlate Centers

Victor Nunez-Ortiz
Victor A. Nunez-OrtizAdministrative Officer to Deputy Chief of StaffGeriatrics and Extended Care (GEC)VA Central Western Massachusetts Health Care System Edward P. Boland VAMC421 N. Main St. Leeds, MA 01053Email: Victor.Nunez-Ortiz@va.govOffice: (413) 584-4040 xtn. 6452VA Cell: (413) 419-6359Hrs: M-F 8:00 AM-4:30 PM

Kashawn Sanders
Kashawn Sanders- Follow My Steps Foundation
Kashawn.sanders@followmysteps.org

Anna Cruz
Anna Cruz, Way Finders, CBE Holyoke

Marisa Hebble, MPH (Trial Court)
Hi Everyone! Marisa Hebble from the Executive Office of the Trial Court

Solomon Baymon (Roca Assistant Director)
Solomon Baymon Roca Western Mass Assistant Director

Sandy Ward
Sandy Ward, volunteer for Holyoke Public Library’s “Mini Golf & Games at the Library” fundraiser, Sat. April 9, 9:30am- 3:30pm.

Eliel Gonzalez
Greetings All! Pastor Eliel Gonzalez from Habitation.

Adlyn Colon - HCC
Adlyn Colon Adult Education at PAFEC - Hiset/GEd and ESOL classes - acolon@hcc.edu - 413-552-2927

Marissa Chiapperino
Marissa Chiapperino-Registered Dietitian in Community Navigation at Holyoke Medical Center


Giselle Gaines
Giselle Gaines Sevita ADH Giselle.gaines@sevita.com 4133173100

Lisa Connors
Lisa Connors Director of Patient Access Holyoke Health Center

PO Jessica Gilmore
Jessica Gilmore Probation Officer Hampden Superior Court

Aliza Ansell
Aliza Ansell, Valley Opportunity Council, Tutor Coordinator and Youth Advisor aansell@valleyopp.com 978-505-3922

Joseph Emiterio
Hello everyone. Det. Joseph Emiterio. Holyoke Police. Holyoke Police Community Center

Jill Brevik
Jill Brevik, Families First - Regional Director, Western MA jbrevik@families-first.org

William Courchesne
Bill Courchesne HCSD HSNI NW Ward 6 Coordinator william.courchesne@sdh.state.ma.us VM 413-525-0015

Eileen Naughton
Eileen Naughton. River Valley Counseling Center, Holyoke.

Dane Kuttler
Dane Kuttler - Community Action Pioneer Valley. I'm mostly here to wave from across the mountains and hear about this Hub idea!

Nichelle Nicholas
https://online.flippingbook.com/view/944583060/

Pedro Alvarez
Pedro Alvarez; Tapestry Assistant Director of Urban Drug User Health & Outreach

Zenaida Smiley
Zenaida Smiley ROCA Holyoke and Young moms 413-333-9444 Zenaida_smiley@rocainc.com
ROCA targets high Risk youth 17-24 males and 14-25 females

Jessica Booth
Hello all. My name is Jessica Booth OST Director from Homework House Holyoke Homework House serves youth 6-12 years old. We are an afterschool and summer program offering homework assistance and tutoring. We are currently enrolling students. Contact Jessica Booth email at jbooth@homeworkhouseholyoke.org or call 413-887-2012 Website https://homeworkhouseholyoke.org/

Eileen Naughton
RVCC: Outpatient Therapy, and new Integrated Health Care Team at Holyoke Clinic that now provides Case Management, Nursing and Peer Recovery.

Mandy Goulet
Mandy Goulet- Hope for Holyoke, Peer Outreach Coordinator mgoulet@gandaracenter.org(413) 561-1020


Yesenia Cruz
Yesenia Cruz- Adcare Hospital Community Service Representative- ycruz@contactaac.com- 508-713-1710. We offer a variety of inpatient and outpatient substance use services to folks in need. How long do the HUB meetings last approx.? Gotta run, but happy to be a part of this. Good stuff! Thank you.

Kathy Anderson
Kathy Anderson, Holyoke Medical Center, Community Benefits Director

Israel Rivera - Families First
Israel Rivera Families First Program manager irivera@families-first.org 413-390-9930
https://www.families-first.org/who-we-are/mission-and-history/
HUB strengthens communication among service providers throughout the community improving the overall service to the community

Walter Rice
Walter Rice Westover Job Corps Center, rice.walter@jobcorps.org 413-593-4005

Debbie Gonzalez
Debbie Flynn-Gonzalez, Program Director, Hope for Holyoke Peer Recovery Support Center. 100 Suffolk St Holyoke 413-561-1020

Jenyka Spitz-Gassnola
Jenyka Spitz-Gassnola (She/They) Massachusetts Department of Youth Services Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative - Local Coordinator - Jenyka.Spitz-Gassnola@mass.gov

Maryann Linnehan WMEC
Hello all, Maryann Linnehan from WestMass ElderCare here. We are now open for visitors at our office. We are back to making full Home Visits to our clients. We continue to provide PPE to anyone who requests it. Feel free to contact me at mlinnehan@wmeldercare.org if you have anyone who is in need of PPE. Have a great day!!

Robert Johnson
Robert Johnson-Department of Veteran Affairs-Peer Support Outreach. Robert.Johnson8@va.gov. 413-328-0143.

Shannon Bliven
Shannon Bliven Chair of Holyoke Bike Pedestrian Committee and Community Outreach for ValleyBike Share Thank you all. If you need anything from me - email Shannon@ValleyBike.org - this includes subsidized memberships for individuals who need flexible transportation and can ride a bike.

James Biscoe
Good afternoon, everyone, James Biscoe here Area Manager for CleanSlate. for anyone who is not familiar with CleanSlate we are an outpatient office based opioid treatment facility with locations throughout Mass. We offer medication assisted treatment with suboxone and vivitrol, counseling with Licensed Drug and Alcohol counselors, and community support services with our Patient Care Advocates. my contact information is jbiscoe@cleanslatecenters.com if you are interested in learning more or making a referral.

Caitlin Goodbrake
Caitlin Goodbrake, Recovery Support Navigator - MHA BestLife Clinic, cgoodbrake@mhainc.org. (413) 519-6075. Thank you!

Brianna Owen
Brianna Owen, Program Manager, Rise Above Foundation: helping fund youth in foster care to participate in activities

Cynthia Santiago
Cynthia Santiago-Community Liaison for Caregiver Homes. We are a Statewide AFC services through MassHealth. Please feel free to visit our website: www.caregiverhomes.com or join/like us on our Facebook group at: Caregiver Resources of Western MA: (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1326143801105270/?ref=share). Feel free to reach me at (413) 272-9175 or via email - csantiago@caregiverhomes. Com
Thank you for the presentation. I look forward in receiving the updated notes via email with your contact information. Have a great rest of your day.

Christina Dillon
Impact Center Springfield is a young adult drop-in access center that serves at risk YA 16-24. We help young adults get connected to resources within the community such as education, housing, employment and mental health. We also offer a safe space with monthly activities and access to snacks, washer/dryer, computers etc. We have 3 peer mentors and a recovery support specialist for YA in SUD. Feel free to email me for more info/be added to our monthly mailing list at cdillon@gandaracenter.org or call us at 413-654-1566

Amber Johnson
Amber Johnson- Westover Job Corps Center- Career transition specialist- providing services to graduates and former students to get high paying jobs in PHARM, MAA and CNA areas depending on where they live. Also assist in finding them resources as needed.

Robert Johnson
Resources for veterans- National Call Center for Homeless Veterans 1-877-424-3838. Veterans Crisis Line 1-800-273-8255 PRESS 1

Zoraida Bellavista
Zoraida Bellavista, Property Manager II Wayfinders Ty this is amazing. zbellavista@wayfinders.org tel. 413-531-1353 or office number 413-322-8349.

Carmen Nieves-AlianzaDVServices
I can see this for those that cause harm in their relationships. Holding them accountable with compassion. Transformative justice.

Dane Kuttler
A question for Dan: what happens when you have someone who needs things the Hub can't offer. A big example out here is housing - I'm from a more rural part of the state where a lot of issues could be solved with housing, but we literally don't have the buildings and physical houses, let alone affordable rent. How does the hub handle situations that are beyond its capacity to provide?

Liandro Gonzalez
Liandro Gonzalez Hampden County Sheriff's/ Holyoke Safe Neighborhood Initiative Ward 1 Coordinator

Frank Martinez
Frank Martinez Lopez- Executive Director- Enlace de Familias Inc.

Sasha Espada
Sasha Espada- Youth Counselor/Cordinator at MassHire Holyoke.sespada@masshireholyoke.org 413-532-4900Provide employment opportunities, career readiness, educational/certification programs and trainings for youth ages 14-21

Esmeralda Vazquez
Esmeralda Vazquez BHN Housing Supervisor for the C3 Housing Program

Stephanie Marshall (she/her)
Hello, I am Stephanie Marshall recovery coach at Best Life (MHA)

Alethea Melanson
Alethea Melanson- Senior Staff Assistant at Western Mass CORE at Holyoke Community College. We serve incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individual and their families and help them connect with post-secondary education and other tailored resources. amelanson@hcc.edu

Springfield College- Marisol
Hello from Springfield College! We are now accepting applications for Summer and Fall. The College now offers fully online degree programs and hybrid options with courses on the weekends and evenings. We have partnerships with some of the community agencies in New England to offer employees of these organization a $5000 to $10000 grant towards the tuition of their chosen degree. Partner organizations are: CHD, VOC, BHN, Children Study Home, YMCA, Head Start, City of Springfield, City of Chicopee, New North Citizens Council, Latino Counseling Center, Community Action Partnership Agencies, ServiceNet, Springfield Public Schools, Holyoke Public Schools, Chicopee Public Schools, BigY, and Gandara Center. To learn more about the partnership, how to save time and money from training and work experience, and degree options available for the busy adult, please contact Marisol Guevara Neal at (413) 748-3624 or by email at mguevaraneal@springfieldcollege.edu.

Iris Sosa
Iris Sosa, Boys Scout of America, Western Mass Council iris.sosa@scouting.org, 413-594-9196 x 7030

Meghan Lemay
Meghan Lemay, Regional Manager, Alzheimer's Association 24/7 Helpline 800-272-3900 mlemay@alz.org

Robin Siniaho
Robin SIniaho Teen Librarian Holyoke Public Library

Jessie Berliner
Jessie Berliner, Care Coordinator at an LGBTQ+ residential recovery facility. jberliner@mhainc.org 413-233-5354

Adlyn Colon - HCC
How do you pick the cases you are going to help? Do the agencies bring them to the table or are them refer to you?

Alan Dallmann
Consent from the individual themselves if they are over 18 or is hub focused on youth?

Cynthia Santiago
How can Western MA get funding for a HUB? I only ask because I use to be part of the Community Mental Health Committee and it was with the interest of having a HUB that included similar services, but it was decimated with no result after mapping out the idea.

Sophie Chambers, Community Legal Aid (she/hers)
I'd be curious to hear what the challenges have been in implementing the HUB model.

Saúl Cabán
Hi Everyone, Saúl Cabán, HCC, I'm not sure I will be able to stay the whole time. However, I wanted to ask for your help in participating or helping circulate my confidential survey. It's a quick 5-minute survey for my capstone research project, as I am nearing completion of my Master of Public Administration program. Please only complete the survey if you are an "Entry-level" Nonprofit Worker (not supervisor, manager, or executive level) working in Holyoke or surrounding communities. Here is the link: https://bit.ly/Nonprofit-Survey
Great Presentation!! :)

Art Lobdell
Thanks!! Art Lobdell, BSA

Robin Siniaho
Thank you everyone. Great program!

Stephanie Marshall (she/her)
Thank you, I have another meeting to attend.

Ami Jackson, (She/Her)
I have to go, look forward to further notes. Thank you for the presentation.

Edward Caisse
If you are interested in attending the Holyoke Hub Training, please click on the link below: https://forms.gle/86TQGFo5HvDTtHMh6

Aliza Ansell
Valley Opportunity Council now has citizenship classes

Joanne Gilman
Supervisor, In Home Therapy from EliotCHS
Jgilman@eliotchs.org
For more information Joanne Gilman, MSPCC and Eliotchs.org call at 413-532-9446 for service for In Home Therapy, Outpatient Services, and Therapeutic Mentors. In Home Therapy gives services either in homes or schools, or virtually as needed. Services are given several times a week.

Giselle Rojas
Thank you to everyone that was able to attend! See you soon Team

Sandy Ward
For info about the Library Mini Golf & Games event. Please visit http://www.holyokelibrary.org/aboutfriendsgolf.asp

Abbie Germain~ Western Mass MOMS
Abbie Germain~ Western Mass MOMS is now accepting referrals. Contact me at agermain@viability.org. Phone: 413-561-7413. We offer support for mothers, and other caregivers, with help with stress management and employment services. Participants will receive financial incentives for their participation in the study. Call or email me for more information!! Thank you, Ed and Dan. This is great!

John McCarthy
USCIS information: 1) recent announcement of TPS for Ukraine, Sudan and renewal for S. Sudan. Federal notice not yet posted for Ukraine or Sudan. 2) Boston Public Library event 3/28/2022 at 1 PM How to prepare for Naturalization Interview, 3) Posted on USCIS 3/4/2022 Immigration Help available to those affected by special situations Including Ukraine. If there is any need for immigration presentations, contact John.j.mccarthy@uscis.dhs.gov

Shalyn Kempema
Shalyn Kempema - Director of Resident Services for Wayfinders. Incredible presentation - very excited about this opportunity to better reach the residents of Holyoke.

Old Business / New Business
Next Meeting is Thursday, April 14th, 2022, 1:00pm (ZOOM).


Close Meeting 2:30pm
Contact Information:
Edward Caisse
Hampden County Sheriff’s Department
(413) 858-0225
ed.caisse@sdh.state.ma.us
Friend Request us on Facebook @ Shsni Holyoke