Four Berkshire Organizations Awarded DEIB Grants

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SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Health New England has awarded $80,000 in grants to non-profit organizations that work to advance youth health and well-being in Western Massachusetts. 
 
The company's Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) Grants went to 38 organizations in Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, and Worcester counties.
 
In Berkshire County these organizations were awarded funding:
  • Barrington Stage Company (Pittsfield), Playwright Mentoring Program
  • Berkshire Bounty (Great Barrington), Food Purchase Program
  • Berkshire Pride (Pittsfield), Empowerment and Well-being: After-School Program for LGBTQ+ Teens & Tweens
  • Roots Rising (Pittsfield), Roots Rising's Youth Crews
 
Health New England's DEIB mission is to improve the health and lives of people as it applies to individuals of all races, genders, sexual orientations, religions, and levels of ability. 
 
Health New England's DEIB Grants are designed to fund local non-profit organizations that focus on health equity and engage around at least one social determinant of health (SDOH). SDOHs are conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age that affect health, quality of life, and life expectancy. These conditions may include socioeconomic status, food insecurity, education, access to health care, safe housing, discrimination, violence, and trauma, etc.
 
Health New England focused this year's DEIB grants on youth health and well-being after a Springfield Public Schools Youth Health Survey revealed that more than four in ten surveyed eighth-grade students felt so sad or hopeless for two weeks or more that they stopped participating in some usual activities. The grant winners' programs and projects must also assist youths and adolescents gain what the World Health Organization's Adolescent Well-being Framework states they need to thrive:
  • Good health and optimum nutrients
  • Connectedness, positive values, and contribution to society
  • Safety and a supportive environment
  • Learning, competence, education, skills, and employability
  • Agency and resilience
 
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Holiday Inn Remains Closed from Broken Elevator

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — It has been almost three weeks since broken elevators temporarily closed the Holiday Inn & Suites, and the hotel is still working to meet code compliance. 

The hotel at 1 West Street has been closed since Sept. 25, after its last working elevator of three broke down. The 101 Restaurant & Bar, located within the Holiday Inn, also has temporarily shut its doors while repairs are ongoing. 

The day of the shutdown had emergency personnel carrying people who use mobility devices down stairs. 

“We were called there a couple of Fridays ago. There was no working elevator. There were EMTs and the fire department there, and they were getting over half a dozen people down the stairs that were in wheelchairs and walkers,” Building Commissioner Rian Dowd told iBerkshires on Wednesday. 

“So with the no working elevators, we shut the building down.”

The central downtown, 12-story hotel has nearly 180 guest rooms. Massachusetts requires public multi-level buildings and facilities to have elevator access. 

Dowd said the Holiday Inn is still working with the elevator company and state inspectors to be certified and reopen. They were told to provide the City of Pittsfield with a timeline, work orders, and contracts from repairs so that everyone can be on the same page and the hotel can open as quickly as possible, she said. 

“We have not heard anything from them yet this week,” she reported. 

iBerkshires’ attempts to reach a representative from the Holiday Inn were unsuccessful. 

There were no passengers in the elevator when it stopped working; how it broke was not disclosed. 

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