Greetings!
Please enjoy a sampling of articles from our February 2022 newsletter. To read the entire issue, download the PDF here.
Our February Community Forum - Join us to learn from and ask question of our local workforce experts. Can’t make the forum? Email your questions to info@nbccoalition.org or join us via Zoom at https://bit.ly/nbcc_feb_forum. We look to community members from all walks of life for this important Coalition meeting. The first half of the forum will be devoted to introductions and announcements and please bring your flyers for distribution. For more info about this forum, contact Amber Besaw or Bri Hantman at nbCC, (413) 663-7588.
Final Forum of 2021 Focused on Housing Needs 
On Friday, December 10th, forty-four various members of the North Berkshire community gathered both in person at Terra Nova in North Adams, and virtually for a forum on housing in the area. 

Representatives from St. Joe’s Shelter, The Louison House, the Berkshire Regional Housing Authority, and the Three County Continuum of Care through Community Action of Pioneer Valley were in attendance. The group of presenters spoke on various housing services offered in the area from resources for tenants to emergency shelters. Agencies also offered updates on needed services that they were currently working on making available to the community in the near future.

One exciting update that was shared was that the renovations at Flood House building of the Louison House, are nearly complete. Once the project is complete, the Flood House will have three apartments available via a coordinated application process. These apartments will not be available via a lottery system. 

Community members and representatives from various service organizations enjoyed hearing updates on what housing in north county looks like, and there were a lot of great questions being asked. With new programs being put into motion at the beginning of 2022, nbCC has decided to host a follow up forum on housing in April. Stay tuned for more information!

A follow up, Part 2, forum focused on Housing and Homelessness will be held on April 6, 2022. This forum will focus on the results compiled by 1Berkshire in a Regional Housing Strategic Plan, to be released before the spring.

- Bri Hantman, Office Coordinator
Welcome Stephen & Suzy to the nbCC Team!
Stephen Barrow, Prevention & Recovery Coordinator

Stephen Barrow is excited to be joining us as our Prevention and Recovery Coordinator. He was born and raised in Adams, Massachusetts. Stephen is a father to two beautiful daughters and is a former business owner. 

Stephen co-owned Image Office Interiors, for twelve years from 1997 through 2009, working with companies in Pittsfield, such as GE Plastics, KB Toys, and Berkshire Life, moving their offices.

He has worked in social services for four years doing outreach work. Before joining the nbCC team, Stephen was employed as a peer support worker at the Brien Center assisting individuals with mental health and substance misuse issues, helping them find meaning in their lives, and move forward in recovery.
Stephen’s favorite thing to do is to connect with community organizations and the arts.
Suzy Helme, Communications Coordinator

Suzy spent the past seven years as the City’s Director of Tourism & Events and looks forward to staying connected with the community through the work of the coalition. She has a bachelor’s degree in Communication/Graphic Design and spent several years as a freelance illustrator for publications like Scholastic and Weekly Reader. 

Suzy loves spending summer evenings with her family at Windsor Lake, outdoor concerts at MASS MoCA, and snow days sledding with her children at Colegrove Park.

Since moving to North Adams she has served on numerous local boards and commissions over the years including Berkshire Nursing Families, the Makers’ Mill, the North Adams Chamber of Commerce, the Human Services Commission, and the nbCC board of directors. . Suzy served on the Coalition board of directors from 2009 through 2021 and is a former board president.
Dr. Kerri Nicoll Announced as Peacemaker Award Recipient

The Martin Luther King Day Committee is proud to announce the 2022 recipient of the Peacemaker Award, Kerri Nicoll, nominated for her work with the Williamstown CARES project. The annual award would normally be presented during the luncheon at the MLK Day of Service, but this year’s event was canceled due to several factors, including inclement weather. Kerri will be presented with the award at the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition’s annual meeting this summer, on Friday, June 17th, at the Greylock WORKS event space in North Adams.

Dr. Nicoll works full time as an Associate Professor at MCLA, and was nominated for being extremely active in the Williamstown community at an especially difficult time. Kerri worked with a number of other social workers to create the Williamstown CARES project, which offers an opportunity to the community to share what community safety and wellbeing mean to them in order to better inform the town on the best ways to serve the community’s needs. This project uses a community-based participatory research framework, and Kerri has been instrumental in making sure the research is rigorous and adheres to this framework. Kerri has volunteered her time to conceptualize this project, answer questions thoroughly and thoughtfully to the public, and offer her expertise in terms of conducting analysis of community members’ interviews. Kerri had also served on the Diversity, Inclusion, Racial Equity Committee for the Town of Williamstown, but is also an active volunteer in North Adams, and is passionate about many issues that affect our larger Northern Berkshire community. Even amongst challenges, Kerri has been a leader and support to the community.

The Peacemaker Award is given once annually to individuals or groups in our region. The award, which originated as part of the local celebration of the life and work of Martin Luther King Jr. is made to persons who have contributed substantially to peace in this region. In general, the Peacemaker Award recognizes persons who have worked with people and/or neighborhoods and communities to provide for greater tolerance, understanding, and caring and should exemplify the teachings and model of Martin Luther King Jr. While the award may be made to a person or group well known in the region, those making nominations are particularly urged to consider those who have worked hard and made contributions without much recognition. Award winners will receive a certificate of recognition and their names will be engraved on a Peacemaker Plaque, which is kept in the office of the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition. Recent former recipients of the award include: Joan Lord; Dick Alcombright; Al & Cindi McLain; PopCares Inc; Kenna Waterman; James Bush; and Bilal Ansari. 
The nbCC Annual Meeting will be held on Friday, June 17th, at 11:30 a.m. at Greylock WORKS. In addition to the Peacemaker Award, the MLK Day student essay winner, and the Northern Berkshire Hero Award will also be presented at the event. Tickets and additional details for the event will be available in early May, 2022. 
-Suzy Helme, Communications Coordinator

Checking in with the Kids...

As we approach the halfway point of our youth development programming, we look back at the highlights of what has been a very eventful four months, and look ahead to the many exciting events and programs on the horizon!

Our 2021-2022 youth program calendar has seen the emergence of two new programs, which were piloted during last year’s youth programming season. The first program, called the Youth Empowerment Program, is a middle-school focused companion to the Youth Leadership Program. Once a week, on Monday evenings, young people from across northern Berkshire County gather to work on building and strengthening skills, and spend time discussing topics that are relevant to life as a middle-school-aged-youth. 

Thus far, the group has discussed topics ranging from coping with mental health challenges, to maintaining positive healthy relationships, to the mechanics of our brains when we experience stress and anxiety. This year’s group is composed of seven young people from four local schools. 

The other new addition to our programming lineup is the Youth Health Collaborative. Last year’s piloted version of this program saw five young people gather weekly over the course of April and May to create a unique documentary film about the topics that they found were most impactful to young people in the region. This year’s program has expanded to include nine local participants, and the group has been meeting since November. The Health Collaborative is currently engaged in deciding on the areas of focus that they would like to target for the year. From there, they will work on setting and achieving goals related to the broad topic of youth health. 

In addition to our new programs, we have continued to run the Teen Writing Workshop on Wednesday evenings, as well as the Youth Leadership Program on Tuesdays. Both programs have welcomed back some returning members, as well as several newcomers. We are still accepting participants in all programs except the Youth Health Collaborative, which will be open for application to next year’s group this summer. 

As we move into the back half of our school year programming, there are some exciting events and opportunities on the horizon! The first are the Teen Writing Workshop showcases. These showcases are an opportunity for participants in the Writing Workshop to share some of the works they have created during the year with the community. These will take place on February 16th and April 18th, both at the Terra Nova church. In addition to these opportunities to hear from local youth, we are also looking forward to this year’s Youth-led Forum happening on March 8th. Last year’s Youth Health Collaborative’s documentary film will be shown, in addition to some other offerings from this year’s participants. Be on the lookout for more updates from all of our youth programs, and be sure to reach out with any questions about programs or events!  
 - Tim Shiebler, Youth Development Coordinator
Save the Date! nbCC's 2022 Annual Meeting is Friday, June 17th from 11:30AM - 1:30PM
Click here to see what's going on at nbCC in February!