Healey highlights Project Safe Neighborhood grants, local policing partnerships in Holyoke

Governor Maura Healey visited Holyoke and joined state and local law enforcement leaders at the city’s EOPS Center to showcase Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN) grant-funded partnerships and local public safety work.

The gathering brought together state police, district attorneys, municipal chiefs and community organizations to discuss how state funding from the Office of the Governor is being used both for investigations and for prevention programs such as after‑school activities run by local Boys & Girls Clubs and YMCAs.

Healey said the administration directs PSN funds to local police departments and district attorneys so they can “do law enforcement work that they need to do and, you know, take guns off the street and take drugs off the street and make for a better quality of life.” She told attendees the grants support both investigative costs—“when you need to go up on a wire, this is expensive work”—and prevention programs.

In the first six months of 2025, Healey said, PSN‑supported partnerships across the Commonwealth produced nearly 500 arrests, 54 illegal guns removed from the street, about 30 kilos of narcotics seized and more than $240,000 in suspected illicit proceeds recovered. The governor and other speakers credited those results to coordinated state‑local efforts and to recent legislative appropriations for the program.

Massachusetts State Police Colonel Jeff Noble described the administration’s approach as building “strong partnerships, stay[ing] engaged in community programs, and deliver[ing] services that make a difference.” Noble emphasized a mix of mentorship programs, trauma‑informed victim response and “data driven enforcement” as elements of the strategy. “That trust is what makes progress possible,” he said.

Hampton County District Attorney Anthony Galuni said the PSN initiative has supported both prevention and enforcement in his jurisdiction, including partnerships with Roca and the Massachusetts State Police. Holyoke Police Chief Keenan credited the PSN funding for helping spark local efforts that led to dozens of arrests and for supporting what he called the city’s “open engagement program.” Keenan said the city saw “86 arrests” tied to efforts that catalyzed other joint initiatives and argued residents are noticing increased patrols and multi‑agency activity downtown. “The proof’s in the pudding,” he said.

Speakers gave local examples of PSN‑funded work: the governor said the Garcia market investigation in Holyoke was supported by a PSN grant; community partners at the convening included the Worcester Boys and Girls Club, the Athol YMCA, Roca and Roots Rising, which runs youth programs in Berkshire County.

The meeting also touched on operational challenges. Healey and others noted staffing shortages in law enforcement and encouraged recruitment into police academies and state police ranks. The governor invited listeners to “consider a career in law enforcement,” saying the administration will support recruits and that the work offers “an opportunity to be a force for good.”

Speakers acknowledged the risks officers face in the line of duty. Healey relayed that Trooper Sean Clark, who had been struck in an on‑duty hit‑and‑run and hospitalized, was recovering and “anxious to return to the job.”

The governor said the administration will continue statewide convenings; she told the group the next meeting will be in Essex County.