WMHT to Hold Listening Session in Pittsfield

04:13PM / Tuesday, April 30, 2024Print Story | Email Story

ALBANY, N.Y. — WMHT Public Media announced it has begun the second phase of its Listening Tour, part of a continued effort to better understand the needs and issues affecting communities throughout its coverage area, and to develop and present content and programming to best serve those values and priorities.

Up to a dozen town hall-style discussions will be led by WMHT President and CEO Anthony V. Hayes and members of WMHT's senior leadership team. They are open to residents and viewers, and will be held in public spaces throughout WMHT's coverage area, an expansive region that runs north to the Adirondacks, east to the Berkshires, south to Westchester County, and west to the Schoharie Valley.

One of these listening sessions will take place in Pittsfield on May 10 at the Pittsfield Public Library

WMHT Public Media is a multichannel public communications organization serving Eastern New York and Western New England,

The initial session was held April 10 at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Upcoming forums are scheduled for April 30 at SUNY Schenectady County Community College; May 2 at the Albany Public Library; May 8 at SUNY Adirondack in Queensbury; May 10 at the Pittsfield Public Library; May 28 with the NAACP and Albany Black Chamber of Commerce; and June 7 with the Troy City School District. Sessions are also being planned in the Hudson Valley and Saratoga Springs, among other potential locations.

"It is essential to hear directly from our residents and viewers to better understand what's happening in their communities, not only their success stories but also the challenges they face," said Anthony V. Hayes, President and CEO of WMHT Public Media. "As we gain deeper understanding of the needs, values and priorities of each community, WMHT will be well-positioned to develop and produce content and programming that educates, empowers, and enriches the lives of our audience."

Building on initial research conducted last fall, phase two of WMHT's Listening Tour aims to more fully ascertain the unique and shared needs, wants and aspirations of the region's multicultural and multiethnic communities. Additionally, it will look closely at the next generation of public-media consumers. Fueled by that information, WMHT can take action to positively impact the lives of community members, friends, and neighbors throughout its coverage area.

More details about the WMHT Listening Tour, including an updated schedule of events with registration information, can be found at https://www.wmht.org/blogs/press-releases/wmht-continues-community-listening-tour/.

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Social Service Organizations Highlight Challenges, Successes at Poverty Talk

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
08:04AM / Sunday, April 05, 2026

Dr. Jennifer Michaels of the Brien Center demonstrates how to use Narcan. Easy access to the drug has cut overdose deaths in the county by nearly half.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Recent actions at the federal level are making it harder for people to climb out of poverty.

Brad Gordon, executive director of Upside413, said he felt like he was doing a disservice by not recognizing national challenges and how they draw a direct line from choices being made by the Trump administration and the challenges the United States is facing.

"They more generally impact people's ability to work their way out of poverty, and that's really, that's really the overarching dynamic," he said.

"Poverty is incredibly corrosive, and it impacts all the topics that we'll talk about today."

His comments came during a conversation on poverty hosted by Berkshire Community Action Council. Eight local service agency leaders detailed how they are supporting people during the current housing and affordability crisis, and the Berkshire state delegation spoke to their own efforts.

The event held on March 27 at the Berkshire Athenaeum included a working lunch and encouraged public feedback.

"All of this information that we're going to gather today from both you and the panelists is going to drive our next three-year strategic plan," explained Deborah Leonczyk, BCAC's executive director.

The conversation ranged from health care and housing production to financial literacy and child care. Participating agencies included Upside 413, The Brien Center, The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, MassHire Berkshire Career Center, Berkshire Regional Transit Authority, Greylock Federal Credit Union, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, and Child Care of the Berkshires.

The federal choices Gordon spoke about included allocating $140 billion for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, investing $38 billion to convert warehouses into detention centers, cutting $1 trillion from Medicaid over 10 years, a proposed 50 percent increase in the defense budget, and cutting federal funding for supportive housing programs.

Gordon pointed to past comments about how the region can't build its way out of the housing crisis because of money. He withdrew that statement, explaining, "You know what? That's bullshit, actually."

"I'm going to be honest with you, that is absolute bullshit. I have just observed over the last year or so how we're spending our money and the amount of money that we're spending on the federal side, and I'm no longer saying in good conscience that we can't build our way out of this," he said.

Upside 413 provided a "Housing Demand in Western Massachusetts" report that was done in collaboration with the University of Massachusetts at Amherst's Donahue Institute of Economic and Public Policy Research. It states that around 23,400 units are needed to meet current housing demand in Western Mass; 1,900 in Berkshire County in 2025.

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