During the most recent episode of So That Reminds Me, Hampden County District Attorney Anthony Gulluni (far left) sat down with hosts Ryan Feyre (center) and Tyler Garnet (far right) to talk about outreach programs and the new Springfield courthouse.
Reminder Publishing photo by Dennis Hackett
SPRINGFIELD — On the latest episode of “So That Reminds Me,” hosts Ryan Feyre and I sat down with Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni to discuss the DA’s youth outreach programs and the Springfield Courthouse decision, among other items.
Gulluni has been the DA for nearly 12 years and will enter his fourth term in January. He ran unopposed on the Sept. 1 primary ballot and stated that he felt very fortunate and blessed to have the trust of the county and voters.
He shared numerous youth outreach programs and recurring events that his office offers, including Herizon, Hoop Up Springfield, its Youth Advisory Board, Future Lawyers of Springfield and school presentations on internet safety, social media and gaming safety, the dangers of narcotics and preventing dating violence.
To learn more about these programs and/or request a visit from his office, readers can visit hampdenda.com or visit their social media pages.
Gulluni said he wanted to create these programs during his first campaign in 2014 and added that each of them has benefited the public safety of Hampden County.
“We can do community outreach things, we can innovate, we can develop programs, but we can also enforce the law and fight for victims and hold people accountable who are hurting people and bringing narcotics into our communities,” Gulluni stated. “I think it makes a difference, and I think it’s inuring to the benefit of the long-term public safety of our community. We’re addressing and speaking with young people who may make a decision based on what they learned or what they saw in a year, or two years or three years, so we’re really getting ahead of stuff; it’s really preventative work that we’re doing.”
Gulluni also said he and his office are against a beyond-scared-straight approach and instead prefer community outreach programs.
“I don’t think we’re going to reach kids by intimidating them and my coming in and acting like some sort of authoritative figure,” Gulluni said. “We really realized, I think, in this generation in particular, we got to connect with young people. There’s got to be a relationship there; there’s got to be mutual respect.”
Besides youth outreach programs, Gulluni also talked about other programs his office offers, including the Hampden County Addiction Task Force, which was created in partnership with the Hampden County Sheriff’s Office to bring together law enforcement, healthcare providers, schools, community coalitions and individuals/families to address addiction, overdose prevention and recovery support.
Recently released state data show that Massachusetts recorded fewer than 1,000 opioid-related overdose deaths in 2025, the lowest annual total in more than a decade.
Gulluni also highlighted the Emerging Adult Court of Hope, which he called the pinnacle in terms of what this office has developed. He explained that it’s a court for young adults aged 18-24 who are “almost definitely going to jail,” and provides them with a second chance.
Through the voluntary program, young adults plead into the courts, accept responsibility for their criminal case, and then work with the DA’s office and ROCA Inc. for upwards of two years on behavior modification, addiction issues and mental health. Their records will be wiped clean if they successfully get through the program.
“Ultimately, the big piece of this program that I created was to get them a career on the other side of this infraction,” Gulluni said. “We got to get these young people careers, so we’re getting them involved in CDL and trades like HVAC; we’re going and getting them into college programming, college education. All these things so these young people leave the courthouse with a career where they can have hope for their futures, they can support their families and themselves, and they never come back.”
Gulluni said his office has had about 15 graduates since the program’s inception seven years ago. None of them have re-offended, he said.
A native of Springfield, Gulluni also shared his opinion on the Springfield Courthouse saga. On July 2, the state’s Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance announced the selection of the Liberty Junction Team to replace the aging Roderick L. Ireland Courthouse with a new regional justice center at 125 Liberty St.
Gulluni refused to state which courthouse proposal he preferred, but he said the selection is among the worst in terms of location.
“It’s not a good location for my office; I don’t think it’s a good location for the legal community, and then this justification that it was the quote, ‘cheapest.’ I don’t think that would have been used, at least publicly, as any sort of justification if this were a courthouse in Boston,” Gulluni stated. “It feels like we’re getting short shrift, as we often do, given the geographic inequity in this state.”
Gulluni called the project important for Springfield’s downtown area, its employees and visitors. He called the selection process faulty because the committee that made this choice included zero people from Western Massachusetts.
“When you put together a group of people to decide on a major economic project, on a courthouse for a city and a region and you don’t have anybody who knows the city, knows the region, knows the legal community, that to me defies common sense,” Gulluni said.
In 2021, Gulluni forced his office out of the current Springfield courthouse because of health concerns.
To hear the full episode, visit thereminder.com/our-podcast or search “So That Reminds Me” on your favorite podcasting platform.
