NORTHAMPTON — Two public conversations are planned this month about the initiative to resettle 51 refugees in Northampton. The community is invited to learn and ask questions about the resettlement.
Mayor David Narkewicz is scheduled to attend the first meeting from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Sept. 19 in the John F. Kennedy Middle School cafeteria at 100 Bridge Road in Florence.
The second meeting will be from 2 to 4 p.m. Sept. 22 at the Northampton Senior Center, 67 Conz St.
The meetings are sponsored by Catholic Charities in Springfield and members of the Welcome Home Steering Group.
Susannah Crolius, coordinator of outreach and resource development for Catholic Charities, told the City Council in July that the first of the refugees could arrive as early as January 2017, with the rest arriving at various times during the next year.
“Refugee families need a safe, welcoming community in which to come and build a successful new life,” Crolius wrote in a press release announcing this month’s meetings. “The people of Northampton value and embody welcome and have many resources from which to draw.”
Staff writer Caitlin Ashworth can be reached at cashworth@gazettenet.com.