BUW, NBUW Partner on Community Conversations

02:51PM / Tuesday, October 13, 2026Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire United Way and Northern Berkshire United Way are partnering on four community conversations focused on food insecurity, disability, redlining and racism, and health insurance.

Each of the conversations will run Wednesdays from 5 to 6:30 p.m., with two in Pittsfield and two in North Adams.

The focus of the conversations is to understand how these issues are having an impact on Berkshire County residents and to hear from organizations and experts helping to address these them.

The schedule is as follows:

Food Insecurity, Oct. 14: Berkshire Bounty, Pittsfield Community Food Pantry, The Center, and Community Health Programs. Held at The Center, 193 Robbins Ave., Pittsfield. Facilitated by Berkshire United Way.

Disability, Oct. 28: United Cerebraly Palsy of Western Mass, Berkshire Family and Individual Resources, and a representative from Nonotuck Resource Associates in North Adams. Held at the BFAIR main office, 771 South Church St., North Adams. Facilitated by Northern Berkshire United Way.

Redlining & Racism, Nov. 11: Frances Jones-Sneed, professor emeritus of history and political science at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, MCLA and representatives from NAACP Berkshires. Held in the Community Empowerment Center at Greylock Federal Credit Union, 75 Kellogg St., Pittsfield. Facilitated by Berkshire United Way.

Health Insurance, Dec. 2: Ecu-Health Care, held at the BFAIR main office, 771 South Church St., North Adams. Facilitated by Northern Berkshire United Way.

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Pittsfield Council Revisiting DEI Office Restructure

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
04:11PM / Tuesday, October 13, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The conversation about the DEI office renaming that was halted by a charter objection will resume on Tuesday.

The City Council will discuss a request from Mayor Peter Marchetti to restructure the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

It proposes to rename the DEI office to the Office of Equity, Access, and Opportunity and merge the Human Rights Commission and Affirmative Action Committee into an Equity, Access and Opportunity Commission.

The Ordinance and Rules Subcommittee supported the changes in August, and in September, Ward 2 Councilor Cameron Cunningham delayed the vote with a charter objection.

Pittsfield's City Code prohibits charter states that "if a single member present objects to the taking of the vote, the vote shall be postponed until the next meeting of the city council." It also stipulates that at least four members must object if it is an emergency measure.

Cunningham also submitted a petition, which was referred to O&R under Rule 27, to replace the DEI Office and the Human Rights Commission with an equity, access, and opportunity coordinator in the Department of Community Development, with formal complaints and Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action functions assigned to Human Resources.

At the last meeting, he spent more than an hour querying the mayor and chief diversity officer about functions and effectiveness of the department, wanting more quantitative data. Cunningham proposed an ordinance that he says keeps Pittsfield's commitment to equity, access, and opportunity, "refocuses it on measurable results for our residents, and delivers it at a fraction of the current cost."

Under this petition, the equity, access, and opportunity coordinator would be a $60,000 to $80,000 per year position.

The DEI Office's fiscal year 2027 budget was about $200,000 after cuts during budget season; $106,700 for the chief diversity officer and $58,000 for the administrative assistant. The coordinator would be appointed by the director of community development and the mayor.

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