NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (WWLP) – The City of Northampton along with the Department of Health and Human Services hosted an open house for the Division of Community Care (DCC).
The DCC in Northampton is the first city in Massachusetts to launch a civilian first responder team model as a Public Health led, Public Safety integrated community service.
On Tuesday, the center opened it’s first ‘living room’ model-style space. 22news spoke with organizers of this program about why they introduced this to the city, “The city of Northampton had a very significant response to the death of George Floyd and his murder and we formed a policing review commission that gave very specific information on how we can embrace inclusion, division, and equity in the way respond to people in emergency times of need,” said
The DCC provides immediate trauma-informed response and outreach by providing an outlet for people in the community to speak with a trauma-informed nurse to get their immediate needs met. They are provided with referrals to other programs that can help.
WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 providing local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Follow 22News on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
