CCSJC: Youth Programs Should Be A Town Priority

Report On The Meeting Of The Community Safety And Social Justice Committee, March 16,2023

This meeting was held over Zoom. The first hour was inadvertently not recorded. The remainder of the meeting can be viewed here.  

Present
Allegra Clark and Dee Shabazz (Co-chairs), Philip Avila, Freke Ette, and Pat Ononibaku. Absent: Debora Ferreira.

Staff: Pamela Nolan Young (DEI Director)

DEI Department And CRESS Will Get AmeriCorps Intern For Youth Services
The DEI Department and CRESS will share an AmeriCorps intern beginning next fall. This intern will work on youth services and youth programming, an important need emphasized in the final report of the Community Safety Working Group (CSWG). CSSJC member Pat Ononibaku asked if the youth programs would have a dedicated building, as recommended by the CSWG. She said that many young people of color are not comfortable in the library or a school. Dee Shabazz noted that the town has several unused buildings which can be explored for this purpose. She hoped that finding space for youth programming would be part of the intern’s work. She also stressed that it would be important to talk to BIPOC youth about what their needs are.

CSSJC Co-chair Allegra Clark suggested that maybe the Business Improvement District could arrange summer internships for area youth to work with businesses in town as a means of gaining employment and experience. She agreed for the need for a dedicated space for youth, saying the cutting of 30 positions in the public schools suggests that young people are not a priority in town.

Joint Public Listening Session Planned For March 25
CRESS Director Earl Miller announced that a listening session about social justice issues in Amherst will be held in the Town Room at Town Hall on Saturday, March 25 from 2 to 4 p.m. The listening session will highlight the work of the Community Responders for Equity, Safety, and Service (CRESS) and the Community Safety and Social Justice Committee. The program will also be live-streamed. Refreshments will be served.

There was a question whether translation services will be available, especially for Spanish speaking residents. CSSJC members stressed that this is a priority, and an important part of equity.  DEI Director Pamela Young said she will attempt to obtain Spanish translation services, but it might be difficult at this late date. All agreed that these services should be incorporated into all future programs. Miller entertained the idea of doing a similar program in Spanish at a later date.

Miller also said that CRESS is planning to have a mini-CRESS academy in July. This will feature some of the same training that responders underwent in their orientation. Details are still being developed.

CRESS responders have been busy. Miller said Earl that many of the calls are for family challenges- whether related to mental health, developmental disability, or dementia—and families being overwhelmed. The dispatcher is under the jurisdiction the police, which made some CSSJC members uncomfortable, but this policy is currently under legal review. CRESS will begin taking 911 calls this summer.

Equity Programming Rollout In Town Departments
Amherst has been a member of GARE (Government Alliance for Racial Equity) which has many resources to help towns achieve racial equity. In addition, Amherst has had a Core Equity Team for the past two years. According to the town’s DEI website the mission of the core equity team is as follows:

“The Town of Amherst Core Equity Team’s goal is to create an inclusive government that empowers our employees, elected officials and board and committee members to help residents, businesses, students, and guests feel safe, welcomed, and included in Amherst.  

 The Core Equity Team is committed to educating town staff on the importance of racial equity, inclusion, diversity, and social justice. Our Mission will be realized through updating Town policies, procedures, guidelines, and diversification of our workforce. We will seek to extend this work to include members of boards, committees and elected officials. “

Young said that, in the seven months she has been in Amherst, the size of the Core Equity Team has doubled to include members from many town departments. The DEI department and the Core Equity Team are working on workshops on equity, customized to the needs of different departments. They have circulated self-assessment questionnaires to town employees, and have received a response rate of about 75%.

Also, the Town Manager has scheduled a half-day every quarter for professional development, and Young presented some of the initiatives of the DEI Department at the session held last week. Shabazz pointed out that Longmeadow distributes material to department heads to make sure they are looking through an antiracist lens when hiring.

CSSJC Seeks Input Into Hiring Of New Police Chief
With the announcement that longtime Police Chief Scott Livingstone plans to retire in May, the CSSJC was eager to have input into the hiring of the new chief. Ononibaku said it was imperative that the town hear from those who have been most hurt by the police when making decisions about a new chief. Freke Ette felt that it is important to thank Livingstone for his service and set the stage to work with his successor.

Young was not sure what stage the search for a new chief was at, but said she has been involved in the hiring of other department heads and thought she would also be included in this decision. She also said that the request for proposals to help create a structure for a Residents Oversight Board to oversee complaints about the police, as recommended by the CSWG, is nearing completion.

Committee Wants To Be Heard During Budget Setting
Ononibaku asserted that “only a handful of people make decisions on how money is spent in town.” She said that other municipalities, such as Houston and Northampton, did public outreach to determine how American Rescue Plan (ARPA) money from the federal government would be spent, but in Amherst, Black owned businesses did not receive any ARPA funds. Shabazz noted that Amherst still has about $2 million in ARPA funds due, and that the DEI Department should be included in the discussions as to how that money is spent.

Frustration Voiced Over Council’s Failure To Act On CSSJC Recommendations
During the members reports, Ononibaku expressed her frustration over her sense that the town government, including the town council president, do not value the role of CSSJC plays,  do not utilize CSSJC as a resource, and do not prioritizize the recommendations of the CSSJC nor its predecessor, the CSWG. She also voiced concerned regarding a budget proposal for acquiring body cameras for the Amherst Police Department (APD) without a robust community conversation about how the surveillance cameras would be used on residents most impacted by policing. She stated that the town should not increase the APD budget when some school employees may be facing layoffs.

Public Comment
In public comment, Vira Cage noted that when the town wants something, it finds the money. One million dollars of Community Preservation Act funding is being used to renovate the North Common; and the Drake music hall came into being quickly, partly with the infusion of $300,000 of ARPA funds and other state money to cover rent and programming.

Ononibaku pointed out that Hazel’s Blue Lagoon, a Black owned nightclub that opened at nearly the same time, did not get any ARPA money. Both women stressed that BIPOC communities in Amherst deserve more.

The CSSJC will hold a joint meeting with the Human Rights Commission on Wednesday, March 22 to discuss input to the Town Manager’s proposed budget for FY 2024. Ononibaku said, “I am here to make a change, not to keep the status quo. We need to make sure the town looks at the budget through an equity lens.” After the Town Manager presents the proposed budget to the Town Council in early May, the CSSJC will hold a meeting to discuss it at its May 10 meeting.