Town Reaffirms Support for DEI. Updates on Youth Programming Survey and CRESS

Report on the Meeting of the Community Safety and Social Justice Committee, February 12, 2025, Part 2

This meeting was held on Zoom and was recorded.

Present
Debora Ferreira and Allegra Clark (Co-chairs), Lissette Parades, Erica Piedade, Pat Romney, and  Everald Henry. Absent: Angelique Ferguson 

Staff Philip Avila (Assistant DEI Director) and Camille Theriaque (CRESS Director, Town Liaison to the committee)

CRESS Usage Increasing
CRESS Director Camille Theriaque presented the annual report on CRESS usage from November 2023 through December 2024. During 2024, calls to CRESS increased from about 30 per month in the early part of the year to almost 90 per month from April through December. She explained that each call receives a single use code, even though it may involve several aspects of service. The 10 areas are: assist Amherst Police Department (APD), assist fire department, assist neighbor, outreach, assist business, well-being check, transport, mental health, follow-up, and community engagement.  The most common calls are to assist a resident or business and outreach.

Most CRESS calls came directly from residents asking for assistance. Many indicated a reluctance to call the police. The town is still working on guidelines for dispatch as to when to call CRESS instead of the police. Theriaque said that she is not privy to APD call logs, so it is not possible to tell how many calls were diverted from the police. She noted that the Jones Library rarely needs to call the police, and CRESS responders are there almost daily. CRESS will not deal with any situation where there is violence, weapons, or a significant crime. However, at times they are accompanied by police officers who often do not need to engage with a situation that is handled by CRESS responders. The department will continue to modify its data collection to give a more complete account of activities.

Theriaque presented three examples of CRESS responders dealing successfully with situations that might otherwise have involved the APD. She said that responders are starting to accompany inspectors investigating code violations instead of the police. The department is designing a feedback survey to evaluate the service provided and to aid in compiling more complete statistics, especially in regard to race and gender.

Although the Community Safety and Social Justice Committee (CSSJC) members were pleased that use of CRESS was increasing, they questioned if CRESS was fulfilling its mission as a community safety organization providing an alternative to the APD.  Pat Romney was concerned about the low number of referrals from the police. Everald Henry said, “CRESS is doing all these wonderful things, it amounts to social service.”  

CSSJC Co-chair Debora Ferreira worried that, unless the CRESS proved that it decreased calls to the police, its existence was in jeopardy. She stated that some people in town are “gunning” for CRESS, seeking to dismantle it. “CRESS needs to be there, it needs to be successful, and it needs to do more to assist all people in Amherst,” Ferreira said.

New CRESS Initiatives—CRESS Newsletter
Theriaque reiterated the aims of CRESS.  “As community responders, we aim to fill the ever-present gaps in the town, to serve as community builders connecting people to services and resources. We are an unarmed public safety department that supports the Amherst community, rooted in trauma-informed and anti-racist frameworks.”

In addition to responding to calls from the community, CRESS responders have contributed to Amherst in other ways. One responder independently managed a translation project with Amherst College to improve public accessibility to public documents and contributed to the CRESS analytics and the transition to Qualtrics experience software. Two responders are producing youth-based programming through a Department of Public Health’s Equitable Approaches to Public Safety (EAPS) grant for children in the community that encompasses both educational and social justice themes. 

Three responders are collaborating with the Town of Amherst Marketing and Communications Manager to produce a monthly newsletter for public awareness, as well as creating a social media presence. The newsletter is posted on the CRESS website. Hard copies are available at Town Hall, the BID, and the Amherst Fire Department. All material is available in Spanish.

Youth Survey Results Presented
The DEI Department conducted a survey of Amherst youth last fall. According to Assistant DEI Director Philip Avila, the survey received 105 responses, 87 from students in grades 6 through 12 and 18 from parents, guardians, and educators. The majority of the respondents were BIPOC students. Suggested topics for a program or workshop were social justice/activism, STEM (robotics, cooking/baking, technology), art (performance arts, woodworking, painting), and mental or physical health (first aid, trauma awareness, managing mental health). They want programs in an accessible location, with visual and hands-on learning, a quiet environment, understanding adults, and food or snacks.

Upcoming youth programs from the DEI Department include an Entrepreneurial Workshop starting March 1, co-sponsored by the Black Business Association of the Amherst Area and Know Your Rights workshops in April and May with Citizens for Juvenile Justice. For the fall, the department is planning youth empowerment programs on financial literacy, post high school prep, and life skills. 

Avila emphasized that these are programs from the DEI Department and not the Youth Empowerment Center recommended by the Community Safety Working Group. The Youth Empowerment Center was to be a primarily BIPOC youth-run program that provided a safe space for BIPOC youth. He was not sure what the status of the Youth Empowerment Center was, and indicated that it now might be under the direction of the Recreation Department. 

CSSJC Co-chair Debora Ferreira noted that $500,000 in ARPA funds had been earmarked for the center. Some of that money went to the Donahue Center at UMass for some purpose that has not been reported on. The rest was returned to the general fund. Ferreira said she would inquire of Town Manager Paul Bockelman and Recreation Department Director Rey Harp as to the status of the $500,000. 

Town Reaffirms Support for DEI
In the context of DEI programs coming under assault nationwide, Avila said he had a conversation with Bockelman, who reaffirmed the town’s support for the DEI Department and DEI initiatives. The department has started monthly training sessions with town staff on various topics. Last month the topic was race; this month it is class and social economics; and next month it will be gender. The department also started departmental training, beginning with the Jones Library then upcoming trainings with the DPW, Bangs Center, and Amherst Police Department. Each training emphasizes topics that are geared to the department. For instance, the Jones Library training concentrated on equity and access. The Jones staff has requested more cultural competency training in future sessions. 

The DEI Department co-sponsored the National Day of Racial Healing program on January 21 along with the Human Rights Commission. There is an upcoming liberatory envisioning event with Dr. Barbara Love on Thursday, February 27 at 6 p.m. at the Bangs Center. Other events in the series are scheduled for March 5 and March 12. Finally, a Global Village Festival is planned for April 5 to celebrate the diversity of different cultures with performances and food vendors. 

CSSJC Plans Retreat with Other DEI and Human Rights Committees and Departments
The CSSJC would like to plan a retreat for some time in March. The committee would like to bring together members of CRESS, the DEI Department, and the Human Rights Commission to discuss topics of concern to all four groups. However, the organizers have not heard back from the Town Manager about the availability of space and a budget for a facilitator and refreshments. CSSJC member Pat Romney suggested that the group try to find an agreeable date while awaiting a reply from Bockelman.