While working in Ireland several years ago I had the pleasure of connecting to a wonderful, visionary person named John Lonergan, who was the governor of Mountjoy Prison in Dublin and who was also a member of Care Local’s Board of Directors, the agency of which I was director. John was one of the most respected people in Dublin.

In one of our many conversations I asked him to share his thoughts on the challenges and successes in working within the Irish penal system. He shared that what has directed him through the more than two decades as governor of Mountjoy is his personal belief that you have to create a society based on justice, equality, fairness, and compassion and to always remember that everyone has the capacity to change.

Upon returning home to Northampton, I had the opportunity to discuss Gov. Lonergan’s thoughts with Hampshire County Sheriff Pat Cahillane. Pat has the same aspirations and vision of social justice as John, and many of the programs created by Sheriff Cahillane reflect those values.

Among them are the Nurturing Father’s Program and the Bridge to the Future Home Program in which staff help with employment and finding homes while providing counseling and support for individuals who are ending their time of incarceration. In a groundbreaking achievement, the Hampshire County House of Correction under Sheriff Cahillane’s leadership became one of the few correctional facilities in the country to operate its own Opioid Treatment Program — providing medication-assisted treatment for all who enter the facility. This is but one example of Pat’s style of flexibility and new initiatives to respond to the challenges of COVID and shorter periods of incarceration.

While at the state level, social and racial inequity issues for those individuals who are incarcerated are addressed with varying degrees of success, I believe that locally, under Sheriff Cahillane’s leadership, the Hampshire County House of Corrections will continue to be a solid example of social innovation and social justice throughout Massachusetts. I wholeheartedly endorse him as he runs for a second term as sheriff of Hampshire County.

Linda Desmond

Florence