News & Updates
2025 Policy & Advocacy Skills Summit for Youth!
2025 Policy & Advocacy Skills Summit for Youth – Join us for a daylong summit at Smith College on June 14!
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Training for Early Childhood Providers
The Communities That Care Coalition is one of the sponsors of an upcoming training series, The How of Child and Family Engagement. The focus is primarily on helping providers connect with and support family relationships as parents navigate the challenges of the early childhood years. It’s designed to strengthen parent-provider relationships…
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2025
Photo credit: LBJ Library photo by Yoichi Okamotowww.lbjlibrary.net/collections/photo-archive.html, serial no. W418-5. A large (40MB) TIFF version of this image is available at this link. Monday, January 20, 2025, is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Dr. King is best known for his work in the United States Civil rights movement,…
Phone Free Schools Legislation for MA
Legislation has just been filed in the Massachusetts Senate and House requiring all schools in Massachusetts (K-12) to implement bell-to-bell (all day) phone and social media free policies. The Massachusetts Teachers Association, Education Secretary, and Attorney General have all come out in support. For more information about this legislation, see this Briefing…
2024 Student Health Survey Data Released
The Communities That Care released the 2024 Student Health Survey data on Friday, October 19th, at meetings at the North Quabbin Community Coalition and Baystate Franklin Medical Center. The data presentation can be found HERE and the Greenfield Recorder published a series of four articles based on the data. Find…
Coalition Meeting and Data Release October 18th
Please join the Communities That Care Coalition for the release and discussion of the 2024 Student Health Survey data on Friday, October 18th. New information on school climate, substance use, mental health, screen time, and equity locally. All welcome! Two options for participation: In person: 11am to 1pm at the Communities…
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“Perspectives on Trauma” on GCTV
Ahmad Esfahani interviewed Leigh-Ellen Figueroa and Ilana Gerjuoy on his series on GCTV titled “Perspectives on Trauma”. On the series Esfahani interviews people from around Western Massachusetts about the topic of trauma. You can watch the interview HERE.
US Surgeon General Calls for Warning Labels on Social Media
The US Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, has called for Congress to act to require Warning Labels on social media platforms like we have for tobacco and alcohol. Dr. Murthy argues that the mental health crisis among young people is an emergency — and social media has emerged as an…
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Martin Luther King Jr. Day–January 15, 2024
Photo of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. from the American Broadcasting Company program Open Hearing.. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dr._King_Open_Hearing_1957.jpg Monday January 15, 2024 is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, honoring one of the most important leaders and thinkers in American history. Dr. King was an American Baptist minister and activist who became…
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Cannabis Safe Storage – Help Protect Kids & Pets
This educational flyer for adults promotes safely storing cannabis products away from kids and pets. In the past few years, there’s been an increase in the number of kids and pets who have accidentally eaten cannabis products and required medical attention. It’s important that adults are aware of nonjudgmental information to prevent this from happening.
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Coalition Releases 2024 Community Action Plan
We released our newly updated Community Action Plan on October 27, 2023, at the Fall Full Coalition Meeting. The plan will guide our work until we formally update it again in 2026. The new plan strengthens the Coalition’s vision, mission, values, and strategies to reflect our commitment to social justice…
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Family Day, 2024
Family Day is a national holiday observed on the last Monday of September each year to celebrate the benefits of spending time together as a family.
Summer 2023: Camps and Activities for Children and Youth
Our partners at the Greenfield Safe Schools Safe Streets Coalition have put together this great list of Camps and Activities for Children and Youth for Summer 2023. Take a look and share where you see fit!
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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, 2023
Monday, January 16, 2023 is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, honoring one of the most important leaders and thinkers in American history. Dr. King was an American Baptist minister and activist who became the most visible spokesman and leader in the American civil rights movement from 1955 until his…
CTC Celebrates 20 Years!
The Communities That Care Coalition celebrates its 20th anniversary with a lunch at Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center in Greenfield. Photo credit: Kat Allen The Communities That Care Coalition just celebrated its 20-Year Anniversary! Click HERE to see the Greenfield Recorder’s coverage!
WWLP Highlight Coalition’s Family Day Efforts
WWLP Channel 22, the largest news station in Western Mass, covered the Coalition’s efforts at promoting quality family time on the evening news on Family Day! Check out the coverage HERE.
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PEER Ambassadors create videos to celebrate Family Day!
In celebration of Family Day, the Coalition’s PEER Ambassadors worked with GCTV to create a video Public Service Announcements – check out the version in English and the one in Spanish! The videos highlight the many benefits of family dinners and quality family time and encourages people to set up…
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2022 Parent Guide Released!
The Parent and Family Engagement Workgroup’s 2022 Parent Guide was released on Wednesday, September 21. This 16-page insert is distributed through the Greenfield Recorder and the Athol Daily News, and includes valuable information for local parents on topics including substance use prevention, mental health promotion, health and nutrition, online safety,…
Shaundell Diaz Receives Coalition Leadership Award
The Communities That Care Coalition was excited to present the 2022 Sara Cummings Coalition Leadership Award to Shaundell Diaz of the Three County Continuum of Care at Community Action Pioneer Valley. Shaundell is also one of the Co-Chairs of CTC’s Grand Rising Workgroup. Born and raised in Springfield Mass, Shaundell…
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Regional Snapshot of How Franklin County and North Quabbin Schools are Advancing Racial Justice
On June 9, 2022, the Communities That Care Coalition released a report, How Franklin County and North Quabbin Schools are Advancing Racial Justice. Leigh-Ellen Figueroa presented a slideshow summary at the Coalition’s Biannual Meeting at Greenfield High School. The report is based on interviews with 41 key school personnel from…