Guest Column: Quit Smoking Valentine's Day Message

If you are pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant this Valentine's Day, consider taking the first step toward quitting smoking, vaping or using other tobacco.

1-800-QUIT-NOW has a special incentive for you — pregnant Massachusetts residents can receive up to $65 on a Mastercard gift card when they participate in its free coaching services. In the program for pregnant people, you can receive up to nine coaching calls with the same quit coach as well as text messages, email support and materials.

When you quit, your body becomes safer and healthier for your developing baby's brain and lungs, and what a gift that is. Call 1-800-QUIT-NOW or visit mass.gov/quitting for support.

The Massachusetts Quitline for tobacco/nicotine, 1-800-QUIT NOW (1-800-784-8669), is available for free coaching 24 hours each day, seven days a week (except Thanksgiving and Christmas) to support you through quitting. No lectures. No judgments. Just support. You can connect with the Quitline online, too, at mass.gov/quitting.

Pregnant or not, when you talk with a quit coach, they help you develop a quit plan that works for you, identify triggers, plan out your day without nicotine and manage withdrawals. 1-800-QUIT-NOW has a dedicated Spanish line (1-855-DÉJELO-YA) and interpreter services available for 200 other languages so language doesn't need to be a barrier to getting support.

Take the first step toward a nicotine-free life this Valentine's Day and call 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669) for help quitting for good. No lectures. No judgments. Just support.

To help you on your quit journey during pregnancy and for more information, the Tobacco-Free Community Partnership Program at Berkshire Area Health Education Center is holding a communitywide baby shower (Berkshire Baby Bonanza) on April 6 at the Stationery Factory in Dalton from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. This event is free to the public.

Local agencies and vendors will be on hand to answer questions about pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, baby safety and family planning. Gift bags will be given to the first 250 families. Please join us for fun, games, and raffles. Win door prizes by visiting information booths and attending educational sessions. For more information contact Joyce Brewer at jbrewer@berkshireahec.org.

For more information on quitting, visit mass.gov/quitting or contact the Berkshire Tobacco-Free Community Partnership's Program Director Joyce Brewer at jbrewer@berkshireahec.org. Take the first step of your journey to quit for good this Valentine's Day.

ServiceNet Cuts Ribbon on Vocational Farm to 'Sow Seeds of Hope'

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
06:30AM / Saturday, May 18, 2024

Lori Carnute plants flowers at the farm and enjoys seeing her friends. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Smiles were all around as farmers, human service workers, and officials cut the ribbon Friday on ServiceNet's new vocational farm on Crane Avenue.

Whether it is planting flowers or growing fresh produce, the program is for "sowing seeds of hope" for those with developmental disabilities.

"What Prospect Meadow Farm is about is changing lives," Vice President of Vocational Services Shawn Robinson said.

"Giving people something meaningful to do, a community to belong to, a place to go every day and to make a paycheck, and again, I am seeing that every day from our first 17 farmhands the smiles on their faces. They're glad to be here. They're glad to be making money."

Prospect Meadow Farm Berkshires held a launch event on Friday with tours, music, snacks, and a ribbon cutting in front of its tomato greenhouse. The nonprofit human service agency closed on the former Jodi's Seasonal on Crane Avenue earlier this year.  

It is an expansion of ServiceNet's first farm in Hatfield that has provided meaningful agricultural work, fair wages, and personal and professional growth to hundreds of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities since opening in 2011.

Eventually, the farm will employ 50 individuals with developmental disabilities year-round and another 20 to 25 local folks supporting their work.

The pay is a great aspect for Billy Baker, who is learning valuable skills for future employment doing various tasks around the farm. He has known some of the ServiceNet community for over a decade.

"I just go wherever they need me to help," he said. "I'm more of a hands-on person."