Good morning, Hopkinton! Welcome to the daily update we call Hopkinton Today — a quick recap of yesterday’s news, highlights of what’s on tap, and a photo of the day.

HYFS staff to receive mental health education training from MHC

Hopkinton Youth & Family Services and the Mental Health Collaborative will be able to coordinate again on mental health education following the recent restoration of federal grant funding.

The Trump Administration last week made steep cuts to mental health and addiction programs totaling more than $2 billion. The cuts primarily affected the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), through which a HYFS grant was funded.

According to a report from NPR, the cuts were reversed the following day, allowing funding to flow once again to roughly 2,000 organizations nationwide.

“It was a roller coaster of a week,” said Abbie Rosenberg, founder and chief executive officer of MHC.

Now that it is available again, the grant will fund training for HYFS staff on “train-the-trainer” courses offered by MHC. The goal is to learn the curriculum of two classes and employ mental health education with Hopkinton students.

“Once they’re trained, they can teach this curriculum year after year, so the impact multiples,” said Rosenberg.

The classes — Mental Health Essentials Beyond High School and Foundations for Teens — are designed to meet students where they’re at developmentally. They teach foundational mental health literacy and prepare students for transition beyond high school.

“They teach them practical, usable skills,” Rosenberg said, including how to talk about mental health, reducing stigma and strengthening help-seeking.

Rosenberg said the train-the-trainer model is important because its reach expands beyond MHC. “What makes this work so powerful is that we’re not just delivering a one-time program,” she said. “By training HYFS professionals to deliver curriculum themselves, the impact grows year after year, and mental health education becomes part of the fabric of the school community rather than a one-off training.”

— NICK SCHOFIELD 

Latest News

A Hopkinton man awaiting a pretrial hearing for an alleged assault that occurred in Ashland earlier this month reportedly told officers he was defending himself against another man who suffered serious injuries.

The Select Board on Tuesday approved extensions for businesses that have not yet completed their license renewals and warned that licensees who do not complete their applications by the next meeting will need to reapply.

Town Manager Elaine Lazarus reported at the Select Board meeting that the fiscal year 2027 budget is balanced as the town prepares for Annual Town Meeting in May.

The Elementary School Building Committee agreed on Tuesday to repair sewer manholes in conjunction with roadwork on Hayden Rowe Street as part of the Charleswood School project.

This week’s Police Log features reports of a theft at Golden Pond, an escaped animal from a slaughterhouse and a controlled burn on Daniel Shays Road.

Town meetings tonight include the Community Preservation Committee (7) and School Committee (7).

Photo of the Day

Snow sits on a set of sofas outside the Hopkinton Center for the Arts.

PHOTO/JERRY SPAR