Each year, more than 4,500 families across Massachusetts open their homes and their lives to care for children in foster care. Much has been written about the children — their experiences and outcomes — but for the parents, it can be an intense series of ups and downs, much of it while navigating the bureaucracy of the state’s legal and foster care systems.
Bridge infrastructure often goes unnoticed in our day-to-day commutes. The maintenance of these connectors of communities and highways is crucial in maintaining traffic flows and quite literally bridging gaps of access for people in the region.
Now that we are a few years removed from the coronavirus pandemic, the theater scene in the area is persevering through challenges, and in a lot of cases, thriving thanks to a new crop of theater groups and established entities making their mark.
CHICOPEE — With the increased capacity of its new location on 25 Carew St. in Chicopee, the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts is better able to confront the 44% increase in food insecurity brought on by inflation and the end of coronavirus pandemic-era funds, according to Executive Director Andrew Morehouse.
When water began gushing into the newly established Quabbin Reservoir in 1939, the resulting water supply tore apart the Swift River communities in favor of providing clean, consistent water to eastern Massachusetts, according to the Department of Conservation and Recreation. The four disincorporated towns — Dana, Enfield, Greenwich and Prescott — disappeared from the map.
Three years ago, transgender and gender-diverse people in Western Massachusetts were given a new option for inclusive healthcare with the opening of Transhealth, a Northampton organization focusing on providing care to these underserved populations. Reminder Publishing checked in with Transhealth CEO in Western Massachusetts to see how the organization has fared since opening and what work still needs to be done.