(MassLive/The Republican – Jonah Snowden) MassHire Holyoke Career Center intends to expand on the work done by its Recovery Ready Workplace Initiative to support Hampden County businesses assisting employees recovering from an addiction by launching a new initiative, Pillars of the Community Workforce.
Funded by the state’s Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development’s Empowerment and Reinvestment Grant Program and currently on a six-month trial, the initiative aims to expand its services in the region.
The Recovery Ready Workplace Initiative allows employers to receive assistance from MassHire to have educational tools, resources and coaching assistance to support employees recovering from an addiction.
The Pillars of the Community Workforce effort will offer a “boots on the ground approach” and allow representatives from MassHire’s Re-Entry and Recovery Services department to offer an hour-and-a-half training session with its community partners to gain employment service skills while removing the stigma of substance abuse.
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A kickoff event, which provided information on the initiative, was held at the Summit View Banquet and Meeting House in Holyoke Friday afternoon and was emceed by Senator John C. Velis, D-Westfield, who also signed a pledge, along with Sen. Patricia A. Duffy and Gary Rome, president and CEO of Gary Rome Hyundai, to support the workplace initiative.
Velis, who is also the chairman of the Mental Health Substance and Recovery Committee, said he wants to encourage others to assist MassHire Holyoke’s initiatives as well.
“I think the most important thing is that we need to meet people where they are,” Velis said. “I need help are the three most powerful and courageous words that we can hear from a fellow human being and that’s something we should encourage.”