South Berkshire Community Health Coalition Announces Upcoming Trainings

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass.— The Southern Berkshire Community Health Coalition (SBCHC), a program of Railroad Street Youth Project (RSYP), has announced three upcoming trainings in May.

Translate Gender will present a Caregiver/Parent Forum on Tuesday, May 20, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in Sheffield. This trans-led organization will cover the basics of gender identity to support transgender, nonbinary, gender expansive, and/or questioning youth. Registration for this event is available at this link.

Two Kitchen Table Talk (KTT) Workshops will be held at the Great Barrington Family Resource Center, 141 West Avenue in Great Barrington. A Facilitator Training will take place on Monday, May 19, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., covering the philosophy and facilitation practices of KTT. A Practice Training will be offered on Thursday, May 29, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., providing an opportunity for facilitators to practice with volunteer parents. The Practice Training will be available in both English and Spanish.

On Tuesday, May 27, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., a Mocktail Demo and Conversation will be held at NoComply Foods, 258 Stockbridge Rd, Great Barrington. Laura Rodriguez, Director of SBCHC, and Elliot Seward, RSYP’s Youth Advocate, will lead a demonstration on making summer mocktails, followed by discussions on youth alcohol and substance use in South County.

Monument Mountain Sophomore Wins Congressional App Challenge

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
12:12PM / Saturday, January 17, 2026

Congressman Neal takes questions from students during his visit. 

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Monument Mountain Regional High School sophomore Jonah Sanabria is the winner of this year's Congressional App Challenge for the 1st Massachusetts District.

 

His Health Advocate application acts as just that in your pocket, Sanabria said, helping resolve one of the biggest problems in health care — miscommunication.

 

"Every day, patients of all ages go to the doctor feeling stressed, confused, scared and uncertain, meaning they often forget what they wanted to say, and they leave without fully understanding what was said or the plan ahead," he said. 

 

"It's not because doctors don't care; it's because the system is set up in a way that makes relaxed communications really hard. Appointments are abbreviated. Patients aren't always sure what they can ask physicians, and nerves often make them forgetful." 

 

The challenge was authorized by Congress in 2015 to promote interest in science, technology, engineering and math. Each representative may host an official computer science competition in their districts. More than 85,000 high school students in all 50 states have since participated, with more than 18,000 in 2025.

 

Jonah beat out nine other submissions in the 1st Mass. His app will be featured on the challenge page and displayed in the U.S. Capitol for one year. In addition, he will have the opportunity to visit Capitol Hill in the spring at a celebration called #HouseOfCode, where winning teams from across the country hear from lawmakers, interact with sponsors and partners at the STEM Expo, and demonstrate their apps.

 

Before a scheduled doctor's appointment, the program asks the user about their symptoms, health issues, and health goals and organizes and prioritizes questions to ask during the doctor visit.