Northampton Division of Community Care outlines mobile-response, housing and transport support

The Division of Community Care (DCC), part of the Department of Health and Human Services, presented its mobile-response and resource-navigation services at the Northampton Senior Center on Aug. 14, 2025.

"We are dedicated to offering person centered and trauma informed support," said Anna Ganot, coordinator for the Division of Community Care, describing the team's work providing emotional support, advocacy and referrals for people experiencing houselessness, substance use, emotional distress or difficulty meeting basic needs. Ganot said the team responds to calls for wellness checks, nonviolent conflicts and other community needs and can be reached by phone, text or email.

The DCC emphasized its partnership with Northampton Public Safety dispatch, launched in March 2025. Ganot said dispatchers will refer calls to DCC when they determine police, fire or EMS are not the appropriate response. "If the dispatchers assess that a call is not appropriate for police, fire, or EMS, they sometimes refer the call to us for community responders to go out and provide support," she said.

Melody Fox, the DCC resource specialist, described the program's practical services. The community space at 1 Roundhouse Plaza operates Monday–Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.; it serves as a walk-in hub for resource navigation, device charging, and a cooling/warming center during extreme weather. The office houses a legal kiosk in partnership with Western New England University.

On housing, Fox said DCC provides direct referrals to community legal aid and helps clients apply for tenant-preservation services and RAFT (rental emergency) assistance. "RAFT can be used for moving costs up to $7,000," she said, and can also cover first, last and security deposits in some cases. The division will assist with court navigation, recertifications and communications with housing authorities but said programs and local capacity vary.

Transportation is limited and targeted. Fox said DCC operates four vehicles — two vans (one with a wheelchair lift) and two passenger cars — and provides rides primarily to connect people to needed resources such as food pantries or appointments. She clarified DCC does not provide emergency medical transport. Trips outside the core service area (Northampton, Florence and Leeds) to nearby communities such as Hadley or Amherst may be possible depending on capacity.

Ganot also described DCC's integration with the Drug Addiction Recovery Team (DART) under the substance-use prevention division, noting outreach to people at risk of overdose and post-overdose follow-up. Materials and brochures are available in Spanish, and staff said they have placed recent advertisements on WWLP and post flyers on city billboards as part of outreach.

On operating hours, Ganot said the division is exploring expanded evening coverage based on call-pattern analysis and community need; the team has occasionally extended hours for cooling-center operations. The DCC encouraged center patrons to take brochures and to call or email for individual appointments or follow-ups.

The meeting concluded after a public Q&A in which attendees asked about publicity, outreach into housing authority properties and the DCC's target population. Ganot reiterated that while the DCC serves anyone in Northampton, its transportation and mobile-response capacity focuses on connecting people to resources and on clients with acute needs rather than routine shopping trips.

Next steps: DCC staff left informational materials for the center and invited follow-up contacts by phone or email.