MELROSE — With COVID metrics showing a virus in retreat, Mayor Paul Brodeur looked ahead this week to a much brighter future during the annual State of the City address.
While recognizing that Melrosians are still dealing with the stress of the pandemic, the mayor stayed upbeat during his presentation, which is available for viewing on MMTV.
One of the things that living with coronavirus taught us is that we need a lot of mental health support. Brodeur addresses that as well.
“(W)e hope this upcoming year can be about gains: regaining our sense of community. Regaining life as we used to know it. Helping everyone feel a little more stable and grounded with every day that passes,” he said.
“And as I speak to you today, plans are already underway to develop and coordinate programs, resources, and initiatives that will support the social, mental and physical health of residents of all ages.
“Today, we are taking an important step towards achieving that goal: I am pleased to announce the formation of a new Health and Human Services Department for the City of Melrose.
“This change in name and focus will promote coordination between all the departments that are already on the front lines of meeting the economic and social-emotional needs of residents, including the Council on Aging, Veterans, Library, and Recreation Departments.
“The reorganization will expand the reach of the Health Department to better serve Melrose residents by coordinating our existing public health resources and expanding our staffing to respond to the increasing need for access to mental health and social services.
“Emily Hatchouel joined our team earlier this year as Melrose’s full-time Public Health Specialist, a role previously known as the Substance Use Prevention Coordinator. Emily will provide substance use support and resources to our youth, and additional health and wellness support to our community members of all ages.
“The Police Department also recently brought on board a social worker through our partnership with Eliot Community Human Services. Toni Corcoran joined the Melrose and Stoneham Police Departments early this year as their on-call clinician; she comes to the work with a background in substance use prevention which I know will be valuable to Melrose as we continue to address this critical issue.
“I am pleased to announce that we are now poised to hire Melrose’s first full- time community social worker. This new role will complement the work being done by our part-time social worker, Rachael Cordella, who joined the Council on Aging last year to serve primarily our older residents.
“In the year ahead, in consultation with our Director of Health and Human Services, we will continue to evaluate the need to deploy additional City resources to respond to demand for access to social services and substance use prevention.
“In particular, we know that our children and teens have been experiencing an increase in anxiety and depressive symptoms, including an increase in kids reporting suicidal thoughts. Our children often struggle to find the words or skills to cope with the difficult feelings that loss of life brings. It can be confusing and frustrating for them, and like us, they may want answers to questions that we as parents are sometimes not equipped to provide.
“It is clear that there are not enough mental health clinicians available to meet the needs being experienced here in Melrose and throughout the region. There are shortages of resources for treatment and counseling that are beyond the power of any single community to address. However, we can do more to support our kids and families during this challenging time.
“In an ongoing collaboration between the City and Melrose Public Schools, we have been consulting with local and regional experts, as well as various community partners, on the best ways to respond to the mental health needs of children and There is clear need for mental health awareness programs and greater clarity of what services are already available.
“I particularly want to highlight resources like Hand Hold. Hand Hold was created by a team of mental health and child development experts with a goal to guide parents and guardians in caring for their child’s mental health and emotional well-being. They offer a variety of tips, tools, and resources from health experts, including child psychiatrists, social workers, and psychologists, as well as parents who have experienced similar challenges.
“I am also eager to build on the successful Parent University series, a program of the Melrose Education Foundation, another important community partner in this effort. We will work to create a library of resources based on the great work they are already doing, and expand the opportunities for educating parents and care givers about youth mental health.
“Finally, we are looking at ‘soft’ approaches, including expanding our Recreation Department offerings to meet the social-emotional needs of more kids, expanding our outdoor recreational opportunities, and finding ways to increase social connections for people of all ages.
Brodeur addressed the health of the city’’s merchants as well.
“We recognize the stress that Melrose’s entrepreneurs, workers, and freelancers are facing due to the disruption of normal commerce and the current level of uncertainty of supply chain disruptions, difficulty in recruiting workers and increasing labor and materials costs.
“There is much to be done to support our businesses so that our local economy can thrive in the years ahead. I am committed to reversing the economic impact the pandemic has had on our community and creating new opportunities for growth. That’s why I am very excited to announce that we have hired our first-ever Economic Development Director, Lauren Grymek.
“Lauren is well known to many of us as a past Executive Director of the Melrose Chamber of Commerce. She will be joining the Mayor’s Office starting next month and I know she will hit the ground running.
“Lauren’s job will be to support our local small businesses and our non-profit, arts and culture sector and creative economy, by improving communication between the City and the business community and finding creative ways the City can support existing businesses and attract new ones, including building on the success of our Pop-Up pilot program.
“I also want to emphasize that there is something important that every one of us can do to help our local businesses recover: commit to buying local,” the mayor continued.
As he wrapped up, Brodeur said, “I want to say how proud I am of our City, for the incredible spirit of volunteerism and resiliency of our residents, and for all the great talent, artistry, and entrepreneurship that thrives here.
“Melrose is the city I grew up in, the City I’ve raised my family in. To this day, I’m amazed at how lucky I am to be the Mayor of this wonderful City.
“I wake up every day grateful for the opportunity to serve the community I love.
“I am grateful to the colleagues I see every day at City Hall and in every department. For my partners on the City Council and the School Committee, the members of our boards and commissions, and for every person I get to interact with in the course of a regular day…folks who live here, run their businesses in our downtown, and the inspiring students who come to talk to me about the issues they care about.
“Over the past two years we have had to deal with unprecedented challenges, and I know we all are more than ready to help Melrose close the COVID-19 chapter.
“I am eager to help move Melrose forward, building on all the lessons learned we have learned and using the City’s resources to meet our needs, not just to recover but to become the City we want to be.
“Ultimately, all these accomplishments and plans are about is helping people and making things a bit better than they were. Whether you your family goes back several generations or you just arrived here in Melrose, this is your home and you have a stake in its future and we all have a stake in each other’s well being. Together, we will continue to reinforce our shared values of compassion, empathy, and care for others that shone brightly over the past two years, and to move Melrose forward to an even better and brighter future.”