News Briefs

Rep. Turco Hosts Office Hours

State Representative Jeffrey Rosario Turco announced today that he will be holding monthly office hours in Winthrop. The first office hour session will be held at the Winthrop Senior Center from 10 am – 11:30 am on Monday, May 18th and then the third Monday of each month at the same time and place. Rep. Turco encourages all constituents to drop by and share their thoughts and concerns. 

Street Sweeping Underway

The Town of Winthrop conducts Street Sweeping operations on the last full week of the month (last week with a Friday) from April through October between 7:00 AM and 4:00 PM on the day of a street’s trash collection.  If there is a holiday on the week sweeping would normally occur, sweeping is done a week early.

Town ordinance prohibits parking in a manner that impedes the street sweeper.  Violation of the street sweeping ordinance carries a $40.00 fine, and your vehicle can be towed.

The remaining 2022 street sweeping dates are:

• May 23-27

• June 20-24

• July  25-29

• Aug. 22-26

• Sep. 26-30

• Oct. 24-28

Together for Mental Health

May is recognized as National Mental Health Awareness Month.

According to data from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), nearly 1.2 adults in Massachusetts – nearly 7 times the population of Chelsea, Revere, Winthrop and East Boston combined — have a mental health condition. Statewide, 42.2 percent of adults in Massachusetts reported symptoms of anxiety or depression, based on February 2021 data from NAMI, and 66,000 youths in Mass. ages 12-17 have been diagnosed with depression. More than half of Americans report that COVID-19 has had a negative impact on their mental health.

The most important message to understand, this month and every month, is that you are not alone. Annual prevalence of mental illness among U.S. adults, by demographic group:

• Hispanic or Latino: 18.4%

• Non-Hispanic Asian: 13.9%

• Non-Hispanic white: 22.6%

• Non-Hispanic black or African-American: 17.3%

• Lesbian, Gay or Bisexual: 47.4%

If you have questions or concerns about your own or a loved one’s mental wellbeing, there are resources available, including NAMI (www.nami.org and www.namimass.org).

In Chelsea, Revere, Winthrop and East Boston North Suffolk Mental Health Association serves children, adults and families, offering programs, groups and services in multiple languages. NSMHA has outpatient clinics in Chelsea, East Boston, Downtown Boston and Revere. Child-focused providers who speak English, Spanish and Portuguese are available.  NSMHA offers Rapid Access hours at the Chelsea Counseling Center at 301 Broadway (617-912-7900) and at East Boston at 14 Porter St. (617-569-3189).

In 2020, 363,000 adults in Massachusetts reported not receiving needed mental health care. We must do better, and we can if we are “Together for Mental Health.”