Commonwealth Conversations: Engage!

Join Us on January 25 to Black Out Bullying

Hi, my name is Emaan Syed and I am the Essex County representative on the Governor’s Youth Council.  I live in North Andover and am studying at Umass Amherst.

The Council narrowed down two main issues we wanted to focus on during our term; youth violence prevention and education, from those two issues, we decided to focus on the issue of bullying facing the Commonwealth, as well as across the country.  While bullying has been around for centuries, recently, bullying is greater of an issue to us.  

Bullying is important to me because it is an unnecessary obstacle that too many students are facing in life.  Bullies are everywhere in the world and in life, and at times do not realize the inner damage that they cause in others.  The majority of youth that deal with being bullied do not show their distraught emotions or feelings to others, especially the bullies, while their internal struggle goes unknown.  It is important for the youth to come together and put an end to bullying, we are the ones with the most influence on the matter.  Students should not, “Put up with put downs”, do not put up with yourself, or your peers being bullied. 

Positive ways to prevent bullying include:

• Not saying hurtful words to people
• Encouraging positive language
• Not bringing yourself up by putting others down
• Be accepting of others' differences
• Not letting the words get to you
• Confiding in someone you trust

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Hi, my name is Kaden Belanger and I am the Hampshire County representative on the Governor’s Youth Council.

Black Out Bullying was created by the members of Governor's Youth Council to have the students in the Commonwealth take a stand against hate. When voting on whether to take on bullying, I strongly advocated my approval on this issue. 

I graduated from South Hadley High School in 2010 as Senior Class, Student Government and Gay-Straight Alliance President. I was also part of the  Peer Leaders group at my high school. It was only two years ago that a student at my school committed suicide because of bullying. As a leader of my school, I did all I could to help the students to ensure that this will never happen again. 

Today, suicide caused by bullying is more apparent in our nation. As a member of the Governor's Youth Council, I will take a stand to ensure that the Commonwealth will never have a youth suicide again. On the 25th of January, we must all band together as students to finally Black Out Bullying in the Commonwealth. The best way to fight hate is by coming together as a community to work in ending bullying in each of our areas. I strongly encourage all of you this Wednesday to wear black and take the pledge against bullying.

 

Bay State Briefs: Health Care on the Road, Teen Equality and White Ribbon Day

Time for your Bay State in Brief for the week! Watch our weekly episode below to learn more about the Governor's health care proposal and his events this past week.

The Governor spent the first part of the week in Washington, DC, attending the annual meeting of the National Governors' Association, working with our federal partners on job growth and testifying before the United States Congress on health care reform.

Over the weekend, the Governor joined a roundtable of the nation's Governors in a discussion on ABC's This Week about the "state of the states" and Massachusetts' strategy for growing jobs, protecting education and expanding health care. Watch part of his appearance below:

Bay State Briefs: Visiting Waltham, Barnstable High School & Rallying for Jobs

It’s been another busy week in the Governor’s Office! This week, Governor Patrick travelled throughout the state promoting job creation and meeting with locals as they voice their concerns.

On Tuesday, the Governor visited Career Opportunities in Hyannis to connect with unemployed youths and adults and learn more about how the center is assisting unemployed Cape Codders. Learn more about Career Opportunities here.

On Wednesday, Governor Patrick met with the Quincy Jobs Club at IHOP to hear member’s concerns and to follow up on last year’s visit. Later that day, Governor Patrick visited both South Shore and Brockton Hospitals to discuss the Administration’s healthcare cost-containment legislation.

Yesterday, the Governor promoted job growth for youths at the Youth Summer Jobs Rally at the State House. At the rally, the Governor spoke of the importance of youth jobs and encouraged the private sector to hire youth workers. Read more about the event in the Associated Press.

In addition to all we’re doing here, our partners in state agencies have been out and about doing good work too! Here are just a few recent updates from around your state government blogosphere:

• Many prospective clean energy companies are deterred by the high start up costs. Check out the Energy Smarts blog as the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) highlights the efforts of their Clean Energy Equipment Grant projects.
• Need some school vacation ideas? Check out the Great Outdoors blog! This week they are highlighting winter agricultural tourism. 

 

 

Dear Students: Stay Here

October 4, 2010

Students of Massachusetts:

My path to Massachusetts may be similar to your own. I'm originally from elsewhere, the South Side of Chicago. I came here as a teenager when a program called “A Better Chance” offered me just that – a chance to attend school. I am the first person in my family to attend college, and have had a varied and exciting career since.

Massachusetts is my home now, and has been for most of the last 40 years. I didn't pursue my current job because elected office is my career, and I certainly knew it wasn’t going to be easy. I wanted to serve because of my gratitude to the Commonwealth for all the hope and life-changing opportunity I have been given here.

As students here, you already know that Massachusetts offers the very best educational experience in the world. But you may not know that school is just the beginning of all we have to offer. This state is a great place to live and work. We’re adding jobs faster than 47 other states (nearly 65,000 new jobs since December 2009), and climbing out of recession faster and stronger than the rest of the country. We lead the Nation in student achievement and health care. And we have an unparalleled quality of life, with diverse and beautiful people and regions and great cultural attractions.

The Commonwealth is also a great place to start a business. In its 2010 edition of America's Top States for Business, CNBC ranked Massachusetts in the top five nationally for business competitiveness. And we have an unparalleled entrepreneurial spirit -- which is why for Students of Massachusetts the second year in a row, Suffolk University’s Beacon Hill Institute ranked Massachusetts at the top in its annual Competitiveness Report.

So here’s my point: we want you to stay here. Business, academic and government leaders from across the state have come together to organize a “Stay Here” campaign, a concerted and collaborative effort to show you the opportunities that Massachusetts has to offer and to persuade you to stay here when school is done. You can learn more about it at www.massitsallhere.com/stayhere. You are the Commonwealth’s most valuable resource. Your future is bright. Let’s together make ours brighter. Stay here!

Sincerely,

Deval Patrick

Improving Health Insurance for College Students

David Morales

Commissioner, Division of Health Care Finance and Policy

View Commissioner's Bio

This week, Governor Patrick announced the culmination of an unprecedented collaborative effort amongst state and community colleges and state agencies to improve access to affordable student health insurance in Massachusetts. 

As early as this August, state and community colleges will offer students a health insurance option that features enhanced benefits, such as access to a broader provider network and medical management tools, with minimal change in premium cost.  Its important to note that the new option will eliminate benefit limits (including maximum dollar coverage limit for all services provided in a year and per illness and injury caps on outpatient services) that at times can leave students with unaffordable medical bills. 

The Governor directed this multi-stakeholder collaborative to reform student health insurance after reviewing our report on student health programs in Massachusetts. The Student Health Programs Baseline Report, released by the Division of Health Care Finance and Policy in November 2009, showed that students were not receiving appropriate coverage or value through their current student health plans. Of particular concern was the number of students exceeding their benefit coverage limits, exposing students to significant out-of-pocket costs. 

In response to our report, Higher Education Commissioner Richard Freeland convened the Student Health Plan Steering Committee, including students and administrators from the Commonwealth's state and community colleges, as well as representatives from the University of Massachusetts; Commonwealth Connector Authority; the Department of Higher Education; the Executive Office of Education; the Executive Office for Administration and Finance; the Executive Office of Health and Human Services; and the Division of Health Care Finance and Policy.

Moving forward, the Division will continue to support student health insurance reform by collecting, analyzing, and reporting data from school plans. We intend to release an updated report on student health programs later this spring.

The Division will continue to collaborate with the steering committee to expand the group purchasing effort. The University of Massachusetts system has committed to join the procurement next year bringing an additional 13,000 students, and there is similar interest from several private institutions. As the effort expands, the steering committee plans to develop a model which allows students to choose the health plan that best meets their needs and exercise greater choice over their benefit options. This effort has demonstrated the effectiveness of consolidated purchasing and leveraging the professional health insurance expertise of the Connector to achieve greater value for students. Moving forward, we hope to continue to build upon the successes of this initiative by expanding high value student health options to an even broader base of students and schools. 

For more information about student health insurance in Massachusetts, including the related reports, FAQs, and regulatory material, please visit www.mass.gov/dhcfp. You can also follow the Division's news and updates on www.twitter.com/masshealthcare.

Great conversation with young people in Chelsea

Posted by:
Elizabeth Clay, Director of Grassroots Governance

Last week, Roca, a non-profit organization serving young people in Chelsea hosted the Governor's Office of Civic Engagement for a discussion about their Massachusetts. The conversation started with education- from the strengths and weaknesses of local high schools (good: supportive programs like college prep, bad: teachers who encourage students to drop out of school) to the high cost of college.

We were talking with AmeriCorps members between the ages of 18-22 who have grown up in Chelsea, East Boston, Revere and Lynn, and they had a lot of good things to say about local development over the last decade. They noted better parks and playgrounds, improved public transportation (though they would prefer if the MBTA operated 24 hours) and strong community-city partnerships. A few said they would consider moving to other places, such as New York for the entertainment industry or Southern cities for a lower cost of living. For now, they are all making a difference in their communities through service and have a ton to contribute- and the Commonwealth will be a better place if they stay.

Members of Young Mothers Corps and Youth STAR AmeriCorps at Roca in Chelsea

The "What's Your Massachusetts" young adult listening tour will wrap up at the end of the year with a report to Governor Patrick which we will share on this blog. If you haven't made it to a meeting, share a thought with us in the comments here, and take a look at resources for young adults at the Live here. Work Here. Play Here. page.

Young Adults Engaged on the Cape

Posted by: Cynthia Orellana, Commonwealth Corps Coordinator

On Thursday evening we held our latest forum of the “What’s Your Massachusetts” Young Adult series with Secretary Greg Bialecki of the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development.  This time we met with about 100 young adults in Hyannis from across the Cape Cod region. The panel and audience raised many different issues, both positive and challenging, that young adults face on the Cape.

Gary Sheehan, co-founder of the Cape Cod Young Professionals kicked off the forum. The panel included Erin Madden from Cape Cod Broadcasting, Patrick Johnson from the Governor’s Youth Council, Rayssa Ribeiro from Cape Cod Community College, and Patrick Cassidy, a reporter for the Cape Cod Times who worked on a young adult series called Generation Exit that the paper put together a year ago.

At left, Rayssa Ribeiro from Cape Cod Community College.
At right, Patrick Johnson from the Governor’s Youth Council.

As the evening unfolded, we heard a range of topics; some echoed what other young people have said in other regions, yet were unique to life on the Cape. For example, the need for affordable housing has been a popular theme across forums, but on the Cape it included the need for more rental units and start-up housing for young families, confronting youth homelessness and finding solutions via use of the vacant seasonal housing stock.

Cape Cod’s vacation destination status was a source for many of the comments raised including what makes it a desirable place to live, as well as the challenges of being a seasonal economy. People suggested more entry level jobs and permanent employment opportunities; the need to support local small businesses and establish a niche for certain industries, e.g. “The Silicon Sandbar.” Another important theme had to do with inclusion of recent immigrant communities, including through educational institutions.

Thanks to all who came and shared their voice! If you didn’t get a chance to attend, please share your thoughts and recommendations. We will continue to meet with smaller organized groups of young people over the next month in Worcester and Chelsea to continue the discussions about the issues that matter most to them.
 

Talking with teens in Springfield

Posted by:
Elizabeth Clay, Director of Grassroots Governance

Last Wednesday afternoon, we met with thirty Springfield Coalition Youth Ambassadors from different neighborhoods in Springfield as a part of the fall listening tour. They told us what they liked about living in Springfield and Massachusetts in general: Great history and famous people, good community centers, top-quality drinking water, universal health insurance, colleges nearby, the Basketball Hall of Fame and much more.

Then they talked a lot about what needed improvement, starting with where they spend most of their time: School. From buses to high school testing, bullying to the high drop-out rate- the students had some strong perspectives. Some suggested shifting the curriculum to include service-based and practice-oriented learning so they could apply their learning and connect with local businesses and non-profits, as well as adding health, financial literacy and home economics coursework.

Check out more of what they had to say in the video highlights (courtesy Springfield Institute) and here:

Many of these are issues that the Governor's Statewide Youth Council will be advising the Governor on following their successful summit this weekend, stay tuned for an update from that event.
The Office of Civic Engagement hopes to connect with other organized youth groups in meetings next month. If your group would like to host a meeting, please email grassroots.governance@state.ma.us.

Special thanks to the Dunbar Community Center, Northern Educational Service, Inc. (NES) and the City of Springfield REACH program!

Governor Patricks meets with hundreds of young adults at UMass

Posted by:
Elizabeth Clay, Director of Grassroots Governance

Wednesday afternoon we held our first lunchtime young adults meeting with Governor Patrick at UMass Amherst with more engaged and eager participants than ever before. (Check out The Daily Collegian and several local newspapers that covered the dialogue). Over 300 people representing almost every county in Western Massachusetts from North Adams to Springfield to Amherst, packed the Student Union Ballroom and brought with them a range of ideas and suggestions for the Governor and our distinguished panel. 

             

Serving on the panel were Tony Maroulis from the Amherst Chamber of Commerce, Ruby Maddox-Fisher from the Center for the Environment at Mt. Holyoke College, Aron Goldman from the Springfield Institute and Brianna Johnson from UMass Amherst who shared their perspectives as young community and business leaders.

Key topics raised in the discussion included identifying new state revenue sources, the high cost of living in the Commonwealth, youth violence, and "turning blue collar jobs green", among others.

As the event was held on a college campus, one issue that was clearly on the minds of many in attendance was voiced by Marco Cross, a junior at UMass who addressed the increasing cost of public higher education, the decrease in state appropriations for higher education and a sense that student loans are becoming increasingly difficult to secure.(Find out what resources are available as you pursue your secondary and post secondary education here).

Thanks to everyone who came and participated! If you didn’t get to ask your question or you weren’t able to make it, we still want to here what would make you excited to stay in Massachusetts. What would you recommend?

Governor talks education, housing and more with young adults in Boston

Posted by:
Elizabeth Clay, Director of Grassroots Governance

Last Thursday, we had a great conversation with Governor Patrick and four dynamic panelists: Joe Porcelli, Emmett Price, Hang Nina Nguyen and Desiree Arevalo. 

Over 150 people were there to share their perspectives, questions and suggestions.

Getting started, panelists talked about Boston’s reputation for being unwelcoming, though many participants were interested in reaching out to their neighbors to create a community (like through Joe’s project Neighbors for Neighbors)

The quality of education in urban communities like Boston and affordable housing were major issues discussed in the forum. A Northeastern senior who attended Boston public schools raised a great question in the clip below, and the Governor responded with his own experience, his latest legislative effort to improve education and a request for help:

Affordable housing was another key issue, with Nina sharing her knowledge of programs that can help residents such as the Soft Second Program.

One hour wasn’t long enough to hear all your questions and suggestions, so let us know what you think- what other issues are critical to making Massachusetts a place you want to stay? And if you couldn’t attend- what would you like to ask or recommend?