Maldden alld a A Vol. 30, No. 20 den -FREEThe Advocate – A household word in Malden for 30 years! AD O C TE AD CAT AT www.advocatenews.net Published Every Friday Business community comes up huge for Malden Overcoming Addiction with $20K donation 617-387-2200 By Steve Freker T hey are knocking on doors, making telephone calls and A SPECIAL THANK YOU: Pictured in no particular order are Mayor Gary Christenson, President of Malden Overcoming Addiction (MOA) Paul Hammersley, MOA Board Member Linda Cochran, Gavin Foundation President/CEO John McGahan, Bridge Recovery Center Director Keriann Caccavaro, Bridge Recovery Center Assistant Director Anthony Mansi, Group member Julie Bunch, Paul T. Murphy Insurance Agency President Paul Murphy, L & L Services Owner Louie Barretto, Town Line Luxury Lanes Owner Anthony DeCotis, Tony’s Auto Body Owner Tony Bartolo, Gavin Murphy of Yankee Pest Control, Peter Tufts of Tufts Construction, Mystic Paving Manager Bob Kaminski, and Arbella Insurance. (Photo courtesy of Malden Overcoming Addiction) Special to Th e Advocate O n May 13, a gathering of generous hearts and minds took place. Nothing could describe this better than the quote by Helen Keller “Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.” Malden Mayor Gary Christenson, Malden Overcoming Addiction (MOA) President Paul Hammersley and Gavin FounDONATION | SEE PAGE 8 GBL Champs visiting various sites around the community, all with one goal: Get more Malden residents vaccinated. According to the latest state numbers, Malden is one of the leading communities in the region and in Massachusetts for those partially or fully vaccinated against COVID-19 when it comes to equity in race and ethnicity groups. Malden exceeds both the state and national average percentages overall and in most individual demographic/ethnic groups for those who are vaccinated. Malden Mayor Gary Christenson and Malden Health Department Director Chris Webb praised the efforts of all who have been participating in an ongoing, sometimes daunting eff ort to “get the word out” regarding vaccination. One of the primary leaders of the city's intensive outreach eff ort has been Bybiose Larochelle, who recently became Malden’s fi rst Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) coordinator, as a member of the Mayor’s Offi ce staff . “She [Larochelle] has been instrumental in helping getting the word and reaching our residents who may not have known enough about the vaccine, or how to get vaccinated,” Webb said at a recent Malden COVID-19 Update on YouTube E Friday, May 21, 2021 Malden surpassing state, national vaccination numbers by demographic groups due to outreach Mayor’s Offi ce’s new DEI Coordinator working closely with Health Dept. in ongoing, successful efforts Bybiose Larochelle DEI Coordinator (Courtesy/MHS Blue and Gold) hosted by Mayor Christenson. “It has been a concerted effort by our Health Department and Ms. Larochelle, and it is really working,” Mayor Christenson added. “We are pleased with the numbers showing in our community.” The outreach eff ort has been a two-pronged enterprise, Larochelle explained at the COVID-19 update: disseminating information about the vaccine itself as well as giving residents additional information so they can make an informed decision about being vaccinated. “People have to know all of the information before they decide which route they wish to take,” Larochelle said. “It is a personal decision and we have just wanted to make VACCINATION | SEE PAGE 10 Standing in front of the net are Varsity Head Coach Samantha Souza, Co-Captains Bonnie Kuang, Elaine Du and Kenny Nguyen and Assistant Coach Tiffany Cane. The Malden Field Hockey team defeated Everett 6-0 last Friday to win this year’s GBL Championship and finish the season undefeated. See page 12 for story and photo highlights. (Advocate photo by Tara Vocino)
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