Hello everyone!
We hope you all have had a great week! Tomorrow evening marks the first night of Hanukkah. From all of us on Team Velis, we’re sending our warmest wishes to everyone celebrating!
To kick off the week Team Velis was excited to announce two grant awards to support ADA accessibility improvements and live theater in West Springfield. More specifically, the Town of West Springfield was awarded a $75,000 grant to design an ADA self-evaluation and transition plan to improve accessibility to municipal programs, services, and facilities! The Theater Project at the Majestic Theater was also awarded a grant of $51,974 to help support their production of “Once”!
On Tuesday, Bridget was in Holyoke to join Mayor Garcia, Urbanist Development, and community partners to celebrate the official groundbreaking of the Wright’s Block rehabilitation project on High Street. This transformative initiative will revitalize downtown Holyoke by creating new housing opportunities and vibrant storefronts for residents to enjoy!
Later that day Mark attended a topping off ceremony with Westfield Technical Academy to celebrate the students’ hard work completing a structural frame for a new home on St. James Ave. This project provides students with the invaluable hands-on experience in building a home thanks to the strong collaboration between the school, local businesses, and community organizations. As our Commonwealth continues to address the housing crisis, programs like the one at Westfield Technical Academy are critical to not only expanding our housing supply but also for building the skilled workforce we need for the future.
On Thursday, the Special Commission on the Public Health Effects of Xylazine met to discuss the findings of the Commission’s working groups who have each been dedicating their time over the last month to focus on specific topic areas. Gabe, Josie, and Caitlyn from our State House office have been working closely with the Commissioners of the Senator’s two working groups on Education and Training as well as Effective Outreach and Treatment. Across the board the research and findings of all the working groups will play a critical role in the Commission’s final recommendations to combat the deadly drug contamination issue here in Massachusetts.
This week Team Velis held office hours in Chicopee and West Springfield. Next week, we will be hosting office hours at the Easthampton Council on Aging from 10:30AM to 11:30AM on Tuesday and again on Wednesday at the Holyoke Council on Aging from 10:00AM to 11:00AM.
If you are unable to make office hours or if you have any questions about the changes to some community’s regularly scheduled office hours this month please do not hesitate to contact us by email, john.velis@masenate.gov, by phone, (413) 572-3920, and online at senatorjohnvelis.com.
Sincerely,
Team Velis