Governor Forms Search Committee for Dept. of Correction Commissioner

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BOSTON — The Healey-Driscoll Administration announced an update on the search process to identify the nextCommissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Correction, following the retirement of Commissioner Carol Mici last month.

The Administration has formeda six-member search committee, composed of diverse professionals and community leaders with wide-ranging expertise and lived experience, to guide a robust process to identify the new executive and administrative leader of the Department of Correction.

With administrative support from the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS), the Committee will guide the search process and provide multiple opportunities for stakeholder engagement. During the ongoing search, the Department remains under the leadership of Interim Commissioner Shawn Jenkins.  

Search Committee members include: 

  • Deirdre Calvert, Director of the Massachusetts Bureau of Substance Addiction Services 

  • Reverend Rahsaan D. Hall, President and CEO of the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts 

  • David C. Henderson, MD, Psychiatrist-in-Chief at Boston Medical Center and Professor and Chair, Department of Psychiatry, at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine 

  • Sakieth Sako Long, Director of Operations for the Northeast Region at the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services 
  • Scott Semple, Retired Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Correction 

  • Yolanda Smith, Executive Director of Public Safety at Tufts University and former Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department Superintendent and Chief of Staff 

The search committee will begin the process by seeking stakeholder input about the most valued qualities and criteria for the DOC’s next commissioner. The search committee will then conduct a robust search and interview process for qualified candidates, culminating in a selection of finalists to be recommended to the Governor.  

 

 

 

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Pittsfield Housing Project Adds 37 Supportive Units and Collective Hope

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass.— A new chapter in local efforts to combat housing insecurity officially began as community leaders and residents gathered at The First on to celebrate a major expansion of supportive housing in the city.

The ribbon was cut on Thursday Dec. 19, on nearly 40 supportive permanent housing units; nine at The First, located within the Zion Lutheran Church, and 28 on West Housatonic Street.  The Housing Resource Center, funded by Pittsfield's American Rescue Plan Act dollars, hosted a celebration for a project that is named for its rarity: The First. 

"What got us here today is the power of community working in partnership and with a shared purpose," Hearthway CEO Eileen Peltier said. 

In addition to the 28 studio units at 111 West Housatonic Street and nine units in the rear of the church building, the Housing Resource Center will be open seven days a week with two lounges, a classroom, a laundry room, a bathroom, and lockers. 

Erin Forbush, ServiceNet's director of shelter and housing, challenged attendees to transform the space in the basement of Zion Lutheran Church into a community center.  It is planned to operate from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. year-round.

"I get calls from folks that want to help out, and our shelters just aren't the right spaces to be able to do that. The First will be that space that we can all come together and work for the betterment of our community," Forbush said. 

"…I am a true believer that things evolve, and things here will evolve with the people that are utilizing it." 

Earlier that day, Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus joined Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll and her team in Housatonic to announce $33.5 million in federal Community Development Block Grant funding, $5.45 million to Berkshire County. 

He said it was ambitious to take on these two projects at once, but it will move the needle.  The EOHLC contributed more than $7.8 million in subsidies and $3.4 million in low-income housing tax credit equity for the West Housatonic Street build, and $1.6 million in ARPA funds for the First Street apartments.

"We're trying to get people out of shelter and off the streets, but we know there are a lot of people who are couch surfing, who are living in their cars, who are one paycheck away from being homeless themselves," Augustus said. 

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