Hello Everyone,
I hope you’ve all been enjoying the sunshine this week.
I started off the week with a tour of the Kiva Center over in Worcester with my fellow committee members from the Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use, and Recovery on Monday. Kiva is a peer respite center which is a short term, non-clinical, community-based program for those experiencing mental health issues. Centers such as these serve as an alternative to a more traditional hospital setting which would require long term admission. Thank you to Kiva for giving us the tour and I look forward to continuing the work to expand mental health services for all as we move through the legislative session.
This week I had a great time connecting with youth and young adults throughout our district. On Tuesday evening, I had the honor of speaking to the Student Government Association over at Westfield State University. These young leaders asked me questions about some of the most pressing issues facing the Commonwealth. Later in the week, I joined the Westfield Middle School and Stefanik Elementary School to celebrate Arbor Day by planting trees in their school yards in celebration. I am particularly excited for Westfield Middle School who received a grant to plant over 50 trees throughout the property.
This week my office and I also celebrate the Grand Re-Opening of Petro’s Breakfast and Lunch over in Chicopee by sharing an official citation from the Senate. I am so happy to have them back open and I look forward to stopping in for lunch sometime soon!
Spring is here and so is baseball season! Just this morning we celebrated one of my favorite yearly events, the opening day for the Westfield and Easthampton Little League! Youth sports are such a good way for kids to learn the values of teamwork. A big thanks to the Easthampton Little League for letting me throw the first pitch of their season earlier today. I hope all the youth participating in spring sports across the district have a great season!
This week my office hosted office hours at the Westfield COA on Monday and the Russell COA on Tuesday. On Wednesday morning, both my staff and I hosted office hours at the Southampton COA where I was very grateful to have been taught how to crochet by the Southampton Fiber Arts Club- I appreciate their patience as I tried my best to learn this craft.
My team will be hosting our next office hours on Monday May 6th from 11:00am to 12:00pm over at the Agawam Council on Aging. If you can’t make office hours, I can always be reached by email, john.velis@masenate.gov, by phone, (413) 572-3920, and you can find me online at senatorjohnvelis.com.
Sincerely,
John Velis