Hello everyone,
We hope you all are well and are having a smooth start to your Thanksgiving preparations this weekend.
This week, Gabe, Caitlyn, and Josie participated in two different working groups for the Special Commission on Xylazine on behalf of Senator Velis. Bringing together public health officials, legislators, and harm reduction specialists, these working groups will focus on specific areas of the Commission’s charge to gather research and propose recommendations on how the Commonwealth can best respond to emerging contaminants like Xylazine.
On Wednesday, Mark was over in West Springfield to help welcome Seven Brew to town. During the celebration, an official citation from the Massachusetts State Senate was shared to recognize the occasion. Mark of course grabbed a warm cup of coffee before heading over to Agawam for an economic development meeting with town officials.
This week Bridget joined community members in Holyoke to celebrate Día del Descubrimiento de Puerto Rico (Discovery of Puerto Rico Day). This is a national holiday in Puerto Rico that honors the island’s history and culture. During the celebration a Puerto Rican flag was raised in front of City hall!
On Thursday, the Special Commission on Combating Antisemitism held its final meeting to approve its final report and recommendations. The final report’s findings and recommendations chart a course for combating antisemitism the “Massachusetts Way,” by supplying a set of best practices rooted in the Commission’s strong belief that fighting and preventing antisemitism must combine strong civil rights protections, civic education, and moral responsibility. While Senator Velis was unable to formally vote on these recommendations due to his deployment, he did write a letter during his personal time to share his resounding and empathic support of the report.
To round off the week, Mark joined Mayor Garcia and officials from the Department of Public Health, RMV, and the New England Donor Services to highlight the special gift of an organ donation. Just one organ donor can save eight different lives. Transplant patients receive these organs from either people who have left our world, and are making this last act of kindness, or living donors who step up and donate to a patient who is waiting for this life-saving opportunity. Checking the organ donor box on your driver’s license application could provide a life changing gift to a patient in need.
This week Mark hosted our office hours in Easthampton while Bridget held our Holyoke office hours. Next week we will be hosting office hours at the Westfield Council on Aging on Monday from 12:30pm to 1:30pn and again on Tuesday at the Russell Council on Aging from 11:30am to 12:30pm. If you are unable to make office hours, you can continue to reach us by email, john.velis@masenate.gov, by phone, (413) 572-3920, and online at senatorjohnvelis.com.
Sincerely,
Team Velis