HOLYOKE — A city councilor wants Holyoke to do more to help people returning from incarceration.
Holyoke Mayor Joshua A. Garcia said this week he is open to the idea outlined by Israel Rivera. But Garcia said his own effort to create a Community Response Division would tackle the same issues.
At a public safety meeting Wednesday, Rivera described a plan that would create a Returning Citizens Division within the Public Health Department. He described it as a smaller version of the All-Inclusive Support Services program in Springfield.
“The department would be able to help a variety of populations or demographics in Holyoke through one department, as opposed to splitting it up,” said Rivera, chair of the council’s Public Safety Committee.
When Rivera came home from prison almost 10 years ago, he said he didn’t know where to go and a social worker directed him to the All-Inclusive Support Services Program run by the Hampden County Sheriff’s Office. But finding transportation to the program in Springfield was challenging.
According to Rivera, creating a Holyoke effort would cut the transportation barrier. Services could be made available not only to formerly incarcerated people but to those coming home from mental health facilities or active duty in the military.
“The idea is to be able to give them a connection and then have a follow-up,” Rivera said. “A lot of this is already happening in Holyoke. It just needs to be harnessed. The power is already there.”
According to Sally Johnson Van Wright, assistant superintendent and head of research for the sheriff’s office, of all Hampden County jail releases in one year, 13.4% are re-incarcerated within one year and 16.6% are re-incarcerated within two years.
“You can see that the first year out is really important,” Johnson Van Wright said.
Johnson Van Wright said continuity of care is important, especially in the first months after release. “That’s why we feel reentry is so important,” she said during Wednesday’s meeting.
Sean Gonsalves, the Board of Health director, suggested Holyoke first consider hiring a social worker.
Mayor’s plan
Garcia said the city faces many challenges.
“You know, we’re talking about a community trying to solve the problems of the United States of America,” he said. “I see a lot of people in different positions, whether it’s in City Hall or outside of City Hall, with local nonprofits all doing good work … but with the magnitude of the quality-of-life issues in taking care of vulnerable populations, we’re having the challenge of trying to keep up.”
Garcia proposed Ezekiel’s Plan in the aftermath of an Oct. 4 gunfight that led to the death of a newborn, after the child’s mother was stuck by a bullet while riding in a passing bus. Ezekiel was the name of the baby.
If passed, the plan, also known as Operation Safe Streets, would fund several initiatives, including the hiring of 13 police officers and creation of a surveillance camera system.
Garcia said his plan will embrace efforts akin to what Rivera proposes.
“I think it kind of moves in that direction, and I see that evolving overtime as we hire the appropriate staff that are going to take on these roles in that division,” Garcia said during the meeting.
Rivera said Ezekiel’s Plan should have received more public comment before being brought forward.
“Nobody had a conversation about the plan. That technically should come together from all of us,” Rivera said. He said the city could have made more progress following discussion nearly two years ago.
Garcia said stakeholders joined discussions with him at his office. “To say that the last two years it was brought up and nothing was done … I have to push back on that. I think that’s false,” Garcia said.
Garcia said he proposes to fill three positions under Ezekiel’s Plan. Over time, he hopes to add more. And once those jobs are filled, the plan will evolve, Garcia said, and new resources will enable the city to sustain the plan.
“We didn’t have opioid funding two years ago, and if the funding wasn’t available, it would be tough talking about taking roughly $1 million and putting together a division, “Garcia said.
“I want the capacity to do exactly what you’re doing to facilitate and figure out the structures and build what it’s going to look like,” Garcia told the session. “But we can do it if you pass this plan.”
“There’s still an opportunity to have a conversation about what’s needed and what we want to tackle,” he said. “Any help we can get, we will certainly think outside the box.”
