Our Hometown
Nashua | Diversity and Mental Health
Clip | 5m 42sVideo has Closed Captions
Lisa Velasquez speaks about the need for access to services for all the neighborhoods.
Lisa Velasquez speaks about the need for access to services for all the neighborhoods of Nashua.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Our Hometown is a local public television program presented by NHPBS
Our Hometown
Nashua | Diversity and Mental Health
Clip | 5m 42sVideo has Closed Captions
Lisa Velasquez speaks about the need for access to services for all the neighborhoods of Nashua.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
How to Watch Our Hometown
Our Hometown is available to stream on pbs.org and the free PBS App, available on iPhone, Apple TV, Android TV, Android smartphones, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire Tablet, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, and Vizio.
One of my favorite memories is moving to Nashua in my senior year of high school.
I was not happy just because of relocation at that moment in time.
But one of the memories that just sticks out in my mind is walking to the bus stop and having people say good morning in on the way to the bus stop and stop me on my tracks.
Because in New York City, people don't talk to you and having people say good morning.
Like, that's just a memory that sticks out of like how neighborly and friendly Nashuans are.
So that's one of my favorite memories of being in Nashua, specifically.
I've been at the Division of Public Health for over eight years, almost nine.
And the work has really changed from when I started to now.
I started as the Substance Misuse Prevention coordinator, and I really focused on substance misuse prevention programs, things like parenting classes and mostly education on the opioid crisis.
Because when I started, that was like the priority, and that's what everybody was talking about.
So I was doing, going around not only in Nashua but the surrounding towns and doing like, you know, opioid forums and talking to people about the dangers of opioids and what was going on and how we could support our youth in maintaining or preventing them from starting to use.
And I think the thing that has changed over time is that more and more of my presentations and talks are in diverse languages than when I started.
I think that's the most stark thing that when I think about the community in Nashua, it's changed.
But not only has it changed, but the Latino community specifically is a lot more vocal and says, Hey, you're missing me if we're not talking to them.
So I think that's the biggest takeaway for me is that I'm Latina.
I can't not listen to the Latino community and they're very loud and clearly say, I'm here and we need services and equitable access to not just services, but also health information.
So the diversity in Nashua has grown.
I mean, I've seen it grow since like graduating high school.
We had the Latino, like the Spanish club or the Latino club, and it was really small.
And now I think it's about over 20% of the students are of Latino descent.
So I think that's beautiful.
But there's also diversity, not just within the Latino community, but there's also other communities in Nashua, like a beautiful Indian American community.
There's Native Americans.
There's, you know, African-American community.
There's some refugees from Africa that also have settled here.
So they all bring different foods.
I always bring up food because I love food, but also different languages, different music, different just ways of interacting with each other.
And I find that my coworkers, whether they're from Brazil or they're from the Congo or from Puerto Rico, they're just all very welcoming.
They want to share their food, they want to share their experiences, they want to share their culture.
And it's just beautiful, to learn a little bit more.
And I think I'm just curious in nature that I want to learn a little bit more about everything.
So one of the projects that we're working on is a podcast about mental health that's called Speaking Our Minds.
It's a podcast in five different languages.
So I was able to learn welcome in five languages.
So I'm really excited about that.
But it's just one of the things I think that not just in American culture but in all cultures, we don't talk enough about, we don't talk enough about our mental health.
So we need to bring a lot of culture, cultural, culturally relevant information, culturally sensitive information, and culturally accurate information to people.
So that is really a challenge when you're working with five different languages and five different cultures to make sure that you're not just telling people like, this is the diagnosis, these are signs and symptoms and you need to get help.
But culturally, how do we talk about these things already?
Because we all know that mental health is a thing, whether we want to, whether we see it in from the spiritual lens, whether we see it from that moral lens or whether we see it from like a diagnosable like medical lens, we all see it.
We just might talk about it and experience it in a different way.
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 3m 15s | Dan Salzer and Jonathon Picard talk about Pemi Baker TV. (3m 15s)
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 3m | Maryann Barnsley tells us about a childhood dream. (3m)
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 2m 1s | Katharina Kelsey and her husband made a list, Plymouth checked all the boxes, and so much more. (2m 1s)
Plymouth | The Happiness Quest
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 2m 34s | Dr. Marie Sanders relates what can happen when an entire town works together to discover happiness. (2m 34s)
Plymouth | Memories, Stories and Cake
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 5m 41s | Patricia Hoyt came to Plymouth for college, launched her career here. (5m 41s)
Plymouth | Memories of Plymouth
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 1m 55s | Louise McCormick is a townie. She grew up in Plymouth, and has spent most of her life here. (1m 55s)
Plymouth | Local Foods Plymouth
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 3m 23s | Marianna Evans talks about Local Foods Plymouth, and how the pandemic helped to create a model. (3m 23s)
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 2m 21s | Carol Dunn tells about how this amazing town bonded together to save her business on Main Street. (2m 21s)
Plymouth | From Minsk to Plymouth
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 3m 41s | Jim Lurie tells us how in 1917, his grandfather travelled from Minsk, Russia, across Siberia. (3m 41s)
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 1m 34s | Bob Gannett speaks about an interesting story unfolding as he was on the radio. (1m 34s)
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 4m | Terry Fifield has lived in a lot of places, but found that the Plymouth area to be the best. (4m)
Plymouth | Community... on Wheels
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 6m 14s | Mike Currier talks about the roots of the Plymouth Skate Park. (6m 14s)
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 1m 45s | Bill Clark talks about, even with growth and progress, Plymouth is a special town. (1m 45s)
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 4m 19s | Suzan Gannett talks about Artistic Roots, and the programs and passions that it has inspired. (4m 19s)
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 2m 31s | John Scheinman shares how the skills needed in successfully coaching can be used. (2m 31s)
Plymouth | A Commitment of Caring
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 5m 1s | Jessica Dutille talks about re-building community, after the pandemic changed the world. (5m 1s)
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 4m 16s | Yvonne recalls growing up in Berlin, and speaking two languages in school. (4m 16s)
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 6m 41s | Andre speaks to us about growing up in Berlin. (6m 41s)
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 12m 40s | Walter tells us about Berlin's Skier/Soldier, Paul Petersen, and a love story. (12m 40s)
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 3m 36s | Roland talks about working in every aspect of the paper industry, over 4+ decades. (3m 36s)
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 4m 19s | Renney tells a couple of great stories about growing up in Berlin. (4m 19s)
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 5m 37s | Berlin has a language all its own, and Rachelle decided to compile a dictionary of words. (5m 37s)
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 4m 24s | Olive speaks about growing up in Berlin, in a family that owned Bisson's Sugar House. (4m 24s)
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 3m 5s | Lorna recalls heading into Berlin on Friday nights, for shopping & meeting up with friends (3m 5s)
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 3m 54s | Moving to Berlin was a dream come true for Haven, as he loved working in the woods. (3m 54s)
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 2m 43s | Diane talks about going from a 45 year career in the banking industry. (2m 43s)
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 6m 40s | Dennis tells the story of the history of boy scouts in Berlin, NH. (6m 40s)
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 6m 12s | speaks about growing up in Berlin, his paper route, and a creative way to make some money. (6m 12s)
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 7m 49s | Aime tells the story of his immigrant grandfather, Francois Bisson, migrating from Quebec. (7m 49s)
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 53s | You can spend your life dreaming of visiting exotic places. Sometimes it's better to dream (53s)
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 2m 42s | Neil Davis says he probably shouldn't have an umbrella that nice, plus another fish story. (2m 42s)
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 1m 9s | A little yankee math makes the negotiation more fair (1m 9s)
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 57s | What should be in the school's curriculum? Even spouses don't always agree. (57s)
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 50s | The only reason that there are pigs in this world. (50s)
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 54s | Sometimes you have to think about what to put your faith in. (54s)
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 1m 21s | A true Downeaster doesn't use any more words than need be. (1m 21s)
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 1m 16s | You really have to keep an eye on what the neighbors are doing. (1m 16s)
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 3m | She has made it her mission to help other immigrants, arriving in Nashua. (3m)
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 2m 51s | He recalls how welcoming & helpful the people of Nashua were when he first arrived. (2m 51s)
Nashua | Student Filmmaker Series: Tony Courounis
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 2m | Tony Courounis edited by Jacob Whelan (2m)
Nashua | Student Filmmaker Series: Nathan Burns/Piper Burns
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 3m 18s | Nathan Burns edited by Piper Burns (3m 18s)
Nashua | Student Filmmaker Series: Nathan Burns/Carolyn Byrn
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 3m 9s | Nathan Burns edited by Carolyn Byrne (3m 9s)
Nashua | Student Filmmaker Series: Kendall Reyes
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 1m 28s | Kendall Reyes edited by Abigail Russell (1m 28s)
Nashua | Student Filmmaker Series: John Richard
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 3m 22s | John Richard edited by Jackson Torres (3m 22s)
Nashua | Student Filmmaker Series: Gabriel Cadet
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 1m 31s | Gabriel Cadet edited by Austin Duponte (1m 31s)
Nashua | Student Filmmaker Series: Ed Lecius/Torbio Blanco
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 2m 52s | Ed Lecius edited by Samira Torbio Blanco (2m 52s)
Nashua | Student Filmmaker Series: Ed Lecius/Adam Breen
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 2m 52s | Ed Lecius edited by Adam Breen (2m 52s)
Nashua | Student Filmmaker Series: Cathrine Poulin
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 2m 31s | Cathrine Poulin edited by Kylie Soucy (2m 31s)
Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship
Support for PBS provided by:
Our Hometown is a local public television program presented by NHPBS