UTEC Leaders Visit White House

September 27, 2023

LOWELL SUN: Leaders of UTEC, Lowell’s youth violence intervention, reentry and advocacy program, were invited to the White House on Friday, where they heard President Joe Biden announce the formation of a new office intended to curb gun violence.

UTEC CEO Gregg Croteau and Jose “Poppa” Pizzini, a UTEC streetworker, were on hand in the Rose Garden, along with leaders, and advocates from across the country, and parents of gun-violence victims, when Biden revealed the formation of the Office of Gun Violence Prevention.

“After every mass shooting, we hear a simple message — the same message heard all over the country, and I’ve been to every mass shooting: Do something,” Biden said during the event. “Do something to prevent the tragedies that leave behind survivors who will always carry the physical and emotional scars, families who will never be the same, communities overwhelmed by grief and trauma. Do something. … Well, my administration has been working relentlessly to do something.”