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 be spent in Worcester and how we can hold the city accountable so that the funding is sustainable and promoting equity within our community.

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 creating equitable spaces and oppurtunities that others can use and build upon to continue the equitable and innovative work in our city. Tune in and share!

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 $147 million in ARPA funding that has been granted to the city of Worcester to promote equity and how we can hold city officials accountable as well as how this money can be used to reprioritize how and where we spend resources in our communities in ways that are sustainable.

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 our community as well as how crucial it is to also address these kinds of issues in oneself. Education and spreading awareness about mental health not only reduces harmful stigma but can also help individuals live happy and joy-filled lives as well as create equity within our city.

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 to help employee’s and employers recover from the COVID-19 pandemic as well as assist folks with the cost of necessary training courses in order for them to obtain jobs or positions that require a little bit more formal training.

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 affordable housing available within the city and how this creates and promotes equity in Worcester as well as helping address the systemic failures that are the root causes of homelessness and access to housing.

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 the funding will be used to create and promote equity in Worcester. Another topic addressed in this episode is how we can make information that comes from the city more accessible in order for the public to be more involved in the decision-making process.

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 ARPA dollars can be used to promote Arts & Culture and the local creativity and innovation that Worcester is known for as well as what we as community members might consider advocating for as these funds are distributed.

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 members of the community and hold the city accountable in order to promote equity justice and the pursuit of joy-filled futures for all.

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: Affordable Housing, Social Services, Mental Health, Business Assistance, and Arts & Culture. In our first episode with Gina Plata-Nino we will be giving an introduction to ARPA and answering some of the questions that have been raised in the community; what is ARPA? How can the money be spent? How can we hold the city accountable for using these funds? In next week’s episode, we will be focusing on how funding can be distributed to priority populations in Worcester to promote equity within the City.

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 influence in Worcester.

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 in furthering issues of equity. We talk about youth voice being essential for creating equity within the city and how crucial it is for groups, like the commission, to be held accountable to ensure that progress is being made and equity is being promoted.

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 represented with a seat at decision-making tables to further advocacy and support for the unique and intersecting needs of Worcester’s Latinx communities

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 Latino Empowerment and Organizing Network (also known as LEON) to talk about the history that has led to the advocacy for a Latino Advisory Commission in Worcester and some of the ongoing efforts of the Latino community working towards creating more equitable spaces and how this work can continue in the future.

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 Councilors. We also talk about the process of running for an elected position in the city of Worcester.

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 November, as well as, the importance of teaching youth about their local government and how they can make a difference in their communities.

Public Hearing is back with another mini-series! In this three-part series we will be discussing the Worcester city government and the importance of community involvement in local politics with Doug Arbetter, who has run for school committee and city council, and Danaah McCallum, formally on the board of election commissioners.

We are back with our first new episode of 2022 with our guest and Worcester-based journalist, Bill Shaner who runs the popular newsletter, Worcester Sucks and I Love It.

In our final episode of our Early Education & Care mini-series, Josh speaks with Vanessa Martinez who is the Assistant Director and Subsidy Administrator of the YWCA of Central Massachusetts Early Education & Care Program.

In our fourth episode of our Early Childhood Education & Care mini-series, Josh speaks to Anh Vu Sawyer of the Southeast Asian Coalition about some of the challenges that immigrants and refugees face when coming to the U.S. and how the coalition works towards helping these families adjust and thrive by treating them with dignity and respect and providing a sense of community.