2026-08-24 - Public Health and Human Services Committee

0:06Hello everyone. The standing committee

0:09of the city council, our public health

0:10and human services committee is called

0:14to order at 5:15 on Monday, August 24th,

0:192026.

0:21We thank those in the audience for

0:23joining us today and we thank those at

0:26home online for joining us. And uh for

0:29the public health and human services

0:31committee, I'll ask our uh clerk, our

0:35deputy city clerk AJ Puddle to please

0:37call the role.

0:39>> Thank you. Uh councilors King

0:42>> present.

0:42>> Tumi

0:44>> here.

0:44>> And chairperson councelor Rosen

0:46>> here. And before we start, I'll

0:51[clears throat] also ask deputy city

0:52clerk AJ Puddle

0:54to uh tell us about how people can call

0:57in and some of the rules maybe they

1:00should be aware of. Thank you, Mr.

1:02Chairman. Uh so 1A, virtual attendee

1:05call information. Pursuant to chapter 20

1:07of the acts of 2021, in order to ensure

1:09active public engagement, the city of

1:10Wester currently allows for both

1:12inperson and remote participation at its

1:14meetings. To partake in the meeting, you

1:15can either come in in person or join via

1:18Zoom. The Zoom link is listed on the

1:20municipal calendar website. There's also

1:22a phone number for tonight. The number

1:24is 1 16468287666

1:28and the access code tonight is 161 0141

1:330. We do ask that folks use the raise

1:36hand function if during any public

1:38participation section you'd like to

1:39speak. Um the raise hand function is in

1:42the bottom center of your screen if

1:43you're using the app or you can dial

1:45star9 on your phone. Thank you, Mr.

1:47Chairman.

1:48>> Thank you, uh, Deputy City Clerk AJ

1:51Puddle. And my name is Gary Rosen. I'm

1:54the I'm an atlarge city councelor and

1:57the chairman of this public health

1:59committee. And to my right is the city

2:02council's vice chair, atlarge city

2:05councelor Christian King. And to my left

2:07is at large city councelor Kate Tumi.

2:10You've already heard from our deputy

2:12city clerk AJ Puddle. And we have

2:15several guests in the audience who were

2:17invited to the meeting. And we have I

2:19think a few guests who were invited to

2:21the meeting and they are attending

2:23online.

2:25And uh just to go through some of the

2:26guests that I have listed here. There

2:28may be some who might be lastm minute

2:31signups whether they're here or at home

2:33and I may not have the their names or

2:36credentials yet but we have with us

2:39today um Alex Ariyaga Assistant

2:43Commissioner of Health and Human

2:44Services. Glad to have him aboard. We

2:48have I believe online and again I'm not

2:52I can't see online now but Nikki Nixon

2:54who's our interim director of public

2:56health

2:57and we have I believe online

3:02uh Raquel Castro Carazini

3:05uh she's the director of youth

3:07opportunities a division of health and

3:09human services and if she's not online

3:11hopefully a representative from that

3:13division is online and maybe maybe

3:17they're here

3:18Um I expect online maybe Dr. Jennifer

3:22Bradford the Worcester medical director

3:25and she's also a family physician and

3:27assistant professor at UMass Chan

3:29Medical School. Let me see who else I

3:32have on my

3:36list. And we wanted, in fact, when we

3:39talked about this item, I'll read in a

3:41second, uh, at the city council meeting,

3:43I believe back in July,

3:45uh, we wanted, uh, representative from

3:48the Worester Public Schools, and I

3:49believe we have the Worcester public

3:51school administrative director of

3:53student supports and engagement, and

3:56that's Tom Tony.

3:59And [snorts] we have uh at the table now

4:02our board of health chairperson uh Fran

4:05Ans

4:07and Fran we have Dr. Low from the board

4:10of health also.

4:13And do we have with us? I'm not sure. I

4:15hope she's here the founder and

4:16executive director of chairs Echo Lucant

4:20Collins. Is Echo? Oh yeah, Echo right

4:22back there. I should have known that.

4:23Right.

4:25And uh we do have in the audience

4:27program director of 7 Hills behavioral

4:30health and bureau.

4:32Glad to have all those folks. Now there

4:34may be someone else in the audience who

4:36was particularly invited. We're glad

4:39everyone's here, but we did invite a few

4:41people to speak on this issue because we

4:43felt they had the background and

4:45experience to give us some good

4:47information and maybe steer the way

4:49where this committee should go uh with

4:52this item in the future. So, we and we

4:55might have others at home. So, I don't

4:57know, Mr. Puddle, can you advise me?

4:59Anyone else I've missed that I haven't

5:01at least introduced yet?

5:03>> Mr. Chairman, I believe you covered all

5:05the folks that we generally sent the

5:06invitations to. Absolutely. Okay. And

5:08believe me, just as important as the

5:11ones I've mentioned here in the audience

5:13and at home are the folks who came down

5:15to listen to the meeting and to maybe

5:18speak up as we progress in the meeting

5:20and let us know your opinions. Um

5:24why how did this this topic come to be?

5:27It came in front of the city council. I

5:28believe it was back in

5:31July. Yeah, July. So here it is August,

5:34a month later. And we don't usually deal

5:37with things that fast, but uh we felt

5:39this committee felt and the city council

5:40felt that you know youth addiction to

5:43tobacco and nicotine and vaping there a

5:46big problem across the country certainly

5:48and certainly here in the city of

5:49Worcester and uh hopefully in the future

5:52this committee public health and human

5:55services committee of the city council

5:56and our board of health can work

5:58together on this and see if we can maybe

6:02lessen the desire and the need of our

6:05youth.

6:06for these products.

6:09And the the the order I filed back in

6:13July with the city council was supported

6:15by all 11 members, the member, the mayor

6:18and all 10 other members of the city

6:20council. And that was request the

6:22standing committee on public health and

6:24human services. This committee hold a

6:27meeting with representatives from the

6:28board of health. We have two members

6:30here. Selected medical professionals. We

6:32have them either here or online. youth

6:35advocacy agencies. They're here and

6:37appropriate representatives from the

6:39Worcester public schools. Hopefully, uh

6:41they're represented this meeting, too,

6:43to discuss youth exposure and addiction

6:46to tobacco, nicotine, and vaping, among

6:49others. Now, the three of us on the

6:51committee know it's a problem, but we

6:53certainly aren't experts in the problem,

6:55and that's why we look to folks we've

6:57invited to the meeting to fill us in on

6:59what's going on. And uh we want to hear

7:03also from the others who were attending

7:04the meeting. Now why did I file that

7:07item? If you asked me two months ago, I

7:09had no intention of filing that that

7:11order with the city council. But I went

7:14to a recent meeting of the board of

7:16health and the board of health was

7:18talking about and I don't want to go

7:20into that meeting because we got enough

7:22on our agenda today. The board of health

7:24was talking about relaxing some of the

7:26rules for citing

7:29uh businesses that dealt with tobacco

7:31and nicotine and so on and especially

7:33smoking parlors because we had downtown

7:35we had a a smoking parlor and a business

7:38wanted to open right next to it downtown

7:40and that was against the former rules of

7:43the board of health. So they discussed

7:46some sighting rules and they did ease up

7:48I think on those sighting rules whether

7:50people agreed with that or not. But

7:51during that meeting, which I spoke at

7:54and I thought what it was all about

7:56easing up on the sighting rules, I heard

7:58some testimony that really surprised me.

8:01I said, "This is really more than just

8:03sighting." And here's some of the things

8:05I heard that meeting. Uh some speakers

8:08said that that the uh relaxing of the uh

8:12the rules of sighting put city youth at

8:15risk for becoming addicted to tobacco,

8:18nicotine, and vaping products. surprised

8:20me because when we talk about the uh the

8:24closeness of any smoking uh parlas,

8:27these smoking parlors are for 21 and up.

8:29They're not young youngsters, youth will

8:32not get into these smoking pilots. So,

8:34just the fact that they will open and

8:36maybe youth would walk by. Does that

8:39mean they're going to say, "Oh, I wish I

8:41could be in there and I can't wait till

8:42I'm old enough to do that." I think I'll

8:45try to get myself some tobacco products

8:48uh because I see that, you know, there's

8:50a there's a second smoking pile near the

8:52first one. So, that all surprised me.

8:55And then I heard if the new rules were

8:57adopted by the board of health, and

8:58again, this was testimony during the

9:00meeting, then Worcester will have the

9:02national reputation of supporting

9:05policies that promote the harmful

9:07effects of smoking, especially to young

9:10children. And again, I'm at a meeting

9:12hearing that I thought was about

9:14sighting

9:15and the closeness and the rules. How far

9:18apart do these smoking powers have to

9:20be? And now I'm hearing that we're going

9:21to have a national reputation if the

9:24sighting rules were relaxed a bit. And

9:27then another one I a person and I, you

9:29know, don't have the exact names here,

9:31but called this a public health crisis

9:33for the city's youth. And so that's when

9:36I said to myself, well, I'm the chair of

9:38the public health uh committee. Uh the

9:41board of health has its own agenda and

9:43they they eased up on the rules and I

9:45supported that, but we obviously have a

9:47problem whether the board of health

9:49eased up on its rules or not of citing

9:52there seems to be a big problem in the

9:53city of Worcester and hopefully the

9:55board of health and the this committee

9:57can address that in the future. So I was

9:59I was troubled by what I heard. Not that

10:01I you know didn't believe it. I did, but

10:04I just thought that we should know that

10:07and deal with it regardless of what the

10:09board of health does in terms of its

10:10sighting.

10:12And then I looked online as we all do

10:14and you got the AI and I got a whole

10:16bunch here, but it said uh that many

10:21companies, I guess these might be the

10:23manufacturers of these products, uh they

10:25use unscrupulous strategies to lure our

10:28youth in. And there was a whole bunch

10:30and I won't go through everyone but

10:32there was flooding the market with youth

10:34friendly flavors like like cotton candy,

10:38gummy bear, bubble gum, fruit and so on.

10:41So they a lot of these these products

10:44are manufactured

10:46and they're marketed to attract our

10:49youth which is not what we want

10:51obviously and maybe Worcester can or

10:53cannot do anything about it. I don't

10:55know. There's laws that protect these

10:57companies too, their marketing, I

10:59suppose. And maybe there's laws that we

11:02have or should have that protect our

11:04youth too, especially from addiction to

11:06these products. And there were designs,

11:09ecigarettes, nicotine pouches designed

11:11to look like uh USB flash drives. I

11:16mean, if your product was good, why do

11:18you have to make it look like a flash

11:19drive? Because you want to try and pawn

11:21something that's not good off on our

11:23youth. evidently highlighters, pens or

11:26toys. This is what they do, I guess. And

11:29a lot of the people in the audience know

11:30this much more than I did. So, it's kind

11:33of an awakening for me here, this

11:35knowledge of this. And digital print uh

11:37penetration on ads. Maybe not on TV

11:40because when I grew up, we had lots of

11:42ads. The Malbero man, he was pretty cool

11:45in those days going way back. But this

11:47is stealth advertising on Tik Tok,

11:50Instagram, and gaming platforms, none of

11:52which I use because I find that social

11:56media sites are pretty nasty, and I

11:58don't want that to be part of my life.

11:59So, I just don't use them. I'm probably

12:00one of the few elected officials

12:03anywhere who doesn't look at social

12:04media because I just don't want to read

12:06that stuff. And let's see, there's other

12:09things. Marketing, I've mentioned that.

12:11Kid level shelves in certain convenience

12:14stores. Make sure the kids can see this

12:16stuff. Maybe they can't buy it, but they

12:18can see it. And maybe like the alcohol

12:20problem we've had for generations, you

12:23know, maybe there are some adults out

12:25there who are, you know, uh,

12:29awful enough who who buy for children,

12:32you know, these products. I hope not,

12:33but it happens with alcohol. So, I

12:35suppose it happens with these products.

12:38And they put advertising somewhere

12:40around schools and playgrounds and uh,

12:44all things like that. So a lot of other

12:47things they do. So these are problems.

12:49What authority

12:52and power this committee or the board of

12:54health local officials have to to watch

12:58some of these and make sure we can curb

13:00some of these. I don't know. But we may

13:02not have the authority, but you know

13:03what we have? We have the

13:04responsibility. So what can we do? And

13:06that's you know not having the authority

13:08never stopped me. If I think we have the

13:10responsibility and this this committee

13:12does certainly and I think you know Fran

13:14would agree and Dr. low would agree that

13:16their board of health does you know what

13:18can we do I know we've made some changes

13:20in sighting and that's not the

13:22discussion tonight but what can we do to

13:24keep our youth away from these addictive

13:27products to discourage them to educate

13:30them to keep them away

13:32so that's where I stand on it you can

13:34see where I'm coming from uh I want to

13:37go to testimony from some of the folks

13:39and then I'm going to go to my my

13:40colleagues too but I know uh the chair

13:43of the board of health Frany's to leave

13:45a little early. So Fran, I'm going to

13:47call on you now so you do get a chance

13:49to testify to the committee before we

13:52before you have to leave.

13:53>> Sure. Thank you very much um Councelor

13:56Rosen. Um first of all, I want to thank

13:59you for bringing this item up. Um as I

14:02think that you'll hear from both my

14:04colleague on the board and a number of

14:06the community members, um the use of

14:08vaping among teens is a concern for all

14:11of us. Um, I a long time ago we thought

14:15that maybe vaping was an answer that was

14:18better than smoking in terms of less

14:20addictive or in terms of less harm. And

14:24that has been proven to be totally

14:26false. It's not only more addictive, but

14:28it's also more harmful.

14:29>> And is the minimum age supposed to be 21

14:31for

14:32>> the minimum age in this state um is 21.

14:35And um flavored tobacco products are not

14:39allowed to be sold to youth. Um, but

14:42that doesn't mean, and I think the

14:43community members are going to have good

14:46evidence on this, that doesn't mean that

14:47youth aren't getting their hands on

14:49these products. Um,

14:51>> can they buy these online?

14:53>> I mean, I mean, can you go seems like

14:55you can buy anything online, but

14:57>> buy it online.

14:57>> They can. Oh, that's the big problem.

14:59>> There should be some way in which they

15:00have to show that they're

15:02>> Yeah, you just lie. You just say, "Yeah,

15:03I'm 21." And that's

15:05>> right. And and again, my social media

15:07use might be similar to yours. I don't

15:09know. I can't answer that. Um uh but

15:13this is an issue. This is a concern and

15:15I think it's really good that the city

15:17council voted so unanimously to have

15:21this committee take a look at it. Um it

15:23seems to me that the answer to what

15:25happens next is not the legal one

15:28because we know that legally this is not

15:30an option for youth, but they're getting

15:32these products and it seems to me it's a

15:34communitywide response. I mean we need

15:36to figure out um how we educate our

15:40youth. We need to figure out how the

15:42people who are meeting with our youth in

15:44other areas like recreation are letting

15:46youth know the dangers of this. Um, and

15:49we need to figure out what's the

15:50enforcement process. I mean, if people

15:53are being found in public school

15:55bathrooms vaping, is there a way that we

15:58can kind of commit to the restorative

16:00justice process that I know the

16:01Worcester public schools has embraced

16:03and still um prevent that from happening

16:07in bathrooms? uh because we did hear

16:10items to that effect when we were having

16:13our board of public health public

16:15hearing. Uh so I I think that your um

16:19decision to attend to this um uh and to

16:22put the focus on this issue is one that

16:25the community will readily embrace with

16:27you with the board of health. Um and um

16:30as I say, I apologize that I can't stay

16:33longer tonight. Um but Dr. low um has

16:36really uh prepared to be able to talk

16:38some to what the medical issues uh are.

16:42>> Okay. Thank you, Board of Health Chair

16:44Franies. appreciate your testimony and I

16:47look forward to this committee working

16:48with the board of health in the future

16:50not only on this issue but there are

16:52other issues that we could work together

16:53on but this certainly is a very

16:55important one and uh you know I served

16:57for four years with you on the board of

16:59health and I know the important good

17:01work that they do and how busy you are

17:04with the department of public health but

17:06we're always this committee I know I'll

17:08I'll speak on behalf of my two

17:10colleagues we are willing and ready to

17:12meet with you in the future to discuss

17:14this very important issue and see what

17:16we can do. So, thank you very much for

17:18attending and you know for testifying

17:20and we'll go over to Dr. LOL, fairly new

17:22member of the board of health, I

17:24believe.

17:25>> Just missed your time on the board so we

17:27didn't have a chance to work together.

17:28But yes, I think I was appointed in

17:29February so new new member to the

17:31committee and um my name is Patrick Low.

17:34I'm a physician, emergency physician at

17:36UMass Chan Medical School and at UMass

17:38Memorial Health. Um, and unfortunately

17:42have to see a lot of the squle of vaping

17:45and smoking every day in in the

17:47hospital. Um, regularly taking care of

17:50people unfortunately who are waiting in

17:51the ER for a while. So much so that they

17:53they undergo withdrawal from these

17:55substances and require medications and

17:57treatments for them. That's the level of

17:59unfortunately the wait time sometimes in

18:01in an ER across the country. but also um

18:04a product of just how much concentration

18:06nicotine that people are being exposed

18:07to. Particularly when it comes to youth,

18:10but relevant to anybody who's starting

18:12any of these products. There's a couple

18:14medical points that I would just make,

18:16and I'm sure we might have some other

18:17medical colleagues in the audience who

18:19might uh testify to similarly. The first

18:22is that vaping and ecigarettes are

18:24incredibly incredibly addictive. the

18:26concentration of nicotine, which is the

18:28most addictive product in cigarettes and

18:30and in these um in inhaled uh

18:33substances, is incredibly high, so much

18:35higher so than a a cigarette would be.

18:39I'm sure many people have tried to smoke

18:41to smoke a cigarette or a cigar at some

18:42point and often you cough or have some

18:45sort of visceral reaction right away

18:47that is not necessarily accompanied by a

18:49combustible ecigarette um such as vapes

18:51that we're talking about today. The

18:53concentration of these products that are

18:55inhaled directly into your lungs often

18:57induces some component of a lung injury.

19:00I see kids all the time coming in

19:02sounding like they have asthma, having

19:04never had had asthma before in their

19:06lives. They're 19, 20 years old, but

19:08they did pick up vaping just a couple

19:09months ago. And their lung, I mean, when

19:12I say sounding, I listen to their lungs

19:13and I hear the effect in the lung, the

19:15wheezing, the crackling. It's uh

19:17unfortunate but in the last I don't know

19:19I I started medical school in 2012 and

19:22in that time we developed a term for the

19:25disease or the condition that we that we

19:27witness um vaping associated lung injury

19:30or e vape e valley or valley uh that's

19:33just a new term I mean we had covid that

19:35we hope was like a once in a lifetime

19:36thing where we invent a new a new

19:38infection right but this is a new

19:40disease process that we had to name and

19:41encounter and now are describing in the

19:43medical literature just within my short

19:45career in medicine So, um, the effects

19:48of that are real. So, it's addictive. It

19:50damages the lungs much like, um,

19:52cigarettes would. The unknown is

19:54probably the scariest bit, though. Um,

19:57ecigarettes were probably invented in

19:59like the early 2000s. This is something

20:01that we have no experience, meaningful

20:04experience with in the grand scheme of

20:05medicine. Tobacco or cigarettes take

20:08decades to cause lung cancer. And we see

20:11generations that fall to to the death of

20:13uh lung cancer and other cancers caused

20:15by cigarette smoking. That took 60 years

20:17to happen. Like 20 years of ecigarettes.

20:19We have no idea what this is going to

20:21going to lead to. We hear about forever

20:23plastics and metals being found in all

20:26sorts of organs on autopsy nowadays. I

20:28mean, who knows what you're vaping when

20:30you're doing this? And to your question

20:31earlier, can you buy this online? Well,

20:33you can buy anything online, and you can

20:35certainly buy the products to make uh a

20:37vaporizing device. Um, and where is that

20:41coming from? Who's regulating all this?

20:43It's it's totally unknown. And what the

20:44outcomes 30, 40, 50 years from now, what

20:47what are we going to see in the our

20:48oncology clinics is it's frankly kind of

20:50terrifying.

20:51>> Do we have the problem that we have with

20:53alcohol over the decades where adults

20:55buy for youth? Is that a problem or is

20:57it just you might as well go online and

20:59you get it?

21:01I couldn't speak knowledgeably to that,

21:04but I would say that the number of kids

21:05that we see walking, you know, down the

21:08street at the end of a school day vaping

21:10means they're getting it from somewhere,

21:11whether it's they're lying online or

21:13they're buying it, some adults buying it

21:14in a store or they're buying it off of

21:15somebody who bought it off of somebody.

21:17I can only imagine the many ways they're

21:19getting it. But teens regularly, you

21:22know, high school age kids regularly

21:23come into the ER short of breath,

21:25coughing, wheezing, mom's wondering

21:26what's going on. And it turns out the

21:27kid's been vaping for the last two

21:28weeks. picked it up from some kid at

21:30school and and that's the consequence

21:32that we're seeing then. I don't know

21:34where they get it. I don't know how they

21:35get it. The states banned sale under 21,

21:38but they're getting it in many different

21:39ways and education and interventions to

21:42to stop that I think are critical and

21:43needed. And I just want to go to the

21:45point of what we did on the board as

21:47well, taking up this uh a look at the

21:50tobacco policies overall and clarifying

21:53some of them, solidifying some of the

21:54punishments for businesses that might be

21:56violating them or selling to youth. um

21:59putting some caps as well on some of the

22:01uh stores that we have in the city in

22:03particular. Adding a cap to tobacco only

22:05stores uh smoke shops we frequently

22:08refer to them. Um adding that cap I

22:10think is an important step and it's just

22:11a step in a direction of trying to curb

22:13some increase in tobacco uh use and

22:16particularly uh exposure for for the

22:18youth in the city. But I think this

22:20issue really is a bigger issue that the

22:22board of health on its own can't fully

22:25address. And it does require

22:26representatives from the uh well the

22:28division of public health but also HHS

22:30with the youth service organization with

22:32folks from the from the council as well

22:34and with folks from the school and with

22:36our community because I don't think we

22:37can tackle youth vaping. I mean we've

22:40outlawed it. It's not a you know we say

22:41as a city and as a state you can't do

22:43this. you can't sell these products, but

22:45it's happening. And so I think this is a

22:46more communitywide effort. And I'm glad

22:48that the council's sort of taken this up

22:49as an issue and brought, you know, many

22:51stakeholders to the table because I

22:52think this is we need to do this as a

22:54community. This is not just a one-stop

22:56shop. We have to work on this together.

22:59>> Thank you. Uh Dr. Lo, um if we can go

23:03over to maybe Alex Ariaga. He's the

23:06assistant commissioner of health and

23:07human services for the city of

23:09Worcester. And what are some of your

23:11thoughts, Alex, on this?

23:14Thank you very much um [clears throat]

23:16Mr. Chairman. Um you know I don't really

23:19have a lot more to add. I want to say

23:21that uh representatives for the board of

23:23health have been um you know really um

23:26valuable partners in this process not

23:27only with the tobacco regulations but

23:29even just in general with Dr. Low and

23:32our chair uh person here uh Frany's um

23:36really spearheading uh some of these

23:38discussions uh at the board of health

23:41and outside with partners in the

23:43community and with us um with the

23:46division of public health and HHS as a

23:48whole. Um I will say that um and

23:51reiterate that um some of the work that

23:53was done was really to tighten up

23:55enforcement around really tobacco only

23:57establishments. Um we see that as a uh

24:02you know really a route for youth to

24:05potentially um be able to get some of

24:07these um these substances and they

24:09really are the ones where you you have a

24:13potential weak point of entry into the

24:16flavored tobacco um realm. Uh knowing

24:20that the smoke shops um really only sell

24:23that very minimal other um products that

24:26are sold there. Uh the uh the smoking

24:30bars however have stricter um

24:33enforcement guidelines. They have um

24:35more security around access um to the

24:39actual venue itself. Um so that's where

24:43uh there was less of a of a of a concern

24:46with that. Um, I would say that capping

24:49those smoke shops and then tightening

24:52regulations and clarifying those

24:54regulations as it pertains to the um the

24:56penalties was was huge to prevent and to

25:00curve that youth initiation. Um we're

25:02also really focusing on youth on the

25:04education piece and that's uh trying to

25:06ensure that we're um providing education

25:08to our retailers um and uh through other

25:12programs and partnering with community

25:14to be able to uh provide education to

25:16the youth um and working with the

25:18schools. Um I certainly want to say that

25:22you know the nicotine concentration is a

25:24huge concern with vapes. Um, I would say

25:28that uh largely a concern, even more of

25:31a concern is what is in the actual vape.

25:34Um, you have instances of, you know, THC

25:38being on the vapes, high concentrations

25:40of that in general, plus other other

25:43substances that we they might not be

25:45aware that they're actually uh inhaling.

25:48So, certainly a huge concern. Um, HHS is

25:51um really looking at that. DPH has been

25:54looking at it and has you know collected

25:57data over time uh with regards to

25:59vaping. Um and I would uh I would point

26:02out to our uh interim DPH director at

26:05some point so that she is able to share

26:07some of that work. Thank you.

26:10>> Thank you, Alex. And before I continue,

26:12I want to go through the people we've

26:14invited first. And I know there's people

26:15in the audience who uh maybe didn't get

26:18a special invitation. You're just as

26:19important to us. And I do want to hear

26:20from you folks, but I'm just trying to

26:22cover the ones I invited because I

26:24certainly I invited them. If they're

26:26here and able to speak, I should

26:28certainly make sure we have time for

26:29them to speak. But before I continue, uh

26:32I'm going to go over for a quick

26:33question from Council Tumi.

26:35>> Thank Thank you, Mr. Chair. And I want

26:37to thank Alex for your last statement

26:39because that's exactly what I wanted to

26:41bring up. Um was that there is um use of

26:45THC in in vapes. Um, and that's

26:49incredibly alarming because the increase

26:52of the high THC um is really drawing a

26:56huge um uh uh

27:00a huge uh impact on our youth. They're

27:03saying there was a recent study that was

27:05in JAMA in 2025

27:08um that youth are two to four times

27:10higher have a higher likelihood of

27:12developing psychosis. uh and they're

27:15actually recommending that um pot

27:18smoking marijuana be raised up to 25. Um

27:21so I think that that's an incredibly

27:23important thing and we also need to make

27:25sure that in these discussions that we

27:28talk about that and also in our

27:29discussions about education that we also

27:32talk about the parents making sure that

27:35they know too. Thank you. Thank you for

27:38allowing me to ask that.

27:38>> Sure. Thank you for those comments,

27:40councelor Tumi. And again, I'm going to

27:42continue with the invited guests and

27:45maybe the ones I can see in the audience

27:47first and then we'll go to the invited

27:49guests certainly online. So, we'll get

27:51through all of those folks before we go

27:53to the public testimony. Uh, and uh I

27:59especially was glad to invite Echo

28:01Lucant Collins, the founder and

28:03executive director of chairs. Echo, do

28:06you want to come up to the mic and say a

28:07few words and tell us what chairs is all

28:10about?

28:13>> Hello.

28:14>> Name and city of residence.

28:17>> My name is Eko Lewis Collins. I am a

28:20resident of the city of Worcester. I

28:22have two um children who belong to WPS.

28:26Well, one doesn't anymore, but he was um

28:29a middle schooler as well as a high

28:31schooler. And 508 Cheers is a youth

28:35community service mentorship program

28:37that focuses on mental health, substance

28:40abuse prevention, as well as youth

28:43advocacy. Um, it's so important to let

28:45our youth know that they have a voice,

28:47that their voice matters. A lot of the

28:49times we're making decisions and

28:51creating programs about our youth

28:53without our youth. And we make it a

28:56point to include them not only in our

28:59program um creation um but also make it

29:03a point to connect them with state,

29:05city, local, and community leaders um

29:08and show them that their voice matters

29:10and that they can be impactful within

29:12the community.

29:15And you recognize then certainly that

29:18this is uh nicotine, tobacco, vaping use

29:22and addiction is a big problem here in

29:24the city of Worcester among our youth.

29:26>> Um I would say it's more than a big

29:27problem. I would say it is a youth

29:29health crisis.

29:31um the amount of youth that are

29:33participating in smoking of vapes who

29:37are under the guise and the mis um

29:41information that a vape is less harmful

29:44than smoking a cigarette. Um that

29:46information is completely false. Um I

29:49and when our adults are thinking the

29:52same way, how can we blame our youth for

29:54thinking that way? the amount of adults

29:57that I see walking around vaping

29:59publicly, um, blowing strawberry

30:02flavored smoke, you know, and bubblegum

30:05flavored smoke into the air publicly

30:07thinking they're not doing any harm to

30:10themselves, um, you know, or to the

30:12greater public because it smells good or

30:15because it tastes good. And tobacco

30:17companies are intentionally targeting

30:20our youth by flavoring these things with

30:23attractive flavors. Um, it's not adults

30:27who are interested in cotton candy and

30:30and fruit and, you know, Tootsie Roll

30:33and Starburst flavored items. Those are

30:37direct, intentional ways to target our

30:40youth. Um the 500 foot regulation was

30:44something that was put in place to make

30:46sure that tobacco companies were not

30:48disproportionately

30:50targeting our underserved communities um

30:53as they have been. This is facts.

30:55accesses data disproportionately. These

30:58um companies come into our lowincome

31:01neighborhoods with their advertisement,

31:03with their money, with their dollars,

31:06you know, knowing that, you know, almost

31:07like it's lowhanging fruit. And if they

31:09come after the youth when they're young,

31:11they're guaranteed to triple, quadruple,

31:14or, you know, maximize their profits

31:16because the addiction rate of someone

31:18who starts smoking or obtains these

31:20products when they're young um is

31:23exponential. So if you create a youth

31:25addict, then you have an adult buyer, an

31:27adult consumer for the rest of your

31:29life. And some of these things were put

31:31into place to protect our youth, to

31:33protect our community. Um, anything that

31:37harms our youth is, um, destruction. The

31:41youth are our future. Uh, you know,

31:43everywhere I go, um, I'm seeing youth

31:46with vapes in their pockets. There are

31:48now vapes that How can you tell me that

31:51they're not targeting youth when they

31:52have vapes that look like highlighters

31:54and vapes that look like harmless things

31:57so that your parents can't notice it or

32:00so that teachers can't notice it? I

32:02don't know one adult who's running to

32:04the store to buy a highlighter vape and

32:07conceal it. They don't have to. These

32:10products are directly aimed, disguised

32:14to target and address our youth. Our

32:18middle school bathrooms are filled with

32:20fruity flavored smoke. Our high school

32:22bathrooms are filled with fruity

32:25flavored smoke. So much so that there

32:26are adjustments in schools regarding

32:29allowing groups of children into the

32:31bathroom. And it's not because of

32:33fighting. It's not because the girls are

32:34in there gossiping and doing their

32:36makeup. It's because the vaping is out

32:39of control. And there's now bathroom

32:42monitors in some schools where they

32:44stand outside and youth go in one at a

32:46time and they're not allowed to go in

32:48groups because there's a vaping

32:51epidemic. Um I I don't know how to say

32:54this any more. Our athletes are

32:58suffering. Our our youth are suffering.

33:02And it's not they're on the verge of

33:04being able to participate. These are

33:06middle schoolers. Middle schoolers. We

33:09have testimony from middle schoolers. Um

33:11the division of public health um in

33:14collaboration with the DA's office and

33:17Worcester Community Connections and 508

33:19chairs um thank you to the the help of

33:21Christian King and some advocacy that

33:23was done through Burncoat, we were able

33:25to do a youth vaping series where out of

33:28the words of this these youth mouths and

33:30we have a video that we did um put

33:32together that we will send out all to

33:34all of you. And out of the words of

33:36mouths of middle schoolers, they're

33:39saying, "My friends are vaping. There's

33:42vaping in my school. My parents are

33:45vaping. If it's bad, why are my parents

33:48doing it?" Um, by making more way for

33:50adults to participate, we are just

33:53opening the door and clearing room for

33:55the youth that are going to follow in

33:57their footsteps.

33:58>> Okay.

33:59the data that shows that when a parent

34:02is doing something that the youth is

34:04more likely to do it. Um it's

34:06tremendous. So I think we've opened a

34:08lot of doors for damage. Um and and I

34:12have some suggestions of how you can

34:13support that.

34:14>> Okay, let me interrupt there. Echo and

34:16your testimony is very much appreciated

34:19and [cough and clears throat] well

34:20taken. Just a a quick question. Um I

34:23know if we look at other major issues in

34:26cities like Worcester, we'll take

34:27homelessness. There are committees out

34:30there of of government

34:33elected appointed officials from

34:36different departments in this city and

34:38there are agencies that do we have a

34:41committee in Worcester that gets

34:43together? Not the board health, not this

34:46public health committee because they

34:47have a full agenda. We have a full

34:48agenda. This is one item out of 25 on my

34:51my agenda here. Is there a group I know

34:53your group is interested in it. Do they

34:55ever get together? Is one group that's

34:57starting to look at this that maybe we

34:59could work with, but the board of health

35:02can't do it all. We can't do it all

35:04either. Quickly, I'm a part of the

35:06Worcester anti- vaping task force which

35:10is in collaboration of several community

35:13partners and agencies including the

35:14Worcester community connections. Um some

35:17members of the DA office, the division

35:19of public health participates, members

35:21of DCF and DY, community leaders as well

35:25as community parents participate in

35:28that. We do meet consistently. Um we

35:31have come up with plans. We have gotten

35:34into the community in several areas to

35:37um jointly deliver the programming that

35:40we have that's engaging. It's activity

35:43based. It also um shows the youth um for

35:47example what 508 shares comes in in our

35:49portion is showing the youth what are

35:52different ways to deal with their stress

35:54and their anxiety and their coping

35:55especially if they're using this as a

35:57method for coping. So, if you if you'd

36:00like, this is up to you and your group

36:02if you'd like to invite members of this

36:04committee. I know I'd certainly be glad

36:07to attend a meeting, members of the

36:08board of health. I won't speak for them,

36:10but maybe they'd like to attend. And,

36:12you know, uh don't hesitate to put us on

36:14the mailing list, the invitation

36:17list if you want us there. And you

36:19people might say, "No, we don't want

36:20those people." Okay? But we'd, you know,

36:22some of us would like to attend and

36:24contribute to the good work you're

36:26doing. So, I thank you for your

36:27testimony today. I know you have a lot

36:29more ideas on

36:31>> I have I actually have a question and

36:33and

36:33>> Okay, we'll take one question because I

36:35got a few others I got to get to. Um, is

36:37the city of Worcester receiving any of

36:39the tobacco cessation funding that's

36:41supposed to come into communities for

36:43the sale of um the the marijuana and the

36:46tobacco products and if we are

36:49respectfully requesting that the public

36:52knows where the funding went, who it's

36:55going to, who's receiving it.

36:57>> Again, what funding is that again?

36:58>> Um, the tobacco tobacco cessation

37:00funding.

37:01>> Okay.

37:01>> Um, and if the city's receiving it, we'd

37:03love to know where it's going. um

37:05because we have organizations who are

37:07actively fighting and supporting this

37:09who deserve that and if we're not

37:11receiving it I urge the city of

37:13Worcester to find out why and to request

37:15that funding to support

37:17>> deputy clerk city clerk pardle can you

37:19put that in the form of a chairman's

37:21order

37:22>> yes Mr. chairman. Absolutely.

37:24>> So we can get some information from the

37:26administration on that funding.

37:27>> And I know you have other people to

37:29speak to um as well who were invited and

37:31at some point we do have three youth in

37:34the room who are highly affected by this

37:36who would love to share their testimony.

37:38>> Definitely. Definitely. Thank you, Echo.

37:41>> Uh now again, if you were invited and

37:43you don't want to speak, that's okay,

37:45too. I mean, I'm just going by, you

37:47know, people we invited because we knew

37:48they would contribute to this meeting

37:50and they have a lot of knowledge and

37:51experience on the issue that I certainly

37:53don't have. Uh, if she'd like to speak,

37:55Ann Bureau, director of 7 Hills, would

37:57you like to speak? If not, that's okay.

38:00We're glad you're here and listening and

38:02the more you listen, the more we all

38:05learn. So, that's good. Bureau, director

38:07of 7 Hills Behavioral Health. I wish uh

38:10no I'm I'm just the director of the

38:11Wister committee connections program of

38:13seven hills behavioral health but thank

38:15you [laughter] a nice raise

38:18>> okay I'll change that

38:20>> um thank you for having us I'm also a

38:22resident of Worcester I just want to

38:24share so we got involved in this issue

38:27through an interesting route we help

38:30support the DCF area offices with needs

38:34are seen in the community so we always

38:35put to the managers and the workers what

38:37are the top needs

38:39and they shared youth vaping that they

38:42were seeing a growing need. So that

38:43really is a litmus test for us and then

38:47listen hearing from our parents and

38:48other community members with after we we

38:52worked with others to convene the the

38:54vaping task force. I just want to thank

38:57the city of Worcester um

39:00Irene Naumba Kyle Okconor Raquel Castro.

39:04They've all been part of our work to do

39:06outreach. They've been a great help to

39:08us. Youth vaping is a major public

39:10health concern in Massachusetts. Roughly

39:13a quarter of high school students report

39:16regular cigarette, ecigarette use.

39:19There are incredible health and brain

39:21risks. Vaping is not harmless. We too

39:24used to think it, oh, it's just a vapor.

39:26It's it's very dangerous. One vape is

39:29equal to a pack of cigarettes. And that

39:31doesn't take into account the the um

39:35existence of different dangerous

39:36chemicals that are in a vape. It's an

39:39aerosol created by heating a liquid that

39:41may contain nicotine flavorings and

39:44other chemicals including marijuana,

39:46CBD. Heating increases their strength

39:49and addictiveness including the

39:50potential damage to the brain, lungs,

39:53especially for young people. It impacts

39:55the brain development. It harms part

39:58part of the adolescent brain that

39:59control learning, memory, attention, and

40:01impulse control. It's highly addictive.

40:04Many vape pods contain as much nicotine

40:06as an entire pack of cigarettes, and

40:09they increased dependency fast and

40:12they're hard to break. It primes the

40:14brain for other addictions.

40:16Lung damage. Inhaling toxic aerosol

40:19exposes l young lungs to heavy metals

40:23um ultrafine particles volatile organic

40:26compounds. And then there's mental

40:28health ties. Nicotine withdrawal and use

40:30are closely linked to increased rates of

40:32stress, anxiety, and depression among

40:34teenagers. We care about local tobacco

40:38policies for adults because youth youth

40:43because these set the example for youth.

40:46Worcester has the highest number of

40:47smoking bars in Massachusetts.

40:50What is this saying to our youth?

40:54Saying that flavored products can only

40:57be sold in smoking bars or for adults

41:00and that removing the density for

41:02retailers will not have an influence on

41:04young people who are so impressionable.

41:08And watch what we do is a grave mistake.

41:11just requiring signage and sign of and

41:14for retailers to sign electronic

41:15acknowledgement is not enough.

41:1997. So we did a survey in the community.

41:22We didn't we got a a a relatively small

41:26amount. If we went out into the streets,

41:27we'd get a much larger amount from

41:29parents. 97 responses to a parent survey

41:32on vaping. Over 35% felt their child was

41:35vaping. More shared that they seen

41:38changes in their child's behavior. Most

41:40shared that they saw changes in the

41:41child's behavior, changes in appetite,

41:43shown signs of anxiety.

41:46Most said that their kids were

41:47introduced through peers, then

41:49experimentation. They were offered it by

41:51a friend because they saw others doing

41:53it because they were offered it by a

41:54friend. 59% shared that it was causing

41:57extreme disturbance in their homes. 30%

42:00have seen illegal flavored cigarettes on

42:03vapes sold locally, especially in

42:04convenience stores and in smoke shops.

42:0777 shared percent shared that they need

42:10stronger policies to reduce this. We

42:12also had some Spanish respondees which

42:14were very similar. Um the adults that

42:18were talking about are the parents and

42:21when we went out thanks to Recquister

42:23into the parks to meet with the youth.

42:25It was amazing how many of the youth

42:27were were talking about their parents

42:29who vape. So this is such a we thank you

42:32for addressing this and we would love to

42:34partner with you to look at ways to

42:36address this need. Thank you.

42:40>> Thank you. Greatly appreciate your

42:42testimony and I think we'd love to

42:44partner with your group and the other

42:45groups too. Now can if I suggest someone

42:50who might be online uh Mr. Ple, can you

42:52pick them out or how was how is that

42:54going to work?

42:55>> Mr. Chairman, I I do have access to

42:57folks. So if they are online, I should

42:58be able to unmute. Let's I'm going down

43:01my list. Maybe interim director of

43:03public health for the city of Worcester,

43:05Nikki Nixon. Is she available to address

43:08the committee?

43:08>> Just sent a request to unmute now.

43:15>> Hi, can you hear me?

43:17>> Yes.

43:17>> Yes, we can.

43:20>> Hi. Uh this uh thank you for having me

43:23and thank you for putting this meeting

43:25together. Um I'm here and I'm making

43:27notes and I'm learning a lot from the

43:30community input. Um just wanted to

43:33briefly note some of our efforts uh

43:36within the division of public health. We

43:38do partner with the Worcester public

43:41schools and we administer our youth

43:43health survey every other year. Um the

43:47last one was conducted in 2020 December

43:49of 2025 where we collect information

43:52self-reported information among youth

43:54middle and high school youth on risky

43:56behaviors as um

44:00they do at uh at the national level the

44:02CDC. And so while we have data on um

44:08current vaping use, we do believe it is

44:11under reportported whereby 95% of

44:15Worcester youth report that they do not

44:18or they did not um or have not uh vaped

44:22in the past 30 days of the survey.

44:24However, when we speak with

44:26representatives from Worester public

44:27schools, we understand that this is

44:30vastly under reportported. Um, and there

44:34is a concern as to is it a large number

44:37of youth that are that are vaping or is

44:40it that is it the same repeated

44:42offenders in youth? So, it's it's it's

44:46it's [laughter]

44:46kind of um it is concerning regardless,

44:49but I do believe in the data and I think

44:52that we should

44:55maybe bolster evidence-based approach in

44:58social norms and maybe have a campaign

45:03ensuring youth that their peers a a lot

45:06of their peers are not vaping. However,

45:09it is you know stating the resources and

45:11the health effect and including

45:13psychosis, including anxiety that is

45:16detrimental for each and every youth. If

45:18it's one, if it's five, if it's 500, um

45:21it is very much a public health crisis.

45:24So, just wanted to state some of our

45:26efforts. Um I know there are a lot of

45:29people wanting to give testimony here,

45:31but it is it is a public health concern

45:33and I'm happy that you are pulling this

45:35together. Thank you.

45:37Thank you uh to our director of public

45:39health Nikki Nixon. I think if we held

45:43this meeting with say 20 years ago,

45:46we probably would have heard mostly

45:49something that we haven't even heard

45:50tonight and that's smoking cigarettes.

45:53This seems to be pretty much all vaping

45:55now. I don't know. I'm guessing if

45:57students are involved, youth I shouldn't

46:00say just students, but youth are

46:01involved in vaping, that might mean that

46:03they're not using cigarettes cuz I

46:07haven't heard that. I mean, that's not a

46:09benefit obviously of vaping. But that's

46:11how things change. Who knows what it'll

46:13be like when there's meetings like this

46:1520 years from now. Something we can't

46:17even imagine right now. I'd like to go

46:20next uh if they are online. Director of

46:23Youth Opportunities, Raquel Castro

46:26Carzini. Or perhaps there's a designated

46:29employee if Raquel wasn't available this

46:31evening. Mr. Puddle,

46:35>> yes, I'm here.

46:36>> Um,

46:37>> that's good.

46:38>> Thank you so much for having me. Um, as

46:42mentioned before, we are very much

46:45involved in efforts of collecting

46:48information,

46:50training,

46:52um, our staff, um, informing our

46:56recreation Worester youth this summer.

46:58U, as mentioned, we had a collaboration

47:00with the department of public health.

47:03Um, we, you know, we are making all the

47:06efforts possible. What we understand and

47:09what what now is very apparent is that

47:12we know that young people are getting

47:15vapes from mostly peers. That's the

47:19number one way that young people are

47:22accessing vapes. Um we also know that

47:28you know what they what the information

47:30that families have around vaping is old

47:34information. For a long time, it was

47:37regarded that vapes were an healthier

47:41alternative to cigarette smoking. We now

47:45know that that information is incorrect.

47:47But the way that this information

47:49reaches families is a slow trickle. And

47:52so that is what we're experiencing and

47:55witnessing live right now. Um, we know

47:58that young people start with curiosity,

48:02then it transitions into peer pressure,

48:05then they are introduced to things like

48:08flavors. Um, then they are

48:14exposed to

48:16the substance to a point of um

48:19withdrawal and then it becomes a social

48:22routine. Um and so we now can can see

48:26pattern. Um and and I you know we are

48:30taking very seriously um what strategies

48:33we need to put into place in order to

48:34educate our families

48:37understanding now um patterns of

48:39behavior and use.

48:43>> Okay. Raquel Castro Carzine, director of

48:46youth opportunities. The city of

48:47Worester, thank you very much for your

48:50testimony. And I know Raquel's been with

48:52the city for a while and does great

48:54things with and Fari youth and it's

48:56greatly appreciated. Uh if we can if

49:00she's online. Next I'd like to hear the

49:03testimony from Dr. Jennifer Bradford

49:06who's our Worcester medical director and

49:08also a family physician and assistant

49:11professor at UMass Chan Medical School.

49:13Is Dr. Bradford available? City clerk

49:17puddle. M

49:18>> Mr. Chairman she is. Yes.

49:20>> Yes. Good evening everyone. Um I agree

49:23with with many of the sentiments that

49:25have already been shared. I do believe

49:26that vaping is a public health concern

49:29and especially is due to the widespread

49:32um widespread use of vaping among our

49:34our adolescent population and then the

49:36associated um health risks as well.

49:39During one of our board of health

49:41testimony um meetings when we were modif

49:44we made modifications to the tobacco

49:45regulations

49:47um there was a pediatric pediatrician

49:49who made a poignant point. He said that

49:52when he asked kids why you don't smoke

49:54the children of smokers said well I'm

49:56not old enough. And the individual the

49:59children of individuals who are

50:00non-smokers said it's not good for you.

50:02And so I think this gives a a a

50:05particularly um strong example of how

50:09important it is for us as adults to be

50:11examples to our adolescent population.

50:14The initiation of vaping is

50:16multiffactorial. As as we've discussed,

50:18advertisements are geared to our teens.

50:20Um there's illegal access um to these

50:23products online. Um there's a

50:25misconception of how um these products

50:28impact the health. Um and so there's a

50:31lot of different um factors that go into

50:34our adolescent population starting um to

50:37vape. But then we have solutions. Um

50:39there's educations for our parents, our

50:41adults, our adolescent population. Um I

50:44think Nikki Nixon already um outlined

50:47some of the public health work that is

50:49being done. There's communic community

50:51advocates um such as the cheers program.

50:55So we are slowly addressing this issue.

50:58It's an issue that's that's going to um

51:01be something that we're going to have to

51:02continue to work work on to decrease the

51:04amount of adolescence who are initiating

51:07um vaping. But I think it's also

51:09important to know that there are some

51:11resources u free resources that our

51:14teens can have access to to help them to

51:16stop vaping. Um and so I think it's

51:19important for us to provide our teen

51:21population with that information as

51:22well.

51:25>> Okay. Thank you, Dr. Bradford. and we're

51:28glad to have you on board now as the

51:30Worcester medical director and I know we

51:33all look forward to working with you in

51:35the future. Uh now I'd like to go to

51:40either in the audience or maybe online

51:44our representative from the Worester

51:46public schools and the name I have is

51:48director of student supports and

51:50engagement Tom Tony and Tom is right

51:52here. That's great. So Tom, you're on.

51:56Uh well, Tom Tony, resident of

51:58Worcester. Uh and I just want to on

52:01behalf of West Pub, thank you guys for

52:02bringing this up. Uh as it's been

52:04mentioned, uh Wor Public Schools have

52:06been trying to tackle this uh this uh

52:10pandemic that we see with vaping. Uh and

52:12we do it through uh prevention and

52:14education. So we have a lot of uh things

52:17in place uh like was mentioned with our

52:20u areas of concern would be hallways and

52:23unsupervised uh areas of the schools

52:26where we've been really working with our

52:27secondary uh staff on uh tracking the

52:31data with you know kids in the hallway,

52:33kids going to the bathroom and really

52:35trying to uh prevent it and um then

52:38educate our students. Uh we've we've

52:41worked with uh DPH, we worked with uh uh

52:45the DA's office on bringing them in and

52:48really looking on how we can educate our

52:50students when we have that opportunity

52:51too uh with their presentations and then

52:54our presentations that is based off the

52:56resources that uh they've given us and

52:59we've worked with them uh through. We've

53:01had uh in the past couple years, we've

53:03had a safe meeting where we brought in

53:05community members to really try to

53:07tackle this. Uh and then we provided,

53:10like I said before, our staff at those

53:12schools on uh different procedures and

53:14strategies to help prevent it from

53:16happening in school. Uh so very

53:19appreciative of all the collaboration

53:20that we've done with the community

53:22members and we look forward to uh

53:24working with uh everybody to continue

53:27this push to really support our students

53:30uh who's really being affected by this

53:32vaping epidemic.

53:33>> And Tom, has the school department at

53:35all worked on this particular issue with

53:37we'll say the board of health in the

53:39past? I know you haven't worked, I don't

53:41think, with this committee. No, not the

53:43board of health necessarily, but with

53:44Irene, DPH, uh, UM, Mass, uh, those

53:48>> Oh, the Department of Public Health has

53:50worked. Okay, that's good. Definitely.

53:51>> Yeah, that's very good. Okay, we

53:53appreciate that. And

53:54>> you know, certainly that three of us are

53:56available in the future and you know, I

53:59know our administration knows that and

54:01we get invited to, but always nice to

54:03interact with folks in the community,

54:05too. And there might be some meetings

54:06that our administration misses and we

54:08get invited to and we'd like to attend

54:10and and you know I'm say the same thing

54:12for the board of health. I did four

54:14years in the board of health and I was

54:15invited to a few meetings that I found

54:17very interesting and informative and

54:19educational. So you know just both

54:21groups are here and available is all I'm

54:23saying and thank you for all the work

54:25you do with the students. We appreciate

54:26it.

54:27>> Thank you.

54:29Now, Clerk Puddle, before I call on my

54:32two colleagues on the committee for

54:33their comments and and questions, I

54:36think I've uh we've heard testimony from

54:40eight folks who were invited to the

54:42meeting meeting. That's the ones I have

54:45that said they could make it on my list.

54:47Do you know if there's anyone else

54:49either in the audience or certainly

54:51online

54:53uh who might want to test testify? The

54:55ones again, the ones we've invited, I

54:57think maybe nine. I think I'm just

54:58looking at my checklist here. Maybe it

55:00was nine. We've already had uh and we

55:03probably didn't invite more than 10. So,

55:04we did pretty well. We had good

55:05representation. Anyone else online that

55:08you can see that might be one of our

55:09invited guests first?

55:11>> Mr. Chairman, no one else jumps out as

55:13invited um guests as early as this

55:15meeting.

55:16>> Okay. And again, I'm not suggesting that

55:19there's anything special about being

55:20invited. I'm just suggesting I'm trying

55:22to, you know, do this so you know, keep

55:25it so it makes sense. But we do want to

55:27hear from the folks, especially the

55:28youth in the audience. I really want to

55:30hear from you guys, but I also want to

55:32hear from my two committee uh

55:34colleagues. So, we'll first go over to

55:37uh Outlaw City Councelor Kumi.

55:39>> Well, thank you, Mr. Chair. But I I I

55:42really would like to hear the youth

55:44first before I say anything if that's

55:46okay.

55:47>> Okay, that's great. But now I'm going to

55:49go to my other colleague.

55:50>> Go ahead.

55:51>> See what he has to say.

55:53>> Now, he's put on the spot. I'll turn

55:55over to at large counselor Chris King.

55:58>> I concur. I'd like to hear from the

56:00folks, Mr. Chairman.

56:02>> Okay, that is good. I got a good

56:04committee here. Okay, now we're going to

56:07open it up to the public first in the

56:10audience. Anyone who wants to speak, let

56:13us know because, you know, anyone who

56:15hasn't spoken or would like to come up

56:17to the microphone

56:19and speak. and then we'll go to the

56:21folks uh who are online and then I'll

56:25come back to my two colleagues. But just

56:28move that you're pretty tall. I was

56:30going to say move that microphone down

56:32but you that's perfect I think. Here you

56:33go.

56:34>> Yeah. Um

56:35>> your name and city of residence.

56:38>> Um good evening everyone. My name is

56:39Sean Kamagi Shoi and I am a resident of

56:42Worcester Massachusetts.

56:44>> Okay. Can you talk a little a little

56:45louder because councelor Rosen's getting

56:47old and his hearing isn't as good as

56:48yours. Okay.

56:50>> Yeah. Close to the mic. Lift it up. Talk

56:52right into that mic and louder.

56:54>> All right. Um Yeah. So,

56:59I want to talk about um something that

57:02I'm very passionate about that is

57:04speaking against vaping. Um vaping is

57:07not good. It's very unhealthy and you

57:09can get very addicted to it. If you get

57:11addicted to it, it can stay with you for

57:13the rest of your life and that's not

57:16good.

57:17I think that peer pressure is one of the

57:20main causes of vaping. And if you got

57:25into vaping or if you got peer pressured

57:29into doing it, just remember do what's

57:31right for you and not for [snorts] um

57:34your peers that are into vaping,

57:36smoking, or drinking.

57:38I think something that will help is um

57:41peer mentorship. Um, I think having

57:46people that are around your same age can

57:48help

57:50um, make you stop vaping or make you

57:55stop thinking about vaping. And

57:58parents, guardian support can also help

58:01too.

58:03Um, I think government funding can also

58:05help by supporting peer mentorship.

58:10Um,

58:11also N programs and education can help

58:15about being against vaping. Um, thank

58:19you guys. Have a good evening.

58:20>> Now, are you associated with any groups

58:22in Worcester that deal with issues like

58:25this?

58:28>> Or did you come down just on your own or

58:29are you associated?

58:31>> 508 cheers.

58:33>> 508 Cheers.

58:34>> Oh, yeah. With chairs. Okay. I didn't

58:36see that cuz from my angle it's being

58:38blocked. Cheers. Okay. Echo's group.

58:41>> Yeah.

58:41>> Okay. And your name again?

58:43>> Sean Kishoi.

58:45>> Sean. Okay. Sean, good working. Do you

58:47go to school in Worcester?

58:48>> Yeah. Forest Grove Middle School, 8th

58:49grade.

58:50>> And is this an issue, a problem at

58:52Forest Grove?

58:53>> Yes, it is.

58:53>> Very good. Okay. Thank you, Sean, for

58:55your testimony. It's appreciated. Yeah.

58:57I didn't [applause]

59:02Would anyone else of any age like to

59:05speak from the audience? We're glad to

59:07hear from you. Okay, another cheers.

59:11It's a pretty good group, Echo. It's

59:13cheers group.

59:17>> Okay, your name and city of residence.

59:20>> Um, hi, my name is Natali Rodriguez and

59:23I'm a resident of Worcester, a part of

59:25the 508 Cheers community. Um, I feel

59:27like it I feel like vaping is something

59:30that's really easy to come across and

59:32access. Like you can see it online at

59:35school or around other people our age.

59:37And because of that, it can start to

59:38feel normal. Um, I feel like flavors are

59:42purposely made to attract youth and by

59:45making them sound appetizing and fun.

59:48Um, I don't think a lot of people on are

59:50heard on why they actually do start

59:52vaping. And I think we need to come to a

59:55solution why. um maybe they think it

59:57looks cool or they're going through

59:58personal things, but a lot of times like

1:00:02youth doesn't take this as like a

1:00:04serious health issue when it's taught in

1:00:06school. And I believe we need to like if

1:00:09it's taught in school maybe people just

1:00:11like brush it off to the side because

1:00:13like they don't think it will happen to

1:00:16them like but I know people like family

1:00:20and friends who do do like who do vape

1:00:24and smoke and stuff and I see how it

1:00:26does affect them. And um

1:00:32I don't know like I don't have all the

1:00:34answers to everything, but I do know

1:00:36what I see around me. And I think young

1:00:38people should have a voice when it comes

1:00:39to finding solutions to problems that

1:00:41affect us. That's why I'm here. I want

1:00:44young people to know that our voice

1:00:45actually matters.

1:00:47>> That's it.

1:00:48>> Thank you. We we hear your voice and

1:00:51Thank you. Anyone else who would like to

1:00:55speak and just tell us your name and the

1:00:59city you live in? If you want to tell us

1:01:02your school too, that's okay, too.

1:01:04>> Um

1:01:06Um I'm from Western Mass and I'm Yeah,

1:01:10I'm from Western Mass.

1:01:12>> Um Jets Va

1:01:15um again

1:01:16>> Jetsio Va.

1:01:18>> Okay. Um, so like they said, I feel like

1:01:21vaping is not more accessible now.

1:01:25And a few months ago, I was at a youth

1:01:27event at Clark University where we we

1:01:30were asked what we would change about

1:01:32Worcester. Um, I said vaping. I also

1:01:35talked about community support in

1:01:37classes and what I thought could help

1:01:40young people. I've thought about it more

1:01:42since then. I know there are already

1:01:44people in programming programs working

1:01:47on vaping and helping young people quit.

1:01:50So I don't think the answer is just to

1:01:51create query another program. I think we

1:01:53should ask a different question. Are

1:01:55young people actually getting the help

1:01:57that that's already available to them?

1:01:59Do they know where to go? Do they do

1:02:01they feel comfortable asking for help?

1:02:03And if they want to stop, do do they

1:02:05know what their options are? I think

1:02:07young people should have a real chance

1:02:09to help answer these questions. Not just

1:02:12a after a program is created, before.

1:02:16Ask young people what's working, what's

1:02:18not, what we can actually use, and

1:02:20what's still missing. And if something's

1:02:22missing, then build that part. I'm not

1:02:24saying that there shouldn't be rules.

1:02:26I'm just don't think rules and

1:02:28punishments are enough to be by

1:02:29themselves. If a kid is ready to say, I

1:02:32want to stop. I think it should make it

1:02:33easier for them to get there. So, my ask

1:02:36is to look at what's already available.

1:02:39Make sure young people actually know how

1:02:41to reach it and make feel comfortable

1:02:43using it and include young people in

1:02:46deciding what needs to happen next.

1:02:48Because if we're asking young people to

1:02:49make a different choice, I think we

1:02:51should also ask what would make that

1:02:53choice possible. Thank you.

1:02:56>> And you're

1:02:58[applause]

1:02:59from the Cheers group too?

1:03:00>> Yeah, I'm from Cheers.

1:03:01>> And I see the shirt. Ask me how I'd

1:03:03improve Worester. Yeah,

1:03:07>> that' be that's an interesting

1:03:09statement. Thank you for speaking.

1:03:11Anyone else who would like to speak?

1:03:14Your name, your city of residence, and

1:03:17even your school if you'd like to tell

1:03:18us. So my name is Wimo Masharia and I'm

1:03:22a Worcester resident um and also as a

1:03:26parent um and who has also greatly

1:03:30benefited from the 508 chairs activities

1:03:32and you know I've come to be asked

1:03:35questions by my son um who's in middle

1:03:39school coming back home and asking me

1:03:41about vaping and me realizing I don't

1:03:44know much. I am just here to advocate to

1:03:48the fact that sensitizing the community

1:03:50and creating educational arenas where it

1:03:54can be more of community venting spaces

1:03:56where even parents can be part of this

1:04:01process because yes schools can put

1:04:05everything in place. We can actually

1:04:07maybe get to a point where there's no

1:04:09vaping in school but what about after

1:04:11school? What about during the weekends?

1:04:14And as echo um as echo mentioned earlier

1:04:18the enabling is also mostly from home

1:04:21and from parents. And I do think there's

1:04:23a gap where that that sensitization it

1:04:26doesn't

1:04:28occur that this is a crisis back at home

1:04:31because maybe also the kids are not

1:04:33doing it in the presence of the parents

1:04:34but if I'm empowered enough if I have

1:04:37that um you know there's a facilitation

1:04:41in the communities where we are able to

1:04:43get to spaces where we honestly talk

1:04:46about how it's affecting my home and

1:04:48another parent is talking about how it's

1:04:50affecting their home. Then we are able

1:04:53to, you know, have one voice in dealing

1:04:56with um the vaping maintenance because

1:04:58it's really really really

1:05:02it's it's such a a a dampening

1:05:06um thought when you think of how the

1:05:09youth is being affected.

1:05:11>> So it's important that the parents are

1:05:14educated too on this so they can

1:05:17discourage their children from getting

1:05:20involved in vaping.

1:05:21>> Yes. Yes. And also the more they're

1:05:22educated that means civic education the

1:05:25more they'll be able to participate

1:05:26because they now know and are empowered

1:05:28to actually advocate.

1:05:30>> Right. Thank you for your good comments.

1:05:32We appreciate it. Very good insight.

1:05:36Anyone else who would like to speak?

1:05:41>> Good afternoon. Uh my name is Dr. Tasa

1:05:43Szo. I am a resident in Worcester. I am

1:05:45also the CEO of Mel Safe Haven. Uh Mel

1:05:49Safe Haven works with young adults

1:05:50between the ages of 18 and 24 who have

1:05:52aged out of the foster care system.

1:05:54Especially that is our focus group. Uh

1:05:57data suggests that young adults who

1:05:59transition out of the foster care system

1:06:00within the first three years of that

1:06:02transition will be impacted by substance

1:06:05use and abuse. as a program that

1:06:08operates as a residential space. I have

1:06:11a half a bag, brown bag of vapes that I

1:06:14have confiscated from young adults who

1:06:16are between the ages of 18 and 20

1:06:19multiple times, set off fire alarms

1:06:21because they're trying to hide in the

1:06:23bathroom to vape. It it is a big

1:06:25challenge for us. Uh and unfortunately

1:06:28for me, uh I wasn't aware of the use of

1:06:31vapes. And so being in my position and

1:06:33doing the work that I do in the city, uh

1:06:35I have become a lot more aware and we

1:06:37are even as part of our inspections, we

1:06:39are looking at everyday items very

1:06:42differently because we have learned that

1:06:45it looks like a highlighter, that it

1:06:46looks like a bottle of cologne, that it

1:06:48looks like things that we just wouldn't

1:06:50expect. So, I'm

1:06:52hopefully encouraging providing support

1:06:56wherever needed to ensure that we can at

1:06:58the very least stop young adults from

1:07:00having access to it because the big

1:07:02question isn't can they buy it from the

1:07:04store? Are they getting allowed in bars,

1:07:06it is that they're getting it very

1:07:08easily from anywhere and everywhere and

1:07:10we can't exactly pinpoint how to stop

1:07:13it. Thank you.

1:07:14>> And what uh what agency are you from?

1:07:16Did you say

1:07:17>> Mel Safe Haven?

1:07:18>> Okay. Thank you very much. Anyone

1:07:20[applause]

1:07:25else who would like to address the

1:07:27committee before I go to the online

1:07:29audience?

1:07:32Okay. Uh, Deputy City Clerk Puddle, can

1:07:35we find out if anyone would like to

1:07:37testify who's online?

1:07:40>> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I would

1:07:41just quickly remind folks to use the

1:07:43raise hand function if you'd like to be

1:07:45heard during this section. Uh, we do

1:07:47have two folks raising their hands right

1:07:48now. The first person I can identify is

1:07:50Amy Coleman. I just sent a request for

1:07:53Amy to unmute.

1:07:57>> Hi. Um, my name is Amy Coleman. I am a

1:08:01resident of Worcester and the executive

1:08:03director of the Trauma and Executive

1:08:05Functioning Institute and I also work

1:08:07and partner with 508 shears. Um, I've

1:08:10done some great work with Ekko and her

1:08:12youth this summer. Um, I also grew up

1:08:16and aged out of the foster care system

1:08:18and that was where I personally picked

1:08:21up smoking. Um,

1:08:25I did eventually quit, but it was a a

1:08:27decade long habit, but I wanted to bring

1:08:29in some insight. Um, some people have

1:08:32brushed up against it already. I'm so

1:08:34happy to hear from Jetsel and um, also

1:08:38the um, uh, person who just spoke before

1:08:40me. I'm sorry I missed your name. Um,

1:08:43but you were mentioning this too. Um,

1:08:45the most vulnerable people um that pick

1:08:49up smoking and vaping. For me, it was

1:08:52smoking because cigarettes were what

1:08:53were accessible. You know, you could get

1:08:55two for one, three for one, you know,

1:08:57Newports at the gas station and they'd

1:08:59sell to you because they wanted the

1:09:00money and it was like under five bucks

1:09:03for that first pack. So, vaping right

1:09:06now is cheap. It's cheaper than

1:09:07cigarettes. Picking up a pack is over

1:09:10$15 now. So people aren't picking it up,

1:09:12but if it were cheaper, they would. So I

1:09:14think that's one of the issues is with

1:09:16the accessibility. But what I want to

1:09:19speak to is the individuals and the the

1:09:21youth who pick up in the first place are

1:09:24more likely to have experienced adverse

1:09:26childhood events. Um these are

1:09:28traumatized kids who are

1:09:28self-medicating, who don't feel cared

1:09:30for, who don't feel loved, who don't

1:09:32feel heard. Um and some of their access

1:09:36points, you know, aren't just parents.

1:09:38Like that's obviously

1:09:45Is Amy still there?

1:09:47>> Mr. Chair, I believe Amy is still there,

1:09:50but let me just try to unmute again.

1:09:55Amy,

1:09:59looks like we may have lost Amy. Um, the

1:10:02next person I can identify is Karina

1:10:06Wallace. Just sent a request to unmute

1:10:08now.

1:10:11Okay, Karina, you

1:10:12>> guys hear me?

1:10:13>> Yes.

1:10:14>> Hi, I'm Karina Wallace from Worcester,

1:10:16Mass. I work with Ann's group. Um, I

1:10:20also partner with 508 Cheers. Um, I'm

1:10:23here to talk about our youth, right? The

1:10:26future of Worcester. We need to care

1:10:30about them. We need to care what they do

1:10:33because this vaping is affecting their

1:10:36mind. It's affecting their grades. is

1:10:38affecting their focus. Maybe a lot of

1:10:42people are not seeing how it's impacting

1:10:45and how serious it is, but it's really

1:10:47serious. Vaping and those cartridges,

1:10:51they have lead in them. So, we really

1:10:54need to care about our youth. We need we

1:10:57need funding.

1:10:59It's always about the money. 508 Cheers,

1:11:02Maryland Safe Heaven, local nonprofits

1:11:04and grassroots organizations. We need

1:11:07money to provide education for parents,

1:11:11flyers, workshops, empowerment spaces,

1:11:15so we can know about vaping. And then we

1:11:17can teach our youth because this is a

1:11:20very serious problem in our city. And my

1:11:23passion is the youth and everybody's

1:11:25passion should be the youth because

1:11:28they're the future of Worcester. Um, so

1:11:31I'm really just here to say that, you

1:11:33know, the city got a lot of money, man.

1:11:35Where is it going? And it should be

1:11:37going to organizations that really do

1:11:40the work and provide services for the

1:11:43youth and their health,

1:11:46jobs and all that. But vaping, we we we

1:11:50are adults. We we really need to come up

1:11:53with a serious plan and

1:11:57do it because our youth lives and minds

1:12:00depend on it. Thank you.

1:12:02>> Thank you, Karina. Uh Mr. puddle. Anyone

1:12:05else who's raised their hand online?

1:12:07>> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The next person

1:12:09I can identify is Mary Vano. I just sent

1:12:12a request to mute Mary.

1:12:15>> Yes. Hi. Thank you very much. My name is

1:12:16Mary Vano. I'm the associate director of

1:12:19the Parent Professional Advocacy League.

1:12:21Um I am a resident in Sterling, but I

1:12:23work in Worcester with our organization

1:12:25and partner with many of the people that

1:12:26you've heard today. Um one of the pieces

1:12:29that really struck me was the young

1:12:30person that had talked about getting the

1:12:32right services and support. I would say

1:12:34that the phone calls that we get

1:12:35regarding schools in Worcester are um

1:12:39co-connected to both mental health

1:12:40intervention needed but also the

1:12:42substance use intervention needed. And I

1:12:45just wanted to highlight um a concern um

1:12:47that's there in the state and maybe an

1:12:49opportunity for Worcester. Um we just

1:12:51lost the MIR program which was the

1:12:53motivating youth and recovery with um

1:12:56community health link. It was the only

1:12:58statewide program where if addiction was

1:13:00a challenge, whether it was vaping,

1:13:02alcohol, and or other substances, it was

1:13:05the only location that we could send

1:13:07individuals to overnight. At this point,

1:13:10right now, we have no opportunity or

1:13:13access to send young people to get that

1:13:15level of intervention when prevention

1:13:17hasn't been met. So I'm just wondering

1:13:20central of the state if there's an

1:13:21opportunity for the public health um

1:13:23committee wester but also pal would be

1:13:25interested in talking um what can we get

1:13:28for the state to really look at the

1:13:29challenges that are here um and I would

1:13:31also say that there are there's a dual

1:13:33need um with substance use and mental

1:13:35health and I I appreciate all the young

1:13:38people speaking um but I would say for

1:13:40parents and families there's nowhere to

1:13:42turn. So, if there's an opportunity to

1:13:44really elevate this, this has been one

1:13:46of three conversations that I've been in

1:13:48across the state um and would love to be

1:13:50able to support that need because it is

1:13:52a problem in the bathroom. It is a

1:13:54problem in uh how cheap it is. There's

1:13:56been lots of great points here tonight,

1:13:58but beyond education, we have no

1:14:00opportunity to help the most at risk

1:14:02youth that are addicted to get the

1:14:05support they need but to go to Boston.

1:14:07So, I'm hoping we can do something a

1:14:08little bit more essential. um committee

1:14:10and chair, thank you for your help

1:14:11tonight.

1:14:13>> Thank you, Mary. And we look forward to

1:14:15working with you and your organization

1:14:17too in the future. Anyone else online?

1:14:20Mr. Ple, who's raised their hand to

1:14:21speak?

1:14:22>> Mr. Chairman, the next person I can

1:14:23identify uh list named Jasmine. Uh just

1:14:26ask that you please provide your full

1:14:28name um prior to testimony.

1:14:32>> Hello, my name is Jasmine Collins. I

1:14:34reside in Worcester. I am a parent of

1:14:37twin 14 year olds. So I see that vaping

1:14:40between um the youth is a huge problem

1:14:44like more than I think a lot of us know.

1:14:49You know I am a parent that has access

1:14:52to my kids social media and phones and

1:14:55things like that. So I see like their

1:14:57friends vaping at home in their rooms in

1:15:00their bathrooms in their house. So I

1:15:03think like parents being more aware. I'm

1:15:05not sure if parents are just ignoring

1:15:07the fact that their kids are vaping or

1:15:09maybe they're not aware of it, but it is

1:15:11happening a lot in under their roofs.

1:15:14It's happening a lot in schools. Like I

1:15:16know kids get the vapes from schools um

1:15:19like the kids. So it is definitely a

1:15:22huge problem that needs to be addressed.

1:15:27>> Thank you, Jasmine. Uh anyone else, Mr.

1:15:31Pilot, would like to speak?

1:15:32>> Mr. Mr. Chairman, the next person I can

1:15:33identify is Diane Langford James. Just

1:15:36sent a request to unmute now.

1:15:39>> Yes, I'm here. Can you hear me?

1:15:41>> We can. Yes.

1:15:42>> All right. Beautiful. Hi, chair. Hi,

1:15:44counselors. This is amazing. As I'm

1:15:46sitting here, um, I'm the executive

1:15:49director of the Torch Foundation for the

1:15:51last 11 years here in the city of

1:15:53Worcester, which is a personal

1:15:54development, social emotional leadership

1:15:57training. And as I sit here and hear

1:16:00echo and Dr. on everyone really that has

1:16:02it. You know, I'm 34 years clean and

1:16:04sober myself. And if I had had some

1:16:06prevention before I made a choice to do

1:16:09it, to think I was having some fun, it

1:16:11took me a long time to uh get clean and

1:16:14sober, but I am 34 years clean and

1:16:16sober. And so, um I believe that the it

1:16:20takes a village. Uh we these kids get to

1:16:24know that they are loved and that they

1:16:25are cared for and who really is

1:16:28delivering the message to them. so that

1:16:30they hear a clear message and not only

1:16:32that that they get the tools and

1:16:34techniques to be able to make better

1:16:36choices to take up responsibility and to

1:16:40understand what they're doing with their

1:16:41life. So, I just wanted to come on here

1:16:44and thank everybody number one for being

1:16:46part of it because it is a crisis and

1:16:48that sure is a crisis and the sooner we

1:16:50get together and uh do some things and

1:16:53give these kids some education and some

1:16:55love and prevention and intervention

1:16:57wherever it is, the world's going to be

1:16:58a better place. Thank you for your time.

1:17:01>> Thank you, Diane. Uh, anyone else, Mr.

1:17:04Po?

1:17:05>> Mr. Chairman, that's all the folks that

1:17:06had their hands raised.

1:17:08>> Okay. We certainly have heard some

1:17:11excellent testimony from different

1:17:14agencies, different individuals,

1:17:17government agencies, private agencies,

1:17:20our youth certainly today, folks at

1:17:22online and here. And that's greatly

1:17:25appreciated that there's so much

1:17:27interest in this topic and it shows it

1:17:29is a critical time. This is a crisis I

1:17:31think in the city of Worcester and we

1:17:33certainly have heard that tonight and we

1:17:36certainly have to start responding to

1:17:38that as best we can. Uh I'm going to

1:17:40turn it over now to at large city

1:17:42councelor Kate Tumi.

1:17:44>> Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I want to

1:17:45thank everybody for um testifying and

1:17:48giving their um thoughts on on this

1:17:51issue. Um the thing that that struck me

1:17:54is that um the why uh why are youth

1:17:58looking to to to vape? And I think the

1:18:02biggest thing is that that I'm hearing

1:18:04is mental health, anxiety,

1:18:08maybe they don't have support at home.

1:18:11So this is part of a bigger picture. I

1:18:13think I think CO um

1:18:17created uh so much more um anxiety in

1:18:20our youth and I think that that's been

1:18:23uh a huge issue. Um I think that

1:18:26sometimes these which we're on all the

1:18:29time um although I was doing research

1:18:32you know I've got a in last year in uh

1:18:3525 health uh HHS from the federal

1:18:38government put out a report um uh

1:18:41regarding vaping and a lot of resources

1:18:44and there are resources out there's a

1:18:46lot of things the issue is I I tried to

1:18:49find out well what's been the most

1:18:51effective and so there really hasn't

1:18:53been one thing. Um, if you

1:18:57think about this, this is an addiction

1:18:59pro problem, right? In general, it's an

1:19:02once you start, you become addicted. So,

1:19:04that's also part of our bigger addiction

1:19:07co-occurring mental health disorder

1:19:08issues that our country is facing. Um,

1:19:12and these have also

1:19:15blocked people from the ability to be

1:19:19able to talk and communicate. Instead of

1:19:22communicating with your parents and our

1:19:24peers or our or teachers or whatever,

1:19:27you're using the vape as an escape.

1:19:31So, that's part of part of the problem.

1:19:33It's a big picture. And I don't know

1:19:36that there's any one answer, but I think

1:19:38what's important for me is hearing from

1:19:41the youth saying they want to help. They

1:19:44want to help become peers. Um I think

1:19:47the peer mentorship program, uh I'd love

1:19:50to talk more about that, how what that

1:19:52could be. Um do we do a healthy futures

1:19:56pledge? Do we have a pledge where kids

1:19:59going into middle school say, "I'm going

1:20:02to have a healthy future and I'm not

1:20:04going to participate in these types of

1:20:06activities and and create some sort of

1:20:09incentive for people to do that and make

1:20:12it, you know, I'm just the top of my

1:20:14head here. But I do think it would be

1:20:16really important um for us to come back

1:20:20um with a larger group of people to

1:20:23problem solve for ideas. Um maybe we can

1:20:27do a Zoom um with that as well. Um but I

1:20:31think it's really important. I do have a

1:20:33question. Everyone keeps talking about

1:20:36funds and other than paying for um

1:20:40marketing materials and printing, you

1:20:43know, flyers and all that. I'm wondering

1:20:45what what they're looking to do with

1:20:47with funds because I know that there are

1:20:49grants available out there. Um so I'm

1:20:51just curious what your your thoughts

1:20:53were. I know some people were online

1:20:55that uh mentioned the money, but um did

1:20:58anybody who's here mention funds? Do you

1:21:02have an idea of what you want to spend

1:21:04them on?

1:21:05>> Okay. Funding on Yep. Sure. Before you

1:21:08start, echo. Uh we did have a chairman's

1:21:11order earlier, Mr. P. Do you have that

1:21:14out in writing yet?

1:21:16>> Mr. Mr. Chairman, I generally have the

1:21:18idea that you're looking for a report

1:21:20from the administration as it relates to

1:21:22tobacco sessation uh prevention funding.

1:21:24So, I I will expand on that once we do

1:21:27the minutes, but that's generally what

1:21:28the report will be for.

1:21:29>> Okay. And maybe we can take a vote on

1:21:31that particular request to find out

1:21:33what's happening with this funding and

1:21:35see if we can, you know, encourage it

1:21:37from the administration if we're not

1:21:38already, you know, taking advantage of

1:21:41those funds available. So, if you'll

1:21:42call the role on that, chairman's order.

1:21:44Mr. Puddle. Councilors King.

1:21:47>> Yes.

1:21:48>> Tumi.

1:21:49>> Yes.

1:21:49>> And chairperson council.

1:21:50>> Yes.

1:21:51>> On on funding again echo briefly. What

1:21:54can you tell us?

1:21:55>> Um aside from program materials, print

1:21:58materials um essentially there are

1:22:01community organizations doing the work

1:22:04um for the city or in collaboration with

1:22:06the city. They definitely deserve to be

1:22:09um awarded for their time, for their

1:22:12expertise. um when we go out and do

1:22:15programs, there's often activities,

1:22:17engagements um depending on what's

1:22:20happening. So with funding, we'll

1:22:22absolutely be able to have and create

1:22:25more engaging activities. Also with the

1:22:27activities, the youth respond better

1:22:30when they are rewarded um in their

1:22:33participation or their knowledge or

1:22:35their knowledge. So, being able to

1:22:38purchase things, for example, if you

1:22:39want to do the, uh, you know, the

1:22:41healthy summer, the healthy person

1:22:43pledge, um, you know, they're very

1:22:45excited and engaged by t-shirts, stress

1:22:48balls, plastic bracelets that, you know,

1:22:51uh, you know, I'm committing to a

1:22:52healthy life or say no to vaping. Um,

1:22:55all types of things like that. Um, but,

1:22:58you know, funding far beyond just

1:23:01marketing. Um, you know, people are

1:23:02equity, our expertise is equity. We're

1:23:05supporting the city in solving an issue

1:23:08in part that is um being enabled by the

1:23:11city and the people doing the work

1:23:13deserve compensation, support and

1:23:15funding to deliver those programs. And I

1:23:19know u Mr. Tony is very eager to um

1:23:22address this issue. were very eager to

1:23:24partner with WPS to come into the

1:23:27schools to do um you know full

1:23:30schoolwide

1:23:31um you know seminars or to partner with

1:23:34their wellness um or their health

1:23:37program whatever that would look like.

1:23:39Um you know even some sort of field trip

1:23:43uh any of the activities that we do cost

1:23:45money. Things don't just happen with no

1:23:48funds. So funds would directly support

1:23:50the effectiveness um and the ability to

1:23:54get this programming out to as many

1:23:56people as possible and to compensate the

1:23:59people who are showing up and doing the

1:24:01work.

1:24:01>> Okay. Thank you. Echo Council Tumi, any

1:24:04more comments or questions?

1:24:05>> Um no, I I just I just think that it

1:24:07would be really important also um to

1:24:10include um the citywide parent planning

1:24:12advisory council. Um I know that members

1:24:15from in the school site councils uh from

1:24:19all the schools um I think that's

1:24:21incredibly important. Um and uh we also

1:24:26need to I think reach the general public

1:24:30and and in general just put out you know

1:24:33share on social media because that's

1:24:35really how we're all learning everything

1:24:37now anyway. but share on social media

1:24:39with all of your friends how dangerous

1:24:41vaping is. And there's all sorts of

1:24:44information out there uh for that and

1:24:46maybe we can um get some really good

1:24:50ones and and share them with everybody

1:24:52from this committee. Um perhaps Dr. You

1:24:55could uh help us with the ones that you

1:24:57think are the most uh appropriate. um

1:25:01and uh you know just start really

1:25:04pushing this because if we don't um

1:25:07we're going to continue to see an

1:25:09increase in in the usage and I think

1:25:12it's very important. I want to thank

1:25:13everybody for being here. Thank you Mr.

1:25:15Chair.

1:25:15>> Thank you at large city councelor Kate

1:25:17Tumi and now at large city councelor

1:25:19Christian King.

1:25:21>> Mr. Chair, I'd like to defer to the

1:25:23doctor for a moment. I know he has a

1:25:25comment he'd like to make.

1:25:27>> That's okay. I was just hoping to chime

1:25:28in on the funds comment as discussion.

1:25:31>> Dr. Lo,

1:25:32>> um it was brought up a couple times from

1:25:34the audience tonight about what are the

1:25:36resources that students or youth in the

1:25:37community would have to reach out to if

1:25:40they are addicted because we're talking

1:25:41about a substance use disorder that

1:25:43leads to addiction. And I I hearing a

1:25:47number of some varying degree 15 to 25

1:25:50or 30% of youth might you know

1:25:52adolescence in our city might be exposed

1:25:53to this or using it. And I would worry,

1:25:55what are what are we going to do if we

1:25:57go out there and put up billboards and

1:25:58everyone says you got to stop using it

1:25:59or there's a ban or some punishment that

1:26:01comes. These kids are addicted to

1:26:03nicotine and these adults as well.

1:26:05Adults can get nicarette gum. They can

1:26:07get a patch. They have a resource. They

1:26:08can go to their doctor. I wonder if this

1:26:11funding discussion is there a resource

1:26:13that we can be embedding within our

1:26:14schools, education with our school

1:26:16nurses about um referrals to addiction

1:26:18therapy or ways that students could be

1:26:21mitigating that if they are identified

1:26:23as someone who's using. So, if you get

1:26:24caught using in the bathroom, I don't

1:26:26know what the policy is, but there's

1:26:28probably some degree of confiscation, a

1:26:30punishment of some kind, communication

1:26:32with family, that doesn't solve the

1:26:34problem that the kids's going to

1:26:35withdraw within 24 hours if they don't

1:26:37get access to some nicotine product.

1:26:39Again, we need to be connecting kids

1:26:41with with those types of resources. And

1:26:43I would imagine that school uh clinics

1:26:45and school nurses and other health

1:26:47professionals and support staff in the

1:26:49school might be resources for that. And

1:26:51education to to do that would cost a

1:26:53some money and that would be a great use

1:26:54of some city funds if you ask me just

1:26:56off the top of my head as well as a

1:26:57response.

1:26:58>> I wonder if we good idea in the future

1:27:00if there's an opening on the board of

1:27:02health to have someone from the school

1:27:04system serving on the board of health

1:27:06too might be someone who you know can

1:27:08contribute to you know knowledge and

1:27:10experience on this topic. So something

1:27:12to as a member of the board of health to

1:27:14keep in mind in the future.

1:27:16>> Mr. Mr. Chairman, I just want to

1:27:17interject. We do have we do have

1:27:19recovery schools

1:27:20>> um that can help um youth and I think

1:27:22that that's important too that they be

1:27:24at the table because they have a wealth

1:27:26and breath depth of knowledge. Uh

1:27:29there's one right here in Worester um

1:27:31and so um I know that we should be

1:27:34reaching out to them as well and I'm

1:27:36sure that uh you already have had

1:27:39conversations with them but um they

1:27:41should be here at the table. Thank you

1:27:43>> Dr. Low. Your points are well taken for

1:27:44the future. Thank you for those

1:27:46suggestions. Okay, we'll try again. City

1:27:48Councelor Elig Christian King.

1:27:51>> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, just want

1:27:53to begin by expressing appreciation for

1:27:56all the work that's being done um the

1:27:59public and private sector, from our

1:28:02agencies, from our department heads, uh

1:28:05from the folks on the the board of

1:28:06health, um our doctors, um our school

1:28:10representatives,

1:28:12and our young people. Um, I want to

1:28:16specifically thank Sean, Natalia, and

1:28:18Jetsia uh for their testimony um this

1:28:21evening. Um, very wellreceived, very

1:28:24well presented um and powerful. And I

1:28:28bring that up to say this. Um, back in

1:28:312023,

1:28:32Civa's class over at Burnco Middle

1:28:36School, um, in their expo or whatever

1:28:38that's called, uh, when they they invite

1:28:40folks in, um, shared their concerns

1:28:44about vaping. And those concerns

1:28:48resulted in an item that I filed and it

1:28:50was co-sponsored by former city

1:28:52councelor Sarai Rivera, unanimously

1:28:55supported u by 11 of my colleagues,

1:28:57including councelor Tumi.

1:29:00And that order was that the city manager

1:29:02I'm going to read it be and is hereby

1:29:05requested to work to implement a vaping

1:29:07education curriculum as part of the

1:29:10programming for recreation Worcester. My

1:29:13order stated that further the city

1:29:15manager being is hereby requested to

1:29:17work with representatives from the

1:29:18Worester public schools

1:29:20and um to support similar curricular

1:29:24changes in in the city schools. And

1:29:27further the city manager be asked to

1:29:29request to work with representatives

1:29:31from UMass to determine whether they can

1:29:34support any aspects of a vaping

1:29:37education curriculum. Um unanimously

1:29:41adopted. I know that that year and Reck

1:29:43Worester, uh, Raquel, uh, Castro and

1:29:46and, um, the youth opportunities

1:29:49division, um, began that work. Um, and

1:29:52it continues and it continues because of

1:29:55young people like yourselves, um, that

1:29:57spoke up. At that time, um, we were

1:30:00already also requesting, and I made

1:30:02another verbal request in 2025 for

1:30:05vaping detection centers, uh, sensors in

1:30:08our middle schools. um that went before

1:30:11school committee um was turned down due

1:30:14to lack of funding. I hope that there's

1:30:16any school committee members that are

1:30:17watching this evening that needs to be

1:30:20revisited. Um and again, as mentioned um

1:30:24here tonight by councelor Tumi um this

1:30:28is um you know deterrence and all these

1:30:31things and education is one aspect of

1:30:33this. there's a larger ideology um

1:30:37larger beginning um to this and people's

1:30:40families mental health and one of the

1:30:42things that struck me at the 508 chair's

1:30:45um presentation a couple of weeks ago is

1:30:48that you young folks I think one of the

1:30:49young folks that that maybe have stepped

1:30:51out um particularly focused on trauma,

1:30:56focused on mental health, depression,

1:30:58anxiety um as root causes um and to hear

1:31:03that echoed on this committee um today

1:31:07uh without prompting was was impactful.

1:31:10Um you know I I would like to see

1:31:14a public

1:31:17sort of service education campaign from

1:31:21the city side that's a little bit

1:31:23broader. Um back in 2024 at the end of

1:31:26um in the middle of last school year, I

1:31:28filed a subsequent order asking the

1:31:31manager again unanimously supported and

1:31:33adopted to engra engage in a public

1:31:36service education campaign relative to

1:31:39the use of cigarettes and nicotine

1:31:41products. Um you know, we have the city

1:31:44manager has a team of four or five uh

1:31:46communication folks um who should be

1:31:49able to do this consistently.

1:31:52um you know moving forward um Mr.

1:31:56chairman. Um if this if you so

1:32:00uh are so moved um you know if there's

1:32:03some sort of order chairman's order um

1:32:06that the manager be requested to explore

1:32:09that and report back um to the council

1:32:12and to this committee um regarding a

1:32:14public service education campaign would

1:32:16extremely be helpful. And you know, uh,

1:32:18folks know, um, approaching three

1:32:20decades of working with the adolescent

1:32:22population as a M's level clinician in

1:32:25this city. Um, and we know that, um,

1:32:30education's important, especially the

1:32:32parents. Um, you know, folks hearing

1:32:35tonight some things that they've never

1:32:36heard. But I want to again thank uh, the

1:32:39young folks from 508 chairs for giving

1:32:41us a road map. What I heard tonight from

1:32:44you folks were peer mentorship,

1:32:47parent guardian support and education,

1:32:50government funding, and again

1:32:52programming education. That's the road

1:32:55map. Um you know and and again your

1:32:58voice is highly valued um and I look

1:33:01forward to um continuing to address this

1:33:04issue moving forward. The one question

1:33:07that I do have um is um as it relates to

1:33:13the school department. I don't know if

1:33:15Mr. Tony can speak to this or not. Um

1:33:18but I'm just wondering um as it relates

1:33:21to our middle schools, um is the focus

1:33:24solely there currently? I know that's

1:33:26one of the major issues. We know the

1:33:28high schools um but the reports that

1:33:30we've got over the last three

1:33:32approaching four years from our middle

1:33:34schools has been um a very very loud

1:33:38alarm that's been sounded. Um and the

1:33:40suggestion for a pledge that was made by

1:33:42counselor Tumi is a great idea. Um but

1:33:45I'm just wondering, you know, my

1:33:46daughter, she's in the other room. She's

1:33:48um going into fourth grade. You know,

1:33:51we're beginning to educate her on stuff,

1:33:54on things. Uh I'm just wondering if if

1:33:56there's a um any sort of work going on

1:34:00in the elementary schools um and if

1:34:02there's any new sort of approach that's

1:34:04occurring relative to the middle schools

1:34:06and then I won't have anything else to

1:34:08say. Mr. Chairman,

1:34:09>> thank you councelor King. Mr. Tony.

1:34:12>> Uh so yes, uh our elementary schools are

1:34:15always a focus when and that focus in

1:34:18the programs that we've had has been

1:34:19through the DA's office when they come

1:34:21into schools to provide presentations

1:34:23for them. So on that level it's it's the

1:34:26uh preventative work with the

1:34:28presentations that are out there for us.

1:34:30Uh and then uh that secondary level is

1:34:33is kind of where we focus the

1:34:37uh you know attention to those un um uh

1:34:41those those areas such as the bathrooms

1:34:43where these things have taken place. So

1:34:45hopefully I answered your question.

1:34:47>> Thank you. But thank you very much uh

1:34:49Mr. Chairman. Um, I really hope that

1:34:52this meeting gets over to the school

1:34:54committee somehow. I don't know if if

1:34:56you if by chairman's order we can

1:34:57request that the the the minutes and the

1:35:00video be sent to the individual school

1:35:02committee members.

1:35:02>> Can we do that, Mr. Puddle? Make sure

1:35:05that the the school committee is

1:35:07notified we had this meeting and if they

1:35:09would watch it, they would find it very

1:35:11interesting and informative and

1:35:13educational

1:35:14>> with a link.

1:35:15>> Our office is happy to send all that

1:35:17information to their clerk and they can

1:35:18>> do that. We also want a chairman's order

1:35:21dealing with the city manager and his

1:35:23staff working on a public service

1:35:25campaign dealing with uh addiction to

1:35:28tobacco, nicotine, and vaping. So,

1:35:31>> thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

1:35:34>> Okay. So, we have those two uh new

1:35:37orders. Uh so, we'll take a vote on

1:35:40those first before we wrap up. So, if

1:35:43you'll call the role on those two

1:35:44collectively, Mr. uh Puddle.

1:35:47>> Councilors King. Yes.

1:35:49>> Tumi.

1:35:49>> Yes.

1:35:50>> And chairperson, councelor Rosen.

1:35:52>> Yes. And I think the final motion will

1:35:54be to hold this item because obviously

1:35:56it's going to take a lot of work by a

1:35:58lot of good people and a lot of good

1:36:00people have been working on it for a

1:36:02while. And this committee, members of

1:36:04the city council, they all signed on to

1:36:05this this order. I know they're

1:36:07supportive of vaping education. And we

1:36:10appreciate all that we heard tonight and

1:36:12from every speaker uh and Dr. below your

1:36:16suggestions about, you know, we really

1:36:18have to deal with the addiction part of

1:36:19this, too. It's not just, you know, a

1:36:21punishment and an education. You know,

1:36:23there are young people addicted and once

1:36:25they're addicted, it's going to take,

1:36:27you know, special means to, you know,

1:36:30try to, you know, break them of that

1:36:32addiction. So, we have a lot on our

1:36:34plate, a lot to do, and I hope echo that

1:36:37you'll contact me and you and I should

1:36:38get together and talk about this because

1:36:40I do want you to know that we're

1:36:42sincerely supporting your efforts and

1:36:44all the other committees and groups. And

1:36:46there were several groups that are out

1:36:47there that weren't represented tonight.

1:36:49We didn't hear from, but we have to make

1:36:51this a community effort. And I think we

1:36:54can make some inroads on educating and

1:36:57you know uh stopping many of our youth

1:37:00from you know getting involved in an

1:37:02early age on this this uh you know just

1:37:04a terrible unhealthy habit. So on my

1:37:08motion to hold uh the motion we've been

1:37:10discussing tonight if you'll call the

1:37:11role. Muddle.

1:37:13>> Councelor King.

1:37:15>> Yes.

1:37:15>> Tumi.

1:37:16>> Yes.

1:37:16>> And chairperson. Councelor Rosen.

1:37:18>> Yes. And on the motion to adjourn. All

1:37:21in favor opposed. So voted. Thank you.

1:37:23Oh, hold on one second. Someone Okay,

1:37:26>> well, we're not going to adjourn. We're

1:37:28going to continue

1:37:30>> and hear some more words of wisdom. We

1:37:32hope

1:37:32>> at the very last minute. I wasn't going

1:37:33to testify, but all this conversation

1:37:35around addiction and mental health and

1:37:36coorbidity, I just wanted to acknowledge

1:37:38>> name and city of res. Yes, I'm Kathy

1:37:40Mcu, city of resident Springfield and I

1:37:44represent the behavioral health network

1:37:45and I'm here with Jamal Gilbert and we

1:37:47are obviously the new kids in town. But

1:37:49I just wanted to publicly say that um

1:37:51we're here to be a part of the solution

1:37:53with you all in the city of Worcester

1:37:54and we're grateful for the opportunity

1:37:56to work together to see how we can bring

1:37:58our mental health and addiction services

1:38:00as part of the community behavioral

1:38:02health center.

1:38:02>> And again, your agency is which one?

1:38:04>> Behavioral health network. We're going

1:38:06to be the new operators of the community

1:38:07health link Worcester programs. Oh, very

1:38:09good. Very good.

1:38:11>> So, we we've been listening at the table

1:38:13and and just wanted to publicly

1:38:14acknowledge that we're here to be

1:38:16partners and part of the solution.

1:38:18>> Welcome to Worcester and we greatly will

1:38:20support your agency and the fine work

1:38:22you do and you will be doing here in the

1:38:24city.

1:38:24>> We're looking forward to partnering with

1:38:26you.

1:38:26>> Okay. Christian King on this.

1:38:27>> Yes. um thank you um for stepping up and

1:38:30we appreciate the agency and their

1:38:33wealth of expertise um that's coming

1:38:35forward including uh co-responsing with

1:38:38police that's been done in other parts

1:38:40of the state. Um, but I just want to say

1:38:42for the record, you know, tonight, um,

1:38:44the mayor program was brought brought

1:38:46up, motivating youth recovery, something

1:38:48I've used over the years. I think it was

1:38:50around 20 something beds or so at one

1:38:52point for inpatient treatment of young

1:38:54people.

1:38:55>> Um, so I was going to put a plug out

1:38:57there. If anything we can do,

1:38:59>> yeah, we would be,

1:38:59>> uh, we would greatly appreciate it and

1:39:01would help this community immensely.

1:39:03>> Well, and I say that we'd be be more

1:39:05than happy to sit down. I know there's a

1:39:06lot of history there about what is

1:39:08doesn't work about residential.

1:39:10substance use treatment for adolescence.

1:39:12Um, but we understand that there are

1:39:14significant problems in the city and

1:39:16we're willing to sit at any table to

1:39:18discuss what the solutions would look

1:39:20like through you, Mr. Chair.

1:39:22>> Council Tumi,

1:39:23>> I think I read a something today in my

1:39:25email, my day job. I work for the Wister

1:39:27County Sheriff's Office Regional

1:39:29Re-entry Center and um I think I read

1:39:31that you're starting uh the end of

1:39:34September.

1:39:35>> Yes. September 16th is the transition of

1:39:39one of the programs, the addiction

1:39:40continuum, and September 30th is for the

1:39:42community behavioral health center. So,

1:39:44I'll happily leave my information with

1:39:46you and be

1:39:47>> more than happy to connect with details

1:39:49>> and absolutely also with our Worcester

1:39:52public schools folks.

1:39:53>> Absolutely. We've met. Yes.

1:39:55>> Can you know that the three committee

1:39:57members here are available in the future

1:39:59if you want to discuss things with us

1:40:00and on behalf of the board of health? I

1:40:02know they'd be available

1:40:04>> too. So, you'll have a lot of support in

1:40:07this community.

1:40:08>> Fabulous.

1:40:08>> And looking forward to all the good work

1:40:10you'll be able to do here.

1:40:11>> We'll look forward to working with you.

1:40:12I'm sorry for the late entry.

1:40:14>> Thank you.

1:40:14>> Oops.

1:40:14>> And I thank I thank my two colleagues

1:40:17for their interest and support on this

1:40:20this item and on the motion to adjourn.

1:40:23All in favor? Opposed? So voted.