Hello Everyone,
It’s hard to believe that we’re already halfway through the summer. While the weather sure has tried to put a damper on things, my office and I have continued to stay busy. This week involved quite a bit of driving across the state and district and has made me appreciate even more how great our region is.
This week began with a trip out to Central Mass. As many of you may know, I have the privilege of serving as the Chair of the Veterans and Federal Affairs Committee. I had the pleasure of joining Representative Pease and other committee members as we began the first of several tours/listening sessions across the Commonwealth. We toured the Montachusett Veterans Outreach Centers in Gardner and Winchendon. These centers do a great job assisting Veterans in finding housing as well as different counseling and mental health services.
As Vice-Chair of the Committee on Children, Families, and Persons with Disabilities, I spent some time this week with SEIU Local 509 caseworkers in the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to better understand their roles and how they communicate with DCF in Boston. As we transition out of the COVID-19 Pandemic and optimistically move forward to how things used to be, it is important for policy makers across the state to have a better understanding of how difficult situations with DCF evolved over the past year and what we should be doing to meet the new challenges that have arisen as a result.
On Thursday the Senate passed its Chapter 90 Transportation Bill to provide direct support for roads, bridges and transportation infrastructure in our communities. Westfield is set to receive over $1.2M, Southwick is set to receive over $400K, and all municipalities in the district are receiving substantial funds as well. These funds will help communities invest in projects to improve local infrastructure and transportation systems. Related to transportation services, I am happy to announce that the Easthampton RMV will also be reopening for in-person services on August 2nd.
I did get the chance to spend some time in the district with constituents this week as well, which is always some of my favorite moments of the week. On Thursday I was in Westfield to meet with a constituent about legislation regarding the creation of a new suicide prevention hotline number in Massachusetts, an important initiative that the Legislature is pursuing.
On Friday I had the honor of attending the graduation ceremony at Westfield Tech for their Aviation Maintenance Technology Class. This course is such a tremendous program that prepares students with the tangible skills they need to succeed in the aviation industry. Congratulations to all the graduates!
Friday afternoon I was able to drop by the law firm of Bacon and Wilson to welcome them to their new Westfield office with a citation from the Senate. Unfortunately I was unable to join them at their ribbon cutting event a few weeks ago, however it is important to me to celebrate all of our local businesses and organizations! Afterwards I swung over to Southwick to join residents at the Southwick Village Retirement Community for a fantastic meet and greet coffee hour and to share Senate updates.
As always, if there is anything I can do to assist you, please never hesitate to reach out to my office. I can be reached at my email: [email protected] or by phone: (413)-572-3920, and you can find me online at senatorjohnvelis.com, where you can also sign up for my newsletter.
Sincerely,
John Velis
