Letter: North Adams Recovery Rally

To the Editor: 

This Saturday, all are welcome to attend a Rally for Recovery taking place in North Adams at Colegrove Park, from 1-3 p.m. This event, sponsored by the North Adams HEAL Coalition, is held as part of Recovery Month, a national observance held every September to promote and support proven treatment and recovery practices, our strong and proud recovery community, and the dedication of service providers and communities who make recovery in all its forms possible.

It is a fitting time to celebrate recovery in North Berkshire — we have seen a tremendous expansion of services in our region including residential treatment at Keenan House North, over 50 beds of sober housing and a new day treatment at the Alternative Living Center, expanded access to harm reduction services and naloxone through Berkshire Harm Reduction, increased access to medication, and perhaps most exciting, the announcement that a peer-led recovery center is coming to North Adams this fall!

The Rally for Recovery is a time to lift up and celebrate ALL pathways to recovery, and all community members impacted by addiction who are working to take that next brave step in their recovery journey. There will be resource tables from many local organizations including Learn To Cope (family support), Berkshire AHEC, medication treatment providers Spectrum Health Systems and SaVida Health, Narcotics Anonymous (NA), the Brien Center, Berkshire Harm Reduction, Alternative Living Center, Berkshire Overdose Addiction Prevention Collaborative, the North Adams HEAL Coalition, and the Northern Berkshire Post Overdose Program (Northern Berkshire EMS).

There will be music, games, raffle items, free T-shirts, and a walk to City Hall to make recovery visible. There will also be speakers with lived experience who will talk about recovery in our region.

If you or someone you love is impacted by substance use, if you are wondering how to help those whose lives are impacted by substance use disorder, or just want to better understand the issue of substance use and addiction, I encourage you to come and meet the truly amazing individuals who are building a thriving recovery community in our region. Please join in this gathering and rally to celebrate recovery!

Wendy Penner
Williamstown, Mass. 

Penner is a member of the North Adams HEAL Coalition

North Adams Boards Unanimously Elect New School Committee Member

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
05:44AM / Wednesday, January 14, 2026

 Alexandra Di Addezio is congratulated by city and school officials. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A joint convention of the School Committee and City Council on Tuesday unanimously elected Alexandra DiAddezio to fill the vacant seat on the committee. 

 

DiAddezio described herself as an "ardent public school advocate" who worked as an English teacher and college counselor at a high school in the Bronx, N.Y. She holds masters' degrees in English secondary education and in mental health counseling, and now works as therapist for students at Williams College.

 

"I'm passionate about service and collaboration, and would really be eager to bring that energy into the North Adams School Committee," she said, adding that she will have two children in the school system.

 

"I also noticed a growing number of folks in the community choosing to leave the public school system for alternative options, and I'm really eager to join in the work of attracting families to stay."

 

She said she'd been thinking about how she could serve, but was unsure about running in an election. Seeing this opening, she said, "felt like something serendipitous."

 

The last School Committee member elected this way was Alyssa Tomkowicz in 2023. 

 

DiAddezio and fellow candidates Jackie DeGiorgis, Kayla Sullivan-Lane and Eric Wilson presented their reasons why they would be the best candidate to replace the departed Richard Alcombright.