Livability is a key ingredient to be an Age-Friendly community because it impacts your ability to access quality, affordable housing. Older adults who were formally incarcerated have an especially hard time finding healthy housing because Massachusetts’ Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) system is broken. MA’s CORI sealing is still done manually, and the backlog is massive. By law, people’s records are supposed to be sealed after a three- to seven-year waiting period. But sadly for many older adults, their records are not sealed without lots of patience and often, the help of a lawyer. Hear for yourself how the broken CORI system resulted in Springfield advocate Van Thomas losing his housing and separating from his son. But it doesn’t have to be this way. LiveWell Springfield, PHIWM, Justice for Housing, Massachusetts Public Health Association, Greater Boston Legal Services, and lots of other partners are working hard to fix the broken CORI system, but we need your help to convince our State Legislators that this is an important public health problem that we can fix by passing bill S.1037/H.1763, An Act for Easier, Greater Access to CORI Sealing. This commonsense legislation would require the Commissioner of Probation to automatically seal criminal and juvenile records after applicable waiting periods, without the filing of any petition.
Here’s how you can help with just 3 minutes of your time:
- Step 1: Find the contact information of your State Representative and Senator.
- Step 2: Call your State Representative and State Senator and ask them to contact the Chairs of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary— Chair Michael Day and Chair James Eldridge—and urge them to give S.1037/H.1763 a favorable report by July 22nd. (Here’s a phone script)
- Step 3: Ask two friends to do the same things!
If you have questions, please contact PHIWM’s Data to Policy Action Director Andrea Freeman ( afreeman@publichealthwm.org, 978-895-0960)
| |
Anti-Racism and Health Equity | |
|
Resources to Guide your Anti-Racism Journey
The Race and Health Equity Resource Guide was developed by our Board's Race & Health Equity Committee, but we continue to add new resources as they are created and shared by regional partners and collaborations. Our hope is that it will serve not only as a resource for the board and staff but also as a resource for external partners. Read below how our Board Member Sarah Perez McAdoo uses the Guide.
| |
Webinar Materials Available
| |
|
Vaccine for Children
Children ages 6 months and older are now eligible to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Being vaccinated helps keep children from getting very sick from COVID-19 and from spreading it to vulnerable loved ones. Clinical trials have shown that the COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective. Contact your child’s pediatrician and find other locations to get vaccinated here.
Where to get your child vaccinated? Many pediatricians are offering the COVID vaccine or can direct you where to make an appointment for your child. You can search for appointments specific to certain age groups using the Vax Finder. Pharmacies have varying age requirements, The NY Times reports the following policies from some major chains below:
Have questions about the vaccine regimen for different ages? This chart can help. Find more answers to your questions here.
| |
Vacuna Para Niños
Los niños de 6 meses en adelante ahora son elegibles para vacunarse contra COVID-19. Estar vacunado ayuda a evitar que los niños se enfermen gravemente de COVID-19 y se lo transmitan a sus seres queridos vulnerables. Los ensayos clínicos han demostrado que la vacuna contra el COVID-19 es segura y eficaz. Comuníquese con el pediatra de su hijo y busque otros lugares para vacunarse aquí.
¿Dónde vacunar a su hija/hijo? Muchos pediatras ofrecen la vacuna COVID o pueden indicarle dónde programar una cita para su hijo. Puede buscar citas específicas para ciertos grupos de edad utilizando Vax Finder. Las farmacias tienen diferentes requisitos de edad, El NY Times informa las siguientes políticas de algunas de las principales cadenas a continuación:
¿Tiene preguntas sobre el régimen de vacunación para las diferentes edades? Este gráfico puede ayudar. Encuentre más respuestas a sus preguntas aquí.
| |
COVID Treatments
On July 6th, the FDA gave permission for pharmacists to prescribe Paxlovid, an effective treatment for reducing the risk of severe disease. Now, the more than 300,000 licensed pharmacists in the U.S. can make this treatment more accessible to communities across the country. Learn more about treatment options, eligibility, and more here.
| |
Tratamientos de COVID
El 6 de julio, la FDA autorizó a los farmacéuticos a recetar Paxlovid, un tratamiento eficaz para reducir el riesgo de enfermedades graves. Ahora, los más de 300 000 farmacéuticos con licencia en los EE. UU. pueden hacer que este tratamiento sea más accesible para las comunidades de todo el país. Obtenga más información sobre las opciones de tratamiento, la elegibilidad y más aquí.
| |
Data is Available to Help Your Work and Communities! | |
The Public Health Institute of Western MA is the technical assistance provider for the COVID Community Impact Survey (CCIS) for Western MA. The CCIS has a wealth of data related to housing, employment. healthcare, intimate partner violence, substance use, youth, mental health, and more. We have already received several requests for data analysis and presentations from organizations across our region, including but not limited to: the Women’s Fund of Western MA, Franklin Regional Council of Governments, Quaboag Hills Substance Use Alliance, Hampshire HOPE. Springfield Pride, and Pioneer Valley Asthma Coalition. This data will help inform practices, policies, advocacy efforts, and other actions.
| |
|
Events
-
Springfield Community Roundtable - Homeless Housing Assistance, July 20th at 1 pm: The City of Springfield Office of Housing is holding a Community Roundtable meeting on homeless housing assistance. Please join us to give input to spending priorities for the City’s $6 million in HOME-ARP funds. Join via Zoom
-
Virtual Training about Working with Individuals During Reentry Period, July 25th from 2-4 pm: Join Hampshire HOPE for a training on working with individuals during the reentry period. The training will be run by Daryl McGraw of Formerly, Inc. and will be tailored to Hampshire County's specific needs. RSVP
-
NAADAC Webinar, July 27th at 3 pm: The Association for Addiction Professionals is hosting a free interactive webinar on continuing fight for racial equity and social justice has increased focus on racial inequities in the criminal justice system and prompted discussion about the relationship between criminal justice and addiction treatment. Learn more and register.
| |
Resources
-
Free Training Available for Personal and Home Care Aides: New virtual and self-paced training is now available at no cost to anyone interested in becoming a community-based home care worker. The Personal and Home Care Aide State Training (PHCAST) program offered by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is available online.
-
Free Community Health Worker Program at Holyoke Community College: Holyoke Community College has a federal grant from the Health Resources & Services Administration's (HRSA) Opioid Impacted Families Support Program that is funding this apprenticeship program. In partnership with Behavioral Health Network, HCC is offering free CHW pre-apprenticeship training courses followed by a paid registered apprenticeship job at Behavioral Health Network in one of their family-serving programs. Learn more.
-
Grant and Contract Opportunities: MAMH is seeking grant applications for five pilot sites to implement behavioral health urgent care to students. Eligible applicants include Community Behavioral Health Centers (CBHCs) and other provider organizations authorized to provide behavioral health urgent care in Massachusetts. Learn more.
| | | | | |
