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Date: 11/7/2023
SPRINGFIELD — Two young Springfield men have earned the chance to rewrite their futures and expunge their past after graduating from the Emerging Adult Court of Hope program.
The Emerging Adult Court of Hope, better known as EACH, was created by Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni, Roca and the Massachusetts Trial Court, with a mission to change the trajectory of young people’s lives — primarily ages 18 to 24 — who are court-involved and facing incarceration.
To join the court, participants must plead guilty to the charges against them and work through a four-phase program that includes attending therapy, finding supportive housing, evading crime and maintaining a full-time job.
Two of the participants, 24-year-olds Joel Arroyo Collazo and Zayanah Dickson, went before the court for the last time on Nov. 2.
While both individuals had been facing several serious charges, they instead chose to participate in the EACH program to turn their lives around.
In a packed courtroom at the Hampden County Hall of Justice, Judge Kevin Maltby explained the process through which this program works.
Every week, the team meets and conducts a pre-session and court session. The scheduled participants come before the court and share how their week has been going, along with an update from Roca, the probation department and the District Attorney’s Office.
As part of the program, Maltby said participants are expected to follow their individualized service plans including compliance with general and special conditions and probation, compliance with Roca programs, remain drug and alcohol free and submit to random testing, work on getting a high school diploma or its equivalent, obtain a driver’s license, work on obtaining stabilized housing, job training, community service and more.
Maltby noted that Gulluni attends the weekly meetings and talks with participants individually outside the courthouse. “He is absolutely dedicated to this program in a way that would surprise you,” he said.
When thinking about what a graduation would look like for this program, Maltby said the team came up with the concept that every participant can graduate in the same manner that they came into the court.
“We felt it was meaningful and symbolic to do it this way, effectively turning back the clock and getting a second chance that they earned — not that they deserved — but they earned, and there is a difference between those two words,” Maltby said. “When you earn it you work hard for it. Deserving means entitlement. In here, we talk about earning it.”
Moving into session, Maltby called up representatives from Roca, the probation department and the District Attorney’s Office, along with the first participant, Arroyo Collazo.
Maltby explained to the audience that this is what it looks like every week.
“How was your week?” Maltby asked.
“Good,” replied Arroyo Collazo. “I just worked … Working, making money, staying busy.”
Maltby then shared a PowerPoint presentation of Arroyo Collazo’s progress and noted that success is not what people think it is — it is not a perpendicular line — it has ups and downs.
Arroyo Collazo’s journey began on July 16, 2020, when he was arrested and held on $10,000 bail for a year. He pleaded out into this court on July 15, 2021 and started EACH the same day.
Arroyo Collazo’s probation was 840 days. During that time, there were zero probation violations, he maintained temporary and outside employment and had no write-ups.
To others, Maltby said Arroyo Collazo is known as the person who “works all the time,” working first, second and third shifts, weekends, seven days a week and when no one else has wanted to work.
“He is an amazing worker,” Maltby added.
In the first phase, participants begin EACH with the transitional employment program that is facilitated through Roca.
Roca is an internationally recognized organization that’s mission is to create change in young adults by disrupting incarceration, poverty and racism, while also addressing trauma and finding hope.
In the second phase, participants can apply for outside jobs.
Arroyo Collazo graduated Phase 2 on Nov. 10, 2021.
In the third phase, the participant is given a mentor and identifies a career path. Maltby shared that Arroyo Collazo graduated from this phase on June 9, 2022.
Lastly, in Phase 4, a case manager assists participants in forming a life plan, which must include an educational or vocational path, or a viable career.
Arroyo Collazo graduated from this phase on March 15.
His next steps include stable housing, continued full-time employment and possible business opportunities as his goal is to eventually start his own business.
“The type of worker that you are, I see that as a real possibility for you,” Maltby said.
The second graduate, Dickson, shared that his week was “alright,” as he worked and took a peer support specialist test.
Dickson was arrested on Oct 28, 2020, and was arraigned the next day. Maltby shared that Dickson was held due to his “dangerousness” for a period of time. A hearing was conducted a little while later and he was released on conditions and bailed. That bail was posted on Nov. 16, 2020, so he spent some time incarcerated, and ultimately pled out on June 16, 2022 and started EACH the next day.
Looking at the numbers, Maltby said Dickson has always moved forward.
He spent 504 days on probation, completed a high school equivalency on March 9 and has been employed with the Behavioral Health Network for 206 days. As mentioned by Dickson, he also completed peer support specialist training this fall and is awaiting his test results.
“You have had an incredible run here in the EACH court and we are so proud of you,” Maltby said.
Dickson graduated to Phase 2 on Oct. 20, 2022, before moving onto the Behavioral Health Network. He graduated Phase 3 on Dec. 12, 2022 and Phase 4 during the last week of October.
Next, he will continue to work at the Behavioral Health Network and is considering taking training in January 2024 to become an emergency medical technician.
Roca, the probation department and the District Attorney recommended graduation for Arroyo Collazo and Dickson.
Maltby said he hopes the current participants remember this as they go through the program and take the opportunity to give it to the next person, as this was the third EACH graduation, with four that have now completed it.
Carlton Ford, the first EACH program graduate, attended the ceremony and told participants to keep moving forward and the future is in your hands. “Only you can change it,” he said.
According to Maltby, Ford finished the program in “record time” and obtained his commercial drivers license and is working full time.
The program length is geared toward 18 to 24 months, but could be shorter or longer depending on the individual.
The ceremony ended with Arroyo Collazo and Dickson receiving certifications of completion along with hearing Maltby say, “Cases are dismissed. Cases closed, fees waived.”
Applause and cheers echoed throughout the courtroom as Arroyo Collazo raised his certificate in the air and Dickson grinned from ear to ear.
After the ceremony, the two graduates shared how they were feeling at that moment.
“It hasn’t settled in for me yet,” said Dickson.
“I feel amazing,” Arroyo Collazo said, referencing the “good crew” that has been beside him and the “good motivation” that allowed him to keep moving forward.
Both graduates mentioned the importance of having this off their records, while Dickson pointed out the difficulty in finding jobs when a felon.
“I don’t know where I would be if it weren’t for EACH,” Arroyo Collazo said, and went on to describe Roca as his second family.
“I made it,” he shared.
To participants still in the program, Dickson encourages them to keep working on their goals.
Arroyo Collazo said it is not easy but if he and Dickson can do it, anybody can.
Diving deeper into EACH’s history, Gulluni shared, “In 2016 we really started with an idea that we could do better for a very special population of young adults — 18 to 24 year old people — whose needs were very particular and we really started with a guiding principle that we could change lives.”
He said they wanted to find the people to have a precedence and find the young people in the court system that were cycling in and out, facing life challenges that were not handled effectively.
Gulluni and his team traveled to San Francisco, California, to view a similar program and spent time with partnership agencies to see what this could be and how it could affect lives in a troubled population that would have a “deeper and broader impact on the community.”
The idea for a court was developed into what it is now.
Gulluni noted that the acronym EACH is heard a lot, but to him and his team that built out this court, “Each life matters. Each person matters. Each person should have an opportunity at a positive and productive future. We can affect each person that comes through this court system in a positive way,” he said.
He added that they take a “holistic approach” with young people who are in jail or are facing jail when they come into the court.
He went on to describe this work as the “future of our community.”
According to Gulluni, the Springfield District Court is the busiest in the state of Massachusetts. On top of Maltby being the presiding justice here, he voluntarily is the judge for the EACH program.
“His commitment and compassion knows no bounds,” Gulluni said, adding that Maltby is “fully devoted” and is here every week.
Gulluni also thanked his team, the probation department and Roca. “Roca is the village that is required to do this work,” he said. Without Roca, its team and the financial support, he shared that they would not be able to do the EACH program.
Gulluni congratulated Arroyo Collazo and Dickson and noted that each individual, their journeys and required support has been different, but is “so proud” to watch and have worked with them from beginning to end.
“Like I promised you when you began this process, you have an incredible future ahead of you and you’re just starting it and we’re so proud of your accomplishments today … Thank you for all your hard work,” Gulluni said.