Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and city officials, including Director of Parks, Buildings, and Recreation Management Thomas Ashe, Springfield Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Sonia Dinnall, Police Superintendent Lawrence Akers, Health & Human Services Commissioner Helen Caulton-Harris, School Committee member and Old Hill Neighborhood Council President Barbara Gresham, Ward 5 City Councilor Lavar Click-Bruce, who chairs the City Council Subcommittee on Public Safety, and City Councilor Brian Santaniello joined at Johnny Appleseed Park on Thursday morning with Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi and team to announce the expansion of the City and the Hamden County Sheriff’s Office public safety partnership in our Springfield parks.
Under the enhanced partnership, the Hampden County Sheriff’s Office will assist the city’s Department of Parks, Buildings, and Recreation Management with park clean-up, including proper disposal of drug paraphernalia, like discarded needles. The Sheriff’s Office will have dedicated crews that are trained to properly pick-up and dispose of items like used needles.
“As I have said before, the damage inflicted by the opioid crisis to Springfield’s most precious resource, our residents, has been tremendous and will take Herculean efforts from the city, nonprofits, our community partners and stakeholders to heal,” stated Mayor Sarno. “This is one part of that effort, and we remain committed to healing our community from this crisis at all levels. I am extremely thankful that once again, Sheriff Nick Cocchi and his dedicated team have stepped up to partner with our city in order to increase public safety. We are truly grateful to Sheriff Nick Cocchi and his team, who have been great partners with the City of Springfield on a number of citywide initiatives that benefit our residents and neighborhoods. From their dedicated patrols in our beloved Forest Park, to our neighborhood clean-up events, supporting SPD in serving civil papers as issued from our courts, our enhanced public safety and hospitality elements for the Safe Travels Initiative for Union Station, and now working together on public-safety cleanup aspects within our Springfield Parks.”
Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi states, “Our partnerships in Springfield have always been about one thing—working together to make our community safer and stronger. Families and children deserve to enjoy our parks without worrying about what’s left behind from the opioid crisis. That’s why our crews, trained by the Red Cross in safe bloodborne pathogen practices, will be removing and disposing of drug paraphernalia the right way. We’re proud to stand with the City and our partners to protect our neighborhoods and give families safe, welcoming places to gather.”
Director of Parks, Buildings, and Recreation Management (PBRM) Thomas Ashe states, “I am grateful to Sherriff Nick Cocchi for his continued trust in our city and department to be part of this community restitution program. The work of the Sheriff and his teams is very important to the city and the Park and Facilities Divisions and we appreciate their partnership to ensure our parks are clean and safe for positive recreational enjoyment. Special thanks to Mayor Sarno for his steadfast support of our parks system, and the important outlet it provides for families. I would also like to thank all of our PBRM staff for their continued excellent stewardship of our parks throughout the city. We are very proud of our beautiful city-wide parks system and our Department works diligently to take care of it. However, it truly takes a team effort in keeping our community clean and safe and none of us can do it alone. This effort is possible thanks to initial funding from the Department of Health and Human Services, thank you to Commissioner Helen Caulton Harris and team. We are grateful for this collaboration and to all who continue to step and make our parks system the best it can be.”
Springfield Police Superintendent Lawrence E. Akers stated, “Anytime we can make our parks and school grounds safer for our children, we must act on it. It’s unacceptable to dispose of needles in these areas especially when there are needle exchange locations nearby. I’d like to thank Mayor Sarno, Commissioner Caulton-Harris and Sheriff Cocchi for their cooperation in assisting us in ways that enhance public safety for the children in our community.”
This multi-agency collaborative partnership is one component of ongoing city-wide opioid response efforts under the Department of Health and Human Services led by Commissioner Helen Caulton Harris. As the collaborative city-wide opioid response efforts continue to be rolled out, this enhanced partnership will address the immediate need of cleaning up our parks so they are safe for all to use and enjoy.
Health & Human Services Commissioner Helen Caulton-Harris states, “I want to thank Mayor Sarno for his continued leadership and advocacy on behalf of our residents’ safety and quality of life. His support, along with our many strong partnerships, have been instrumental as we continue working to address this opioid crisis. The Department of Health and Human Services remains committed to the City of Springfield’s opioid response plan. We will continue implementing our city-wide collaborative effort which includes comprehensive wrap-around services for people affected by the opioid crisis. This park safety clean-up initiative will, in the meantime, address the immediate need for proper and safe collection/disposal of materials like needles. I commend and thank Sheriff Cocchi and his crews for their dedicated efforts and supporting public health and safety for all.”
On behalf of the Department of Health & Human Services, Commissioner Caulton-Harris shared today that the Department will hire a Harm Reduction Specialist to coordinate some of these efforts, and set up a hot line to report discarded needles.
Commissioner Caulton Harris stated, “It is important that everyone around this city, where they live work, play and pray are feeling safe. We will be hiring a Harm Reduction Specialist who will work closely with our partner agencies who are already on the ground in the community doing needle recovery. The Harm Reduction Specialist will work with these agencies to ensure all spaces and places in the city have access to someone who is trained and can safely do this work.”
“We will also be setting up a phone number our residents can call, a ‘hot line,’ to report needles,” continued Commissioner Caulton Harris. “This is a year-round effort, and the Harm Reduction Specialist will also coordinate closely with our Cold Weather Outreach team. Our focus will be on churches and other places where needles are being discarded. Where needles are discarded is where individuals with substance use disorders are congregating. With this information, we are able to engage individuals to prevent, intervene, and get individuals into treatment – that’s the job of Public Health. This is an all-hands-on deck effort and it is a sustainable and comprehensive response, not a band aid. I thank all of the partners who make this effort possible and we will continue to roll it out in real time.”
Mayor Sarno added, “I continued to commend Health & Human Services Commissioner Helen Caulton-Harris and her HHS team for their unyielding efforts, along with Sheriff Nick Cocchi and all of our community partners, in working together to help those get the treatment and resources they need to heal from this opioid situation. I remain steadfast in the importance of having wraparound services for those affected. Many of us have been affected, whether through friends or family members directly or indirectly with the negative wrath of health and public safety issues. We appreciate Commissioner Carlton Harris’ leadership on our opioid response and will have more details on the hot line aspects coming soon.”
“Our kids, our families, our community deserves safe environments to learn, play, and grow, stated Ward 5 City Councilor Lavar Click-Bruce, who chairs the City Council Subcommittee on Public Safety states. “This is great partnership that will benefit our community and help provide the environment we should have in our neighborhood parks, thank you to Sheriff Cocchi and team for again stepping up for our community. I am also deeply grateful to the Springfield Parks Department for their care and dedication to our parks, and for the leadership and support of Mayor Sarno and his continued investment in our parks system. I thank everyone who use our shared open spaces with respect and I hope we can continue to protect and uplift our law-abiding citizens who deserve to enjoy healthy and positive recreational opportunities at our parks.
School Committee member and Old Hill Neighborhood Council President Barbara Gresham states, “We have a beautiful community and its important that we come together to keep it healthy and safe. I commend all involved in this much needed collaboration to ensure the safety of our schools along with our neighborhood parks.”
City Councilor Brian Santaniello stated, “This collaborative initiative is a step in the right direction. I tip my hat to Commissioner Helen Caulton-Harris, Parks Director Tommy Ashe, Sheriff Cocchi, my colleague on the Council Lavar Click Bruce, of course Mayor Sarno, and all involved in this movement for park safety.”
