Funding will help group meet the needs of people with disabilities in the region

From left, Glee, direct support staff member, Kwadwo, residential director, Dulce, direct care staff member, and client Sabrina work together at the Arc of Opportunity in North Central Mass. (courtesy of ARC OF OPPORTUNITY)

A vital institution in need receives a timely financial boost.

The Arc of Massachusetts, part of a national organization that provides direct care to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, recently received critical funding to help fill its shortage of staff to care for this vulnerable population.

Currently, this staff shortage has deprived more than 3,000 adults of access to day or employment services. However, the Arc’s recent award of more than $1.6 million in federal funds for its workforce recruitment program will hopefully significantly reduce this backlog.

It’s all thanks to U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, who the organization says organized $1.635 million in federal funding to help create a statewide marketing campaign to promote recruitment of staff in the Arc of Massachusetts’ 17 nonprofit chapters, including the Fitchburg-based Arc of Opportunity in North Central Mass and Incompass Human Services in Chelmsford.

Hopefully other service-providing agencies will be able to replicate the program, The Arc said.

“I am pleased that the Arc of Massachusetts will receive $1.635 million in federal funding that Senator Markey and I helped secure for its workforce recruitment program,” Warren said in a statement. “With this federal funding, the Arc of Massachusetts will be able to recruit more direct care workers who provide critical care to people with disabilities. »

Arc executive director Leo Sarkissian said the funding is expected to “significantly increase staffing levels.”

“This will give hope to the many adults and families who are desperately waiting for services.” The lack of services has a ripple effect: families and other caregivers face job cuts or layoffs to care for their loved ones, while people who cannot participate in programs experience the isolation and behavioral regression,” Sargsyan said.

These additional resources will allow the Arc of Massachusetts to continue the national organization’s caring mission, begun more than seven decades ago.

For more than 65 years, The Arc of Opportunity has supported people with disabilities and their families in North Central Massachusetts. It is part of the largest national community organization that advocates and supports people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families.

Its person-centered programs support each individual’s unique abilities and circumstances and help them find their place within their community.

This is possible through Arc’s combination of programs, which include daily activities, access to employment and recreational opportunities, and support for families who provide in-home care.

As the organization noted, The Arc of Opportunity continues to grow and adapt to the challenges that people with disabilities face in their daily lives, as well as changes in the world around them.

This helps create and support community living opportunities for people with disabilities to reach their full potential and improve their quality of life.

We cannot imagine an organization more deserving of financial support – whether at the federal, state, community or individual level.

Unitil: Not crazy to blame squirrels for outages

We’ve all experienced the inconvenience of losing power at the most inopportune time, perhaps on a sweltering summer day or a freezing winter night.

But outside of extreme weather conditions like a severe thunderstorm or incapacitating ice storm, the reason given for the lack of power can sometimes be as aggravating as the outage itself.

It seems that when no logical explanation exists, power companies bring out that “old saw” – a power line damaged by squirrels.

Apparently there are facts behind what we all consider fiction.

At least that’s what Until would have you believe.

Why else would the utility – which provides electricity to Ashby, Fitchburg, Leominster, Lunenburg, Shirley and Townsend – promote “Squirrel Week,” a campaign aimed at raising awareness of the harm these Can nut-collecting creatures cause harm to our electrical infrastructure?

We are currently in the third iteration of this now annual event, held for a week in May to highlight the challenges posed by squirrels and other wildlife.

“We are all aware of the threat that severe weather poses to power lines and other electrical equipment, but the reality is that despite the steps we have taken to add animal guards and other protective equipment in an effort to to ensure the safety and security of our wildlife. To avoid damage to infrastructure, some animals are still able to sneak around these protections and cause damage,” said Alec O’Meara, Unitil’s director of external affairs.

According to Unitil data, 11% of power outages in the utility’s service territory can be attributed specifically to squirrels, with peak activity typically occurring in the spring. Animal contact as a whole accounts for approximately 14% of all system failures.

Squirrels can cause outages by chewing on power lines, building nests on equipment, and sneaking into unwanted areas. They can also be injured or even killed.

“We found our Squirrel Week initiative to be a very effective way to bring attention to an issue that customers and the general public probably don’t think about very often,” O’Meara said.

For more information on “Squirrel Week”, – seriously – follow Unitil on Facebook and Twitter @Unitil.

We suggest moving “Squirrel Week” to a week that includes April 1st.