Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) staff will continue to build upon and expand the work of the Berkshire Age-Friendly Vision 2020 Task Force. The goal is to create an age-friendly county.

The Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) Age Friendly Berkshires will be working with AFB Committees, municipalities, regional nonprofits and businesses to support residents thru the Covid-19 pandemic, by coordinating and connecting residents to existing or new services and supports in the community.

Overall, current housing stock and residential neighborhood fabric do not adequately support senior residents as they age in most Berkshire County municipalities. Many seniors are "over-housed" in large family-sized homes, without more appropriate alternatives in their communities. This project proposes to address some of the zoning shortfalls that exacerbate this issue, and to encourage growth that follows the Massachusetts Sustainable Development Principles. Model bylaws, using the Smart Growth/Smart Energy Toolkit and other best practices will be drafted. BRPC will then work intensively with three municipalities (Egremont, Sheffield and North Adams) of varying population sizes, needs and resources, to implement up to two regulations each to encourage the production of sustainable housing to meet the needs of older adults aging in the community. This project will be easily adaptable to other municipalities.

The Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) under contract with BTI for Age Friendly Berkshires will be working with AARP MA to hold a Community Conversation on Loneliness & Social Isolation on Thursday, May 28 from 10-12 via ZOOM.

This project will allow Age Friendly Berkshires to 1) Building awareness among residents in a 6-town sub-region (Becket, Washington, Dalton, Hinsdale, Windsor and Peru) about available transit options for elders, the disabled and other non-drivers 2) Survey residents and municipal leaders about their own/their town’s transit needs 3) Engaging residents/Towns in co-creating a solution(s).

This grant from AARP, will support Volunteerism as a means to increase community connections, health and well-being for participants; to match potential volunteers with local non-profits and municipalities who have open positions that need to be filled; to make better use of nonprofit networks and regional media while increasing community connections; to strengthen existing Volunteer databases; to train potential volunteer or municipal board members to serve their communities.

This grant from AARP, Massachusetts will enable Age Friendly Berkshires to create a dynamic, user-friendly website.

Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) and the Berkshire Medical Reserves Corp. will work together to recruit new members into the Berkshire Medical Reserve Corps and to educate business owners in Berkshire County about their possible roles during a disaster response. BRPC will host a Leadership Breakfast at the Hotel on North for potential new members, with a business resiliency expert as a guest speaker. Participating businesses and organizations will also learn about major disaster risks in Berkshire County, and will learn about local emergency response groups that they can become part of.

Berkshire Regional Planning Commission staff assisted the Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts in coordinating a focus group, including assisting in participant recruitment and hosting the virtual meeting for Berkshire County residents who currently or previously have used tobacco products. The purpose of the group was to understand the experiences and perspectives regarding tobacco access and use, and about options for trying to quit. This focus group was held on Wednesday, April 3rd.

The Berkshire County HIV Engagement Program (B-HIVE) builds upon existing outreach networks, prevention and harm reduction programs to coordinate and implement prevention messaging, strategic peer/street outreach that promotes HIV prevention, testing, and connections to care.

BRPC has been retained as a consultant to write Berkshire Health Systems' Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA).

The provision of blood pressures cuffs from the American Heart Association (AHA) will allow the Public Health Nurses (PHN) to supply needed blood pressure cuffs to the public. The PHN identify individuals with high blood pressure at community clinics, and provide them with a free cuff and education on use, as well as ensuring those with dangerously high blood pressure seek medical attention. The AHA has also provided printed materials for public education.

BRPC Public Health staff, funded by the Western Region Homeland Security Advisory Council (WRHSAC) will conduct a strategic planning process to determine the scope of a COVID After Action Report (AAR) for Western Mass responders. BRPC will work with the WRHSAC Pan Flu/Planning Subcommittee, as well as with targeted respondents in order to develop a plan and scope of services for the AAR consultant.

Emergency funding for COVID-19 public health response. Funding is for the 24 Berkshire Public Health Alliance municipalities and five unaffiliated communities.

Emergency funding for COVID-19 public health nursing.

This project will allow the BRPC Public Health Program to increase vaccination among local residents who are elderly, disabled, home bound, or otherwise unable to travel, to receive their vaccines for COVID-19 and influenza either through home visits from our Public Health Nurses or through assistance with transportation to vaccination sites. The project will also formalize a sustainable relationship with our partners so that these services can be provided in the future as well.

Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) will aid under this project to prepare organizations to reunite children with their families in emergencies. Phase II will focus on outreach and education regarding the Plan.

This funding will allow the Public Health Program Manager to act as the Western Mass Public Health Association (WMPHA) representative to the Coalition for Local Public Health (CLPH). In addition, BRPC will help develop a simple website for the use of WMPHA.

This grant will support the County Health Initiative (CHI) in developing and implementing a Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) for Berkshire County.

Berkshire Regional Planning Commission and Partners will participate in technical assistance meetings with Northampton Health Department to engage in capacity building, infrastructure, education co-learning, and program development.

This project will allow the County Health Initiative (CHI) to build capacity, and to sponsor an event corresponding with the release of the 2019 County Health Rankings.

In previous response exercises, it was reported that there was a gap in first responders' ability to meet the access and functional needs of the population. This gap has also been identified in several real-world responses. Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) will focus on meeting access and functional needs of the population in everyday incidents and large-scale incidents such as MCI or large-scale disaster response.

This project will allow the BRPC Public Health Program to conduct a needs assessment relevant to improving equity in emergency management planning, preparedness, and response in Western Massachusetts.

A webinar that will be accessible on the Berkshire Overdose Addiction Prevention Collaborative's (BOAPC) website. This webinar will teach parents how to become an advocate for their child with substance use disorder.

The purpose of the Berkshire County Community Engagement & Response Program is to work with the existing emergency preparedness coalition and newly-engaged community partners, including people living with HIV (PLWH) and those who are actively working with injection drug users (IDU), to do a series of community workshops, design a blood-borne pathogen (HIV) community response plan, and to test that plan at an exercise. This HIV community response plan will reflect Berkshire County's unique geographical and demographical needs and the specific needs of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH) and active drug users; it will also be used in future years as a template upon which to build a more comprehensive blood-borne pathogen outbreak community response plan.

The HEALing Communities Study (HCS) aims to reduce opioid-related overdose deaths by 40% during the 18 months of the study through implementation of Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs) across health care, behavioral health, justice, and other community settings by: Increasing naloxone (Narcan) distribution and overdose prevention education Increasing access to medication for opioid use disorder Improving opioid prescribing safety From July 2022 through December 2023, a coalition of diverse community stakeholders is meeting to review local data and resources, consider how to best apply the EBPs locally, then continually evaluate their implementation and impact.

This project will allow the Berkshire Public Health Alliance to create templates and standards for board of health best practices to support uniform, efficient and effective board of health offices. The Alliance will work with several smaller towns to implement practices.

This grant will allow the Berkshire Public Health Alliance to provide technical assistance to small Boards of Health in areas where they are struggling. Several focus groups will be held with Boards of Health to determine areas that are challenging, materials will be gathered into a guide and in-person field assistance will be provided.

Supported Franklin Medical Reserve Corps efforts. This work included meetings with Emergency Preparedness stakeholders, development of training needs assessments, participation in exercises and drills, and management of volunteers.

The Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) will research existing guidance, plans and practices and compile information most relevant to establishing a Non-Pharmaceutical Intervention (NPI) in Western Massachusetts to slow the spread of illness.

Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC), through the Berkshire Public Health Alliance is coordinating the Berkshire Opioid Abuse Prevention Collaborative. The purpose of the Berkshire Opioid Abuse Prevention Collaborative (BOAPC) is to implement local policy, practice, systems, and/or environmental changes to prevent the misuse and abuse of opioids and to prevent and reduce unintentional deaths and non-fatal hospital events associated with opioid poisonings throughout the 32 municipalities in Berkshire County.

The four-county Western Massachusetts collaboration will transform the systems serving emerging adults to prevent opioid misuse, address the needs of young adults currently addicted to opioids, and increase their health outcomes as they transition into adulthood.

Boston Medical Center (BMC) was awarded $89 million in funding to lead a research study with the goal of reducing opioid deaths by 40% in some of the most heavily impacted Massachusetts communities. BMC’s study is part of a bold, trans-agency effort to speed scientific solutions to stem the national opioid crisis. The approach of BMC's study will be to partner with 16 communities across the state to test the impact of a community-engaged intervention with an integrated set of evidence-based practices delivered across healthcare, behavioral health, justice, and other community-based settings. Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, via the Berkshire Opioid Addiction Prevention Collaborative, is the fiscal agent and the coordinator of the Pittsfield site.

This funding will be used to support the Berkshire Opioid Addiction Prevention Collaborative’s post-overdose engagement work in the Northern Berkshire region.

The Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, through the Berkshire Public Health Alliance is coordinating the Berkshire Opioid Abuse Prevention Collaborative. The Berkshire Opioid Abuse Prevention Collaborative will develop and implement local policies, practices, systems and environmental changes to prevent the misuse or abuse of opioids, prevent or reduce unintentional deaths and non-fatal hospital events associated with opioid poisonings and increase the capacity of municipalities to deal with the growing problem.

Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) will develop an accessible walking path behind the Dalton Senior Center Council on Aging Building. BRPC will also purchase ADA compliant seating, chess tables and outdoor exercise equipment for adults to use. These amenities are expected to increase use of this park by all ages.

The Berkshire Post-Overdose Program (BPOP) aims to send out field teams consisting of EMS and Peer Support Workers to provide outreach to those who have recently experienced an overdose and/or are at heightened risk for future overdose. These visits will include a wellness check, connection to naloxone, and linkage to recovery, harm reduction, and/or treatment resources that the person may be interested in.

This grant supports post-overdose engagement pilots in Northern Berkshire and Pittsfield, as well as comprehensive harm reduction policy work county-wide.

The Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) will participate in the Peer Technical Assistance Network Summit related to aging population.

The Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) Age Friendly Berkshires will be working with the City of Pittsfield Disability Commission and AdLib to assess food pantry sites for accessibility by persons with disabilities and review the transportation network in the neighborhoods in which the pantries are located, with an eye toward improving access to pantries for food-insecure residents.

The Pittsfield Youth Prevention Coalition (PYPC) will establish a substance use prevention and protection collaborative for middle school and high school ages in Central Berkshire County. This initiative is intended to prevent and/or reduce misuse of substances of first use (e.g., alcohol, nicotine, cannabis) among youth and/or the consequences associated with substance use (e.g., driving under the influence, inconsistent enforcement of school chemical health policies).

This funding is to support public health activities related to the prevention and treatment of hepatitis C (HCV). BOAPC will reconvene the county-wide hepatitis C working group, work with clinical partners to train more primary care physicians/clinical partners in providing treatment for HCV, and will facilitate two in-person Community of Practice dinners for clinicians in the Berkshires interested in learning more about HCV, a fall county-wide 'HCV Treatment Update' for any interested providers to learn about current practices and changes to HCV treatment, and a training for medical residents at BMC in October 2023.

This contract from the PHIWM covers limited time spent by BRPC full time staff on the Racial Equity Capacity Building assessment and training program facilitated by the Women of Color Health Equity Collective (WOCHEC).

Berkshire Regional Planning Commission will engage in the second phase of the Racial Equity Capacity Building (RECB) pilot program with Public Health Institute of Western MA (PHIWM) and the Women of Color Health Equity Collective (WOCHEC). Within this project, BRPC will work with WOCHEC to review internal and external policies, attend Advisory Board Meetings, and attend a summit for the program in June 2023.

Implementation and Expansion of the “Strengthening the Berkshire County Regional Food System with Locally-Sourced Mobile Farmers Market to Serve Low Access Populations” (Berkshire Mobile Farmers Market) project will build on prior and ongoing collaborative efforts to expand local food production and delivery systems as well as bring the benefits of fresh and healthy locally grown food to under served communities and individuals. By increasing the regional food supply network, the Berkshire Mobile Farmers Market Project will improve community resiliency by diminishing our reliance on long-distance food chains, improve equitable access to local, healthy food options, especially for low-income, remote, and rural families, educate the public on the availability and benefits of local foods, and mitigate the stigma of using SNAP benefits and food pantries. The Berkshire Regional Planning Commission joins Berkshire Bounty, Berkshire Grown, and the Southern Berkshire Rural Health Network and partners with Berkshire United Way and Community Health Programs in this partnership. Each partner addresses a distinct food production, storage, purchase, and distribution aspect.

The Western Region Homeland Security Advisory Council (WRHSAC) Training and Exercise Committee has allocated funds to exercise the Regional Shelter Plans adopted last year. There will be exercises coordinated with each of the three Regional Emergency Planning Committees in Berkshire County.

This project aims to understand and address the root causes of disparities during heat emergencies.

This project, associated with the Rural Vaccination Equity grant, will allow for work on root causes of health inequities. Specifically, this project will provide funding to create a toolkit for municipalities looking to diversify their housing and a checklist for municipalities interested in housing rehab programs.

This project is focused on the rural municipalities in central Berkshire County (Windsor, Washington, Dalton, Becket, Richmond, Lanesborough, Peru, Hinsdale). The initial phase of this project will be focus on meeting the immediate needs surrounding response to COVID-19 possibly including assessment, COVID education and outreach, information dissemination, supporting current and future vaccination needs, and implementing other state resources. The second phase will focus on supporting resiliency and addressing the factors that created poor outcomes during the pandemic, with a focus on a specific projects or projects that aim to eliminate or reduce a barrier or factor.

This project will allow BTI/BRPC to study the feasibility of applying the national Village to Village Network model to a low-income, rural population. The project will focus on the north county municipalities of North Adams, Adams, Clarksburg, Florida and Savoy.

BRPC will support Southern Berkshire REPC in developing an After-Action Report for their Hazardous Waste Train Derailment exercise.

This project will transition the already developed Spontaneous Unaffiliated Volunteer (SUV) training developed for the Western Region Homeland Security Advisory Council (WRHSAC) and transition it to the more engaging and user-friendly format of Adobe Captivate. The trainings are available on the WRHSAC website.

This project will transition the already developed Spontaneous Unaffiliated Volunteer (SUV) training developed for the Western Region Homeland Security Advisory Council (WRHSAC) and transition it to the more engaging and user-friendly format of Adobe Captivate. The trainings are available on the WRHSAC website.

BRPC's Public Health Program will design and develop a comprehensive, HSEEP-compliant tabletop exercise (TTX) scenario focused on municipal evacuation and sheltering in response to either a natural disaster or an act of terrorism. The consultant will also develop related injects that can be integrated into a card game format, allowing municipal officials and their partners to conduct the exercise independently, in multiple settings, and over time if wanted.

The Berkshire Public Health Alliance Public Health Nursing Program will offer Timed Up and Go (TUG) testing at flu clinics in the fall, and five Matter of Balance (MOB) classes in public health nursing contracted communities in the Spring.

The project will conduct an exercise series exploring how to hold public vaccination clinics during a pandemic.  This grant will allow the Public Health Program to review existing Emergency Dispensing Site Plans, conduct a Tabletop exercise in the summer and then hold three or more seasonal flu clinic drills in the fall to test the plan.