Kara Kavanaugh, the recovery coach program supervisor at The RECOVER Project, paints the front window on Friday. For the Recorder/Catherine Hurley[/caption]

By CHRIS LARABEE, JULIAN MENDOZA and CATHERINE HURLEY
Staff Writers

As the weather warms up and people celebrated Earth Day over the weekend, folks around Franklin County took their spring cleaning beyond the walls of their homes and helped clean up their communities.

Cleaning kicks off in Greenfield

At The RECOVER Project in Greenfield, a handful of people gathered to pick up trash along Federal Street on Friday.

Near the Hangar Pub and Grill, Melanie Farr and her son, 11-year-old Henry Rollins, gathered pieces of glass, cans and wires into city-issued blue trash bags.

“It’s more inviting. It looks better,” Farr said of the street as she walked along, adding to her bag.

Inside The RECOVER Project office, Kara Kavanaugh, the recovery coach program supervisor, painted a scene of grass and flowers on the building’s front windows. Earth Day and the cleanup provided an opportunity to change the painting for spring, she said.

“It’s a city that keeps giving back, and we want to give back to the city,” Tom Lavoie, The RECOVER Project’s peer and community engagement coordinator said as he collected trash outside. “It’s pride. We live here.” […]

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By: WWLP Digital First, Sy Becker

Posted: Oct 21, 2021 / 03:26 PM EDT / Updated: Oct 21, 2021 / 06:58 PM EDT

GREENFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Franklin County is so proud of the diversity of its courthouse personnel, they celebrated with a Cultural Appreciation Day.

It’s not every day you hear the Libro Azul Latin Jazz and Salsa band playing on the lawn of the Franklin County Justice Center, providing food and acrobatics and welcoming an audience of passersby. Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan told 22News, the criminal justice system in Franklin County has much to be proud of.

“I’m just thrilled there is a band in front of the courthouse that welcomes people and that it’s a Latinex band that celebrates our diversity not just the court system, but the whole community. How has the court system adapted to this new age diversity? I think they’ve done a great job, and they’ve made a point that we have members of all communities that also work here,” said Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan.

Over several hours, courthouse personnel celebrated through music and other forms of positive courthouse interaction.

Massachusetts Trial Court Chief Justice Paula Carey was joined with Massachusetts Trial Court Administrator John Bello, and Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Associate Justice Serges Georges, Jr., with other community and youth speakers.

[…]

Hilltown Recovery Theatre will be offering aerial arts demonstrations as well. Community organizations offering resources and information at the event include:

• Center for Human Development
• Children’s Advocacy Center of Franklin and North Quabbin
• Greenfield Community College
• Hilltown Recovery Theatre
• Massachusetts Department of Mental Health
• North Quabbin Community Coalition
• Office of Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan
• Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region
• Recovery Connection Centers of America
• Stone Soup Café
• The RECOVER Project

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By CHRIS LARABEE
Staff Writer, Greenfield Recorder
Published: 6/18/2021 2:38:32 PM

GREENFIELD — Local family-serving agencies and volunteers attended a three-day training session at The RECOVER Project last week to learn about the Strengthening Families Program.

The program, run over seven weeks, focuses on building family relationships through topics such as stress, communication and love. Parents and teens ages 10 to 14 participate together once a week in two-hour sessions where they participate in activities and discussions.

[…]

The Strengthening Families Program has been shown to be effective at reducing youth drug and alcohol use by strengthening family relationships, according to a press release from the Communities That Care Coalition.

The six trainees and additional volunteers that participated last week are now able to bring the program back to their agencies and provide its benefits to the community at large. Agencies might not implement the program right away, but Allen said The Brick House Community Resource Center in Turners Falls and The RECOVER Project in Greenfield are eager to add it to their summer services.

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