5.27.2022 David Almond Tree Planting

good morning everyone um to my dcr friends thank you very much back there much appreciated for helping to put this together um as you know i am state representative carol faiola and i want to welcome you all for joining us and thank you for joining us this morning for this brief but very important ceremony to honor david almond i don't think i have to go into the history of david right now because we

all are here because we understand the horrific horrific fate that david met along with his brothers although they are still living about a year and a half ago october 21 will be two years that david was killed first i'd like to acknowledge a few members who people who joined us today which demonstrates the kind of impact that what happened to david and his life and the future our future

actions have had on people and i'd like to acknowledge mayor coogan for being here today thank you mayor coogan i'd like to i know um that school committee person mimi larabee is here city councilor linda pereira two people that have yet to arrive but have committed to being here are superintendent ponce and the honorable judge jay spinelli from the juvenile court additionally joining us today

is district attorney tom quinn and as far as officials go when you hear these names everyone that i've mentioned was impacted greatly by what happened to david and everyone i mentioned has been a part of moving forward to ensure these things don't happen again i'd like to thank todd gildesliev and chris spelaine and the entire team joe for their help in organizing this event the entire dcr staff thank you i know

it's not easy to get things done here in the state and even planting a tree and a bench can can cause a few few challenges and that is why we are here today is to plant a tree and acknowledge a bench to memorialize david almond lastly i'd like to thank and acknowledge probably most important michael almeida who you'll hear from in a few minutes and michael is a citizen of fall river

and michael like all of us was impacted greatly when he read the horrific accounts of what happened to david and michael organized a memorial service not far from here last year i happened to show up i read about it like you all showed up here today and he said i would really like to dedicate a tree and a bench or either one if we could because i was so moved by what happened to david and

so i pledged that we would find a spot and we would find a place and david had heard i mean michael had heard that david's favorite area was here at heritage park he did not live his little bit of his life not far from here so it's extremely fitting that we dedicate this tree and this bench here today in david's honor and i can't thank mikey enough because i never knew mikey but he cared enough

to come forward and ensure that we do not forget here in fall river and throughout the commonwealth and the country that david did not die in vain we're all here because david's life and death impacted us all we felt the dread that came from this tragedy and felt the fear that this could happen to another child david's memory lives on as we remember what a sweet and caring young man he was

and his death has inspired all of us to do better and to make sure a tragedy like this never happens again david's case continues to shape the way the children under dcf supervision dcf was also invited here today and could not make it but i do want to acknowledge that since his death the office of the child advocate which is an independent executive branch agency with oversight of dcf

conducted a multi-system review of the department of child and family services and of the department of elementary and secondary education the report included 26 recommendations for policy procedure and practice improvements within the deci the mass juvenile court the mass probation service and the oca continues to continues to work with these agencies in developing these policy improvements that have been

identified in our under underway because of this case the office of the child advocate was able to identify systematic issues and helped dcf and desi create reporting guidelines training policies and more and that report and subsequent follow-up report on the status of of these recommendations and implementation is online the report released following david's death has shined a light on the need to educate and train

dcf workforce on child safety assessments and particularly for children with disabilities and i could go into all of the steps but i'm not today because it just just know that these improvements are underway and the point isn't that today as much as it is to stop and reflect on the fact that david's life was meaningful and his death will have meaning as we move forward with these implementation and continued

monitoring and vigilance on the steps to improve uh child welfare safety we remain focused on making further improvements so that all children in our community feel safe and loved here's judge spinelli come on over i introduced that you were here the committee on children and families and persons with disabilities continue continues to review policies procedures and ensure we do everything to protect our children

in addition to this dedication here today i have filed legislation to formally dedicate this area as a david almond grove and that legislation is moving forward as we speak so that his memory can live on and before i turn it over to michael almeida to say a few words i'd like to share a statement from director masadas at the office of the child advocate who could not be here and censor regret

regrets as you know again the child office of the child advocate is a vital organization in child welfare and responsible in our in our commonwealth anyone listening anyone who knows has any concerns about an issue with child welfare there's a toll-free number you call and they will immediately assess and begin an investigation if necessary so people should know the office of the child advocate

and when the this is the quote from maria masadas the executive director when the office of the child advocate released our investigative report into the death of david almond we made a commitment to the public that we would closely monitor and report on the corrective actions taken by the state entities identified in our investigation a year later we can report that there have been sweeping changes across state

government that honor the life of david almond including changes in policy and practice at the department of children and families updated guidance to schools from the department of elementary and secondary education and changes in policy and practice at the juvenile court at the massachusetts probation services the work continues as it should but we believe there has been a shared and ongoing commitment across state

government to making systematic change in the provision of state services to the commonwealth's most vulnerable children and again i want to reiterate you see the different organizations that have been closely involved and part of the solutions to moving forward that says an awful lot here today to see you all present to honor david's memory and with that the gentleman that really is responsible for this event i'd

like to introduce michael almeida first off i want to thank state representative carol farola for doing this for me i want to thank all the city and local officials and the public that came here today so good morning my name is michael almeider many of you may want to know did i know david the answer is no i didn't know him personally i've been working with children with disabilities since i was 20 and this

tragedy hit me very hard because i had a brother with disabilities they need someone to advocate for them especially ones with disabilities i lived just two minutes from where david lived so this hit me very hard i just couldn't sit back and not do anything david i didn't know you but it feels like i've known you my entire life we don't have the answers of why the lord called you home so young

we wish this was just a dream we are all wishing you all you would walk back into our lives but on wednesday october 21st 2020 the lord called you home as one of his young beautiful angels your love and life lives on inside of all of us and we will hold on tight it's not to place the question why only god knows why god needed another angel and he saw you were in pain and

suffering so he called you home david from what i have learned about you you were the nicest kid you would ever meet you always wanted to make new friends everywhere you went and had a great personality you had a beautiful laugh and a smile that would light up the room you were the sweetest little boy anyone could ask for from what i've gathered david loved the water and enjoyed swimming david loved soccer

and was interested in hockey too david loved to paint and his favorite color was red did you know david was actually actually a musician he loved playing the qatar and he had some really good talent at it too he loved listening to music and loved superheroes his favorite was batman david love video games especially with mario and street fighter he was actually really good at it broke a few remotes

from what we have learned and know about david he was just a bundle of joy david i leave you with this with a beautiful tree planted in your memory and a bench overlooking the beautiful scenery and boats in the water you would love this i hope the angels know what they have gained please watch over your brothers michael and joshua as well as grayson and help guide them through life they are going to need it

david you still have family and friends that still love you and are sad that this happened including your mom who misses you very much and is devastated about this is in this incident please watch over all of them and us david rest in everlasting peace little man david just know that this tragedy will be prevented from happening again because of you this isn't goodbye but it will meet you soon

and again thank you so much thank you michael um at this time before we gather over at the tree and the shovels and i'll invite the mayor and the d.a and the counselor and school committee and judge spinelli i wanted to offer an opportunity i know for the mayor or for school committee or anyone else who would like to have a word judge spinelli would you care to

join us up here and have a word i know very brief and as you can imagine this is difficult for all of us we all we all yeah i think that uh you know it's it's very hard this has affected all of us you know what i oversaw this case it was my juvenile court that uh that this tragedy happened in and it's deeply affected everybody that worked with the almond family

and works with kids every day i do echo what the office of child advocate has said that we have looked at the processes that are involved in each of these cases there have been dramatic changes that have made been made the one thing you talk about what god's plan is um david is going to have an impact on not just the juvenile court but the way kids are being treated

in this system and that impact is going to be you know for generations so his life certainly uh while it was short i think it's going to have a long-term impact and i do you know it's a terrible tragedy it's one that we live with i think about really on a daily basis but i i do promise you that david's life is one that we will learn from and we will make changes

okay thank you thank you thank you everybody thank you does anybody else care to say a word i'd also be remiss before we head over to the shovels to acknowledge our rep schmidt's office is represented here today i see cindy from the parent advisor parent center at durfee high school i know everyone there was deeply and gravely impacted by the loss of david and so we really respect the

fact that you came today all of you because uh collectively as a uh it's one thing to acknowledge a tragedy it's another thing to come together and find solutions and that's what every everybody here has tried to do so thank you all um why don't we gather over to the shovels and we'll plant well throw some dirt on this beautiful tree that uh todd gildeslief arborist for dcr has chosen for david's memory

throw our dirt right in

thank you all for being here and maybe we could just take a second to collect our thoughts and maybe bow our heads and take a moment to reflect the game today and all the children who have suffered

thank you all for coming as we begin this a very important and solid memorial weekend oh