Page 14 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, July 3, 2020 Mental health forum focuses on COVID-19 management By Tara Vocino W ard 3 Councillor Amanda Linehan and Ward 3 School Committee Member Jennifer Spadafora cohosted a virtual, 75-minute community forum on “mental health in time of COVID-19” on Monday night. Speakers included psychiatrist Kathryn Zioto (MD, MPH) and mental health counselor Meghan Dowd Murray (LICSW), who shared their clinical experiences helping the community navigating the effects of the pandemic and the recent incidents of racial violence. —Tara Vocino may be reached at printjournalist1@gmail.com. Meghan Dowd Murray, LICSW, said quarantine is difficult for everyone, and that no one is a failure for being more depressed. Ward 3 School Committee Member Jennifer Spadafora encouraged residents to take advantage of social media groups to meet neighbors and like-minded individuals while in quarantine resulting from COVID-19. Ward 3 Councillor Amanda Linehan asked health officials how to welcome incoming residents during quarantine. Kathryn Zioto, MD, MPH, encouraged parents to find a comfortable room to have a mental telehealth session to simulate a more standard counseling session. (Advocate photos by Tara Vocino) On Monday night elected and health officials held a Zoom mental health forum. Host Kate Kelly provided an emergency number for mental health services. BUSINESS | FROM PAGE 1 them to have expanded patio space,” he said, adding that the city should do whatever it can to help downtown businesses survive. Councillors agreed O’Malley’s proposal was a great idea, and even better after they changed it. Ward 5 Councillor Barbara Murphy questioned the impact the reduction in parking would have on other downtown retail and service businesses. Both she and Ward 1 Councillor Peg Crowe said there needs to be more discussion and planning around maintaining access to other businesses. “I don’t know how we say only restaurants get to expand outside their front door,” said Councillor-at-Large Craig Spadafora. “I would expand this to include all business throughout the entire city.” The Liquor Licensing Board has approved 15 applications for outdoor seating, most recently for Ibasaw, Saigon Noodle, Hugh O’Neill’s and Mixx 360. Councillors agreed all businesses should have the opportunity of expanded use of outdoor space but added other factors were in play. Murphy said that after working for 40 years to reopen Pleasant Street, the idea of installing speed bumps and stop signs along with a reduction in parking seemed to “go against the grain.” Ward 2 Councillor Paul Condon said that any traffic calming measures would need to be reviewed to ensure they did not interfere with the response time of the Police and Fire Departments. And there are ADA sidewalk requirements that need to be ensured. The question of the cost of Jersey barriers was also raised. Councillor-at-Large Stephen Winslow made one more tweak to O’Malley’s proposal by asking the city engineer to look into potential assistance and resources available through the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s Shared Streets and Spaces grant program. MassDOT provides grants ranging from $5,000 to $300,000 for street and sidewalk improvements that support public health, safe mobility and renewed commerce. Mass. RMV advises to renew licenses online now; upgrade to REAL ID in 2021 for free Customers who renew standard license online at Mass. Gov/RMV before Aug. 12 will have $25 REAL ID upgrade fee waived upon future return visit to a Service Center Q UINCY – The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) is encouraging all eligible customers to renew their standard Massachusetts driver’s license or Massachusetts ID card online at Mass.Gov/RMV anytime between now and August 12, 2020, in order to qualify for a free upgrade to a REAL ID credential in 2021. This one-time, time-limited offer is available to most customers who have an expired or expiring license or ID card dated between June 23, 2018, and August 2021, as customers are eligible to renew up to a year in advance of the expiration date printed on their license or ID, or up to two years after their expiration. “The RMV is encouraging all of our customers to stay safe, save time, and go online during the COVID-19 pandemic to renew their license or ID card, rather than attempting to come in to get a REAL ID,” said RMV Registrar Jamey Tesler. “Over 500,000 people have a license or ID credentials that expires this summer that can be renewed online, and we hope they will all take advantage of this one-time offer for a free, future upgrade to allow the RMV to prioritize ‘social-distancing’ and other essential transactions that may only be completed in-person.” Qualifying customers who complete their renewal online prior to August 12 and wish to upgrade to a REAL ID for free will have to wait until at least February 2021 to visit an RMV Service Center. At this time, customers will not need a federally-compliant REAL ID for the purposes of boarding domestic flights prior to October 1, 2021, because the federal government delayed the compliance effective date by one year. The fee for obtaining a standard or REAL ID license is $50, while the fee for obtaining a standard or REAL ID card is $25. The typical $25 upgrade/amendment fee will be waived under these qualifying circumstances. A limited digital campaign – “Stay Safe, Save Time, Go Online” – will also accompany this promotion and can be viewed at this link: https://youtu.be/B3NuHgTwa3Q. Obtaining an initial federally-compliant REAL ID requires all customers to visit a Service Center in person to present verifying documents. The RMV has introduced this LICENSE | SEE PAGE 19
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