February 1, 2021 – The Eagle Tribune On a typical day before the pandemic, Chris Austin had plenty on his to-do list as the director of food enterprise for the Lowell-based UTEC organization. The anti-violence group was operating several food-related programs including a cafe, event space and bustling catering business. Once March 2020 arrived, however, … >More
Blog
UTEC Leads the Way on Proposed Expungement Legislation
December 9, 2020, Lowell Sun With children of her own to care for and a desire to have a job she would be proud of, Manoushka “ Money” Gaston decided years ago to pursue a career as a certified nursing assistant. The 27- year- old Lowell resident said she worked toward the position and received … >More
Statements on Recently Completed Review by Todd & Weld
Statement from the UTEC Board of Directors As we announced in August, the Board of Directors of UTEC has retained a neutral third party to review claims of racial and gender-based discrimination made about the organization on social media. The review has been completed and the Board is now providing an update. As mentioned in … >More
UTEC awarded grant for re-entry programming
October 18, 2020, The Lowell Sun The U. S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs has awarded $ 750,000 in grant funding to UTEC, Inc. to develop programming for young adults re- entering society after incarceration.
Racial Equity Update
In the midst of a justified and long overdue national outcry to address systemic racism, and growing organizing within Lowell, we wanted to make sure you received the latest updates about our own work that we have committed to and have been processing within UTEC. If you haven’t already seen our previous Statements (links below … >More
UTEC Board of Directors Statement
For 20 years, UTEC has served many young people of Lowell and, more recently, Lawrence and Haverhill, in trading violence and poverty for social and economic mobility. The UTEC Board of Directors is proud of the many important accomplishments of UTEC’s leadership team and staff, who have worked hard, innovated, and continuously adapted to meet … >More
Open Letter to UTEC Staff and Community
In the midst of a long-overdue national outcry about systemic racism in our country, every company, organization, and individual has rightfully been compelled to examine their prior actions and practices in an effort to determine how they can best root out racism. UTEC is no different. In fact, this kind of self-examination is of particular … >More
UTEC Pushes for Kids to Have Clean Slate
July 18, 2020 “UTEC legislative organizers rejoiced two years ago when the initial law they fought for to allow youthful offenders to petition to expunge their criminal records was passed. However, they quickly realized most of the population UTEC serves would not be eligible, due to the interpretation of the law as restricting eligibility to … >More
Continued services in a time of need and The UTEC Family Fund on 980 WCAP
May 11, 2020 From 980 WCAP: UTEC’s Chief Executive Officer Gregg Croteau, Transitional Coach Sadyra Martinez, and Director of Food Enterprises Chris Austin chat with morning show host Ted Panos of 980 WCAP to talk about UTEC’s continued efforts during the pandemic. They talk about how streetworkers and transitional coaches are keeping in … >More
Doing antiviolence work in a time of social distancing
April 14, 2020 From The Boston Globe: UTEC — a Lowell nonprofit devoted to giving troubled young people second chances — has seen challenges it never anticipated in the time of coronavirus. But it is adapting. No one had ever seen a peace vigil quite like the one that snaked through Haverhill last Saturday. Instead … >More