PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The state's new director of rural affairs says she wants to hear from the residents of Western Massachusetts. 

 

"I need you to be honest with me," Anne Gobi told the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission and Berkshire County Selectmen's Association at their recent annual meeting. "If I screw up, you tell me."

 

Massachusetts has more than 180 rural communities with fewer than 7,000 people, or less than five people per square mile. Gobi emphasized the importance of hearing what these communities need from the state in order to better themselves.

 

Gobi was a state senator representing communities in Worcester and Hampshire counties until she was tapped earlier this year by Gov. Maura Healey to fill the position created in the Office of Economic Development to recognize and address the needs of rural communities. 

 

Thomas Matuszko, director of the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, pointed out that the statewide rural policy advisory commission, of which he is a member, has been advocating for someone at the state level to pay attention to rural communities.

 

"Depending on the metric there is somewhere between 170 and 180 rural communities in Massachusetts," he said. "And most of the time we feel like we've been left behind by a lot of the powers that are concentrated in the eastern part of the state."

 

Gobi explained that gateway cities get a good amount of funding for that designation and her department is working with rural leaders to come up with a designation for them. She said the planners need to find a way to designate which communities really need help and that the government has to be flexible enough to deliver the aid.

 

She put together an email blast to town leaders to facilitate regular virtual meetings so that rural communities can talk to the administration and each other about issues such as population and enrollment decline, aging populations, economic development, and infrastructure.

 

As a legislator, she remembers getting the calls about everyday quality-of-life issues that cities don't see as often.

 

"I want to know really what we can do because I'm not a person to listen and not do something," Gobi said. "That's not my nature."

 

The gathering at the Berkshire Hills Country Club was the first in-person annual meeting since the pandemic.

 

"It's really nice to see everybody in person," President Christine Hoyt said during the reception

 

The BCSA aims to improve local government through advocacy and sharing best practices.  It regularly awards scholarships to high school students and over $100 was raised for the effort during the event.

 

BRPC has worked on more than 140 projects this year in areas such as economic development, public health, energy conservation, and transportation.

 

"It's been a full year," Matuszko said, highlighting some of BRPC's efforts that ranged from digital security and climate initiatives to outdoor recreation and public health.

 

He pointed out that the COVID-19 pandemic brought attention to the poor condition of local public health and the need for standards and proper training for professionals in the field.

 

The community health improvement plan for Berkshire County was wrapped up this year and BRPC provided public health inspector services and public health nursing services to a number of communities.

 

"We are very much involved in opioid addiction issues," Matuszko reported.

 

"We really expanded that program a lot this last year working with a lot of key partners to try to implement some recognized standards that can deal with the folks that have those issues and those problems."

 

BRPC also created the Berkshire Funding Focus, which is a one-stop shop for the various grant programs that are available from the federal and state governments.

 

During the reception, Volunteers in Medicine Executive Director Ilana Steinhauer was presented the Charles Kusik Award for making outstanding contributions to planning in Berkshire County.

 

VIM provides free, comprehensive health care that is fully integrated with collaborative social support to residents who are ineligible for insurance.

 

"We thought that the work that Volunteers in Medicine does, working with people who need help the most, is a very deserving and important task that gets accomplished and a lot of it has to do with Ilana's work and her leadership and her just enthusiasm and energy to kind of keep this moving forward," Matuszko explained.

 

"She really has been responsible for a lot of success. Most recently, Volunteers in Medicine has established a presence in Pittsfield and have been working really with the immigrant population, which is another group that really needs help in these types of things."

 

Steinhauer was honored to accept the award for VIM's 160 volunteers, staff and 1,700 patients.

 

She said she wakes up most mornings with the feeling of being one of the luckiest people in Berkshire County because she gets to lead an organization that understands health is achieved by a human-to-human relationship between clinicians and patients.

 

When it is seen this way, providers can integrate patients' social and economic needs with healthcare.

 

"We understand really listening to all of our patients with humility, curiosity, and love is what makes health care work," Steinhauer said.

 

"With the growing immigrant community, we are excited to continue to meet our mission and partnership with all of you as we expand into Pittsfield this coming winter. Together as a community, we are making the Berkshires the kind of place where anyone who wants to build a life for themselves and their family can thrive."