Listening Tour TakeAways:
Springfield, MA:
In Springfield, we listened to the needs of students and parents to bolster our education system. Many students, especially those from Black and Brown communities, are living the realities of education inequality; they stayed at home learning remotely for the school year, unable to go into classrooms with proper air filtration systems, while other students were able to return to schools with state of the art HEPA filters and routine testing.
Lawrence, MA:
In Lawrence, we listened to the community’s concerns about housing. How do we keep people here and not gentrify the city, even as housing costs are going up, and pricing people out? We learned of the need to build affordable housing that is affordable, secure, and accessible. Too many people shared stories of not being able to access public transportation to make it to work and put together the pieces to lead a fulfilling life.
26 year old, Littleton, MA “That oppressive, choking fear that you feel [because of the pandemic], my generation feels it every day because of the climate crisis.” How are we going to write regulations that bring an end to our inability to act on climate?
Cape Cod: Down the Cape, so many echoed “How do we keep the Cape affordable for those of us who live here?” Wages are low, but the cost of living is high, and the demand for housing exceeds the supply. Many locals are being priced out and young families are being forced to double and triple up in homes in order to remain in their hometowns.
Plymouth, MA:
On the South Shore, we listened to people’s worries of where their power was coming from, if it was clean, renewable, and safe. One consistent worried about transparency and safety in decommissioning of the Plymouth PowerPlant — people want a government that keeps them informed and engaged.
