Public Hearing

We are jumping back into our conversation surrounding Equity-Based Housing Solutions with this week’s guest, Leah Bradley, Chief Executive Officer of Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance, Inc. (CMHA) - a non-profit whose mission is to create a collaborative response to homelessness that fosters long-term housing stability through prevention, quality services, education, and advocacy. Josh and Le...

We’re excited to announce our Pass The Mic initiative which will welcome guest hosts to our show to have conversations with others in the community about specific topics. In this episode, we introduce our first guest host, Raquel Castro-Corazzini to talk about Casita Cultura Latina, a Latine cultural organization that hosts the Día de Los Muertos event in Worcester taking place on Saturday, Octobe...

We continue our series on Equity-Based Housing Solutions with this week’s guest, Yvette Dyson, the Executive Director of Worcester Common Ground (WCG). WCG is a Community Development Corporation for the Piedmont/Austin Street area in Worcester, MA and has developed 197 units of affordable housing, 27 first-time homeownership properties, and preserved 6 green spaces for community farming and commun...

Our conversation on Equity-based Housing Solutions continues with this week’s guest, Dr. Eniya Lufumpa who currently serves as the Department of Health and Human Services Director Strategist and team lead, and is currently the Director of Homeless Services. Dr Lufumpa and Josh shed light on the mindset that individuals should be at the center of all the work that the department does so that they c...

In this week’s conversation about Equity-Based Housing Solutions we are talking with Nikki Bell and Desiree Demos from the Living In Freedom Together, otherwise known as LIFT. LIFT is an organization that serves survivors of commercial sexual exploitation and women and others in our community impacted by the sex trade. Josh, Nikki, and Desiree talk about the resources that are available to those w...

Our conversation with District Five City Councilor, Etel Haxhiaj, continues. The aftermath of the Mill Street Pond apartment collapse shed light on the realities of renting in Worcester. Landlords are not held responsible for their mistreatment, and renters are left to fend for themselves . Josh and Etel discuss how housing legislation falls short, and share their thoughts on improving these polic...

ARPA update! Tune in to hear from our guest Casey Burns from the Coalition for a Healthy Greater Worcester as she talks upcoming ARPA application deadlines, submission resources, and community involvement in the decision making process. Casey also provides insight about the Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) and how it can impact funding strategies and priorities throughout the City. There i...

Public Hearing is continuing our series on Equity-based Housing Solutions with District Five City Counselor and long-time housing advocate, Etel Haxhiaj. Etel believes housing is a human right and speaks with Josh on opportunities to make that a reality—what we can do as residents and how she can leverage her power as a City Councilor to achieve this goal. Check out our last Public Hearing episode...

Public Hearing is back with a new series on Equity-based Housing Solutions . Throughout this series we will be focusing on how communities might address the housing crisis and support unhoused populations through creating accessible, equitable, and sustainable solutions. To kick us off, we’re talking with Domenica Perrone (Instagram @dfperrone ), a Worcester resident with a background in public he...

Part 9/9 from our series: ARPA Funding in Worcester We are back this week with the final episode of our ARPA Funding in Worcester series. Our guest this is episode is Bill Shaner founder of the “Worcester Sucks and I Love It” newsletter and a previous guest on the show. Josh and Bill talk about how we can continue to stay involved in the conversation surrounding how the remaining ARPA dollars will...

June is Pride Month! While Public Hearing celebrates queer all year, we're talking with community members about Pride in Worcester and folx supporting the LGBTQIA2S+ community all year round over the next few episodes. This week, Josh talks with Kat Aguilar, founder of K Sense Co and the admin of Pride Worcester 2022. Josh and Kat talk about the importance of sustainability, community and cre...

Part 8/9 from our mini-series: ARPA Funding in Worcester Public Hearing is back with another episode of our ARPA Funding In Worcester series with this week’s guest, Ron Waddell. Ron is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of Legendary Legacies; a non-profit organization working with black and latino males in the city of Worcester, MA. In this episode, Ron and Josh talk about how we can use the $1...

Part 7/9 from our mini-series: ARPA Funding in Worcester  Public Hearing is back with another episode of our ARPA Funding in Worcester mini-series! This week we discuss mental health with our guest Amy Ebbeson, clinical director at Worcester Addresses Childhood Trauma, also known as Worcester ACTS. In this episode, we talk about the importance of recognizing and addressing mental health issues in...

Part 6/9 from our mini-season: ARPA Funding in Worcester We are back with another episode of our ARPA Funding in Worcester mini-series of Public Hearing. This week’s guest Jeff Turgeon, Executive Director of Mass Hire, continues the conversation to discuss how ARPA dollars can be used to provide funding for business assistance programs such as the Worcester Job Fund. These resources will be able t...

Part 5/9 from our mini-season: ARPA Funding in Worcester We are back with another episode of our ARPA Funding in Worcester on Public Hearing! During this episode, our guest, Alex Corrales, the Chief Executive Officer of the Worcester Housing Authority, and Josh talk about ARPA funding will be used to create and maintain affordable housing in Worcester. They discuss the importance of having afforda...

Part 4/8 from our mini-season: ARPA Funding in Worcester Public Hearing is back with part 4 of our ARPA funding in Worcester mini-series. During this episode, we continue our discussion with our guest, Eric Batista, who will be taking over the role of interim City Manager this June, by addressing some of the common questions and concerns from the community about how the money will be spent and how...

Part 3/8 from our mini-season: ARPA Funding in Worcester We are back with another episode of Public Hearing’s ARPA Funding in Worcester mini-series, with our guest, Jennifer Gaskin, president of the Worcester Caribbean American Carnival Association, which organizes the incredible Worcester Caribbean Festival to showcase some of the arts and culture in our community. This week we are discussing how...

In this episode of Public Hearing, we continue our conversation about ARPA funding in Worcester with our guest, Nelly Medina, a local mother, educator, activist, organizer, to talk about priority populations and how ARPA dollars can be used to support people disproportionately impacted by the COVID 19 pandemic, especially low-end communities and communities of color. We must listen to the impacted...

Part 1/8 from our mini-season: ARPA Funding in Worcester Public Hearing is back this week with another mini-series. During the series, we will be talking with several voices in the community about the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and how the approximately $146 million that Worcester has received from the federal government will be distributed throughout different funding areas in the city: Affo...

In the wake of responses, Facebook comments, and community discussions to an article published in the Worcester Business Journal entitled “ Infiltrating Worcester’s Inner Circle ,” we put a call out to the community to talk with folks engaged in Worcester about their thoughts, feelings, and reactions to this article, which upset a lot of people, and broader themes of inclusion, exclusion, and infl...

In our final episode of our Latino Advisory Commission mini-season, Josh talks with Gina Plata-Nino, a staff attorney at the Central West Justice Center of Community Legal Aid, and a leader in both the Worcester Together effort and the Latino Empowerment and Organizing Network (LEON). Josh and Gina continue discussing our topic and the importance of Latinx representation and community involvement...

Part 2/3 from our mini-season: Establishing the Latino Advisory Commission in Worcester. This week’s guest is Luis Padraja, President of Quinsigamond Community College and a member of the Latino Empowerment Organizing Network (LEON). In this Public Hearing conversation, Josh and Luis talk about how the creation of a Latino Advisory Commission in our city will allow for more Latinx folk to be repre...

Part 1 of 3 of our mini-season: Establishing the Latino Advisory Commission in Worcester. We are back with another mini-series! In this three-part series, we will be discussing the formation of a Latino Advisory Commission in Worcester to better understand the history, the motivation, and hopes for the future. In this episode, we sit down with our first guest Hilda Ramirez who is a member of the L...

Public Hearing is back with our third and final episode of our Civic Engagement in Worcester mini-series featuring our guests Doug Arbetter and Danaah McCallum. In this episode, we wrap up our conversation with Doug and Danaah and talk about how important it is to vote in local elections and how to get involved in your local government including creating a petition and reaching out to your Council...

Public Hearing is back with the second episode of our Civic Engagement in Worcester mini-series. In this episode, we continue our conversation with Doug Arbetter and Danaah McCallum discussing Worcester Politics. We also talk about the recent changes for how the school committee is elected and address some of the confusion that many community members have expressed since the city’s ruling in Novem...