Brien Center Coping with Staffing Shortages

These days, the mental health center wants those residents to respond to a "help wanted" sign.

Williamstown's DIRE Committee Discusses How to Deal with 'Article 37 Reports'

According to Article 37, which passed overwhelmingly at the meeting, those reports, "should include types and vendors of equity training and policies and procedures created to advance access for traditionally under-represented groups."

Williamstown Select Board Finalizes Charge for Town's Diversity Committee

Although the Select Board had the authority to unilaterally change the charter for a body it created in the summer of 2020, the board engaged in a dialogue with its colleagues currently serving on the DIRE Committee to find language that made sense to all parties.

Williamstown Select Board Seeks Volunteers for Diversity Committee

Williamstown DIRE Committee to Consider 'Purpose' Document

Fippinger said he felt strongly that the working group should "sign off on it not in public," before a new draft was discussed by the committee in a public meeting.

Williamstown's DIRE Committee Questions Need for New Purpose

The Diversity, Inclusion and Racial Equity Committee has been engaged with the Select Board throughout the summer in a discussion of the purpose and direction for the advisory panel the Select Board created two years ago.

Williamstown DIRE Committee Members Question Review of Its Purpose

Members of the town’s diversity committee Monday pushed back against an effort by the Select Board to evaluate and, perhaps, recast the scope of work for the 2-year-old advisory committee.

Diversity Committee Members Speak of Pain From Threatening Email

Members of the town's diversity committee Monday talked about the emotional toll from an email that threatened violence against the committee and others speaking out about making the town more welcoming to diverse populations.

Williamstown Diversity Committee Seeks Transparency from School District

Johnson talked about the difficulty he had in finding community members willing to serve on the 2-year-old committee and called on his colleagues to do some recruiting.

Williamstown Select Board Members Rally to Defense of Chair

Most members of the Select Board last Monday pushed back against some harsh criticism of the panel's chair.

Williamstown's DIRE Committee Looks to Address Elders' Concerns

The initiative grew out of a recent listening session several DIRE Committee members conducted at the Harper Center. They heard a number of concerns, including issues with parking, interpersonal conflicts in the apartment complex and the need for cooling station access during extreme weather.

Williamstown Diversity Committee Reviews Its Guiding Principles

Monday marked the second meeting in four days for the newly constituted Diversity, Inclusion and Racial Equity Advisory Committee, which held a Friday afternoon "retreat" last week.

Williamstown Select Board Names Three to DIRE Committee

Johnson put forward Andi Bryant, Shana Dix and Carolyn Greene after noting that two of the seven residents who applied to serve on the board had withdrawn their applications for personal reasons.

Williamstown's DIRE Committee Seeks Reports From Other Town Bodies

The Diversity, Inclusion and Racial Equity Committee on Monday passed a resolution calling on other town boards and committees to begin living up to the requirements of a resolution passed at the 2020 annual town meeting.

Williamstown Sees Surplus of DIRE Committee Applicants

The Select Board on Monday heard from several residents interested in filling three vacant seats on the town's diversity committee.

Social Workers Seek Interview Subjects for Williamstown Needs Assessment

A group of social workers commissioned by the town has begun a long-term community assessment research project, and it is encouraging all residents to share their feelings in confidential one-on-one interviews.

Williamstown Diversity Committee Losing Five Persons of Color

Chair Mohammed Memfis began Monday's meeting of the Diversity, Inclusion and Racial Equity Committee by saying that Aruna D'Souza, Gina Coleman and, "obviously myself," would be rotating off the board at the end of its first year.

Snub by Select Board Leads to Resignation on Williamstown Equity Committee

Bilal Ansari later said he would reconsider and pray on his decision about whether to continue with the Diversity, Inclusion and Racial Equity Committee after he received an apology from the vice chair of the Select Board.

Williamstown DIRE Committee Questions Lack of Response from Select Board

The Select Board last summer created what became the Diversity, Inclusion and Racial Equity Committee as an advisory panel. Members of that panel this week questioned why the Select Board has not appeared willing to consider the advice the DIRE Committee has provided.

Williamstown DIRE Committee: 'Detox' Good for the Town

As it nears the end of its inaugural year and faces the first departure of a founding member, the town's diversity committee Monday reflected on the importance of the discussions it has had and the perspectives it has centered in the town's conversation.

Williamstown DIRE Committee: Police Discussions Meant to Help Department

Members of the town's racial equity committee Monday emphasized that calls for accountability in the town's police department are not attacks on the town's police officers.

Williamstown DIRE Committee Chair Reports on Talk with Acting Police Chief

The chair of the town's committee on diversity, equity and inclusion Monday reported to his colleagues that he had a long conversation with the town's acting chief of police and that future dialogues between the committee and Police Department are planned.