Home Care In Sutton, MA

SUTTON – The town manager says the state has recently sent nearly 100 migrants to Sutton with very little warning and that the town has been scrambling ever since.

“The town people have a big heart and the town, as well as the churches, all nonprofits, are coming together to support these families,” Town Manager James Smith said. “It would have been helpful if we got advance notice and we could have prepared because we have been behind the eight ball since the start.”

Smith said the town received a call at 6 p.m. Aug. 25 — a Friday, when Town Hall typically closes at noon — reporting that migrants would be placed in shelters in Sutton, which has a population of less than 10,000.

“The offices were closed. Everyone was gone for the weekend,” Smith said. “We didn’t know anything about it until Monday morning when we got here. At that point, maybe 18 families had been located at an inn in Sutton. And then we started scrambling.”

"Placing families into emergency shelter occurs throughout the day and into the evening, including on weekends, as families seek shelter at all hours," said Karissa Hand, a spokesperson for Gov. Maura Healey. "We work hard to give local officials as much notice as possible when families are sheltered in their communities, but given the fast moving nature of this emergency, sometimes that notice is shortly before or even after placement. We are deeply grateful for the partnership of communities for stepping up to help us meet this moment and ensure families have a safe place to stay. Furthermore, the activation of the National Guard will help to ensure that all families in shelter have access to basic services."

In all, 28 families ? 81 individuals including 16 school-aged children ? were placed in Sutton between Sunday and Wednesday.

Smith said the initial week or so was a challenge.

“We were just reacting to the situation and doing everything we could. But now, it sort of settled a little bit. We got a number of volunteers involved. We got all the churches mobilized, communication, translation, so forth.

“As far as we know, they’re all here legally,” Smith said. “And they all have passports. They came to the U.S. by plane. They have immigration hearings set up. And hopefully, the governor has stated that the National Guard is coming out later in the week to assist, and that will be a help."

Smith acknowledges that this is happening throughout the state and says Sutton is doing its part.

“Sutton was one of the last sites chosen because the only location we have is really unsupported. There’re no cooking facilities. There’s no infrastructure. There’s no transportation,” Smith said. “Yeah, there’s a grocery store, but you have to cross a six-lane highway, take your life in your hands to do that. These individuals are basically stuck on an island in Sutton. There’re no crosswalks. There’s nothing.”

Smith said the migrants have mostly come from Haiti.

“These kids came here pretty much well taken care of, vaccinated. We made sure all their vaccinations were up to date. They have been registered for the school department,” Smith said. “What we don’t want is be caught with the bill. So if we bring these kids in, they’re going to need English as a second language teachers to help them adjust to our school system. And, yet, there is no financial resources from the state. You can hire an ESL teacher on an as-needed basis. They’re not available. You got to give a one-year contract and we own them for a year. I hope the state is going to reimburse us to take care of the cost of hiring these extra people as a result of the situation.”

Smith said the town needs financial support.

“We’ll do our share. We’ll do what we can take care of,” Smith said. “But we don’t have the money to do it. We will need their help.”

People in Sutton, Massachusetts, have been scrambling to overcome language barriers and provide basic necessities for around 125 migrants who arrived over a week ago with little notice from the state.

Massport confirmed a "large group of migrants" landed at Boston's Logan Airport overnight on Saturday, Aug. 26 into Sunday, Aug. 27. They were transported to the welcome centers in Quincy and Allston, according to Massport spokesperson Jennifer Mehigan. From there, the families were sent to the small town of Sutton in cabs.

The state notified town officials of the migrants' arrival around 6 p.m. Friday night, long after employees clocked out for the weekend, Town Administrator James Smith said. Local officials didn’t realize around 18 families were at a temporary shelter in Sutton until Monday morning, and more migrants have arrived since.

"Everybody is just embracing these people and reaching out and figuring out how they can help," Smith told NBC10 Boston Tuesday. "The biggest challenge is the language barrier."

The town is now caring for approximately 33 families, including 16 school-aged children, who mostly came from Haiti. MEMA was on site Tuesday to help coordinate logistics. Gov. Maura Healey's office noted that she has activated up to 250 members of the Massachusetts NationalGuard to help at hotels that are serving as emergency shelters.

"We work hard to give local officials as much notice as possible when families are sheltered in their communities, but given the fast-moving nature of this emergency, sometimes that notice is shortly before or even after placement," spokesperson Karissa Hand said in a statement. "We are deeply grateful for the partnership of communities for stepping up to help us meet this moment and ensure families have a safe place to stay."

Nurses with the Department of Public Health were sent to evaluate the migrants, according to the town administrator, and quickly learned some people had health issues that required immediate medical attention. Since the families aren't covered by MassHealth, the town covered the cost.

“There needs to be more communication," said State Rep. Joseph McKenna, whose office was included in communications between state officials and the town. "There needs to be a direct line to the various state agencies and some assurances that the state will fiscally help the towns because the town budgets are already tight."

McKenna is now calling on the state to improve communication, provide more support and reimburse the town for costs associated with caring for the families.

“That lack of communication upfront has been really detrimental and has put the town behind the eight ball and trying to make sure that their planning is in place," McKenna said. "The email actually said we don't have the means to provide support. So it really was, 'The families will be coming. Do your best.'”

Meanwhile, the migrants are relying on the kindness of others for a lot of necessities. The state is providing lunch and dinner, but breakfast, health care and personal hygiene supplies are coming from people like Bill and Ann Frederick. They posted on Facebook asking for help from others in town and quickly found answers at their doorstep -- donations like diapers, school supplies and toys for the children.

“It's just so heartwarming to see the outpouring of love," Ann Frederick said. "When you see more of that in the world, the world would be such a better place. A little bit of kindness from everybody just touches and warms the human heart.”

Despite negativity from some people on social media, the Fredericks persevered in their efforts to organize.

“You're gonna have that, you know, your political detractors, and people have comments or opinions. But we try to just say, hey, look, let's put that aside. And let's just be people taking care of people.”

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Hundreds of kids in Central Massachusetts were in Sutton for the annual Easter Egg Hunt hosted by State Senator Ryan Fattman and his family Sunday afternoon.

The children searched for thousands of eggs hidden throughout a section of Waters Farm Preservation. Eggs were filled with candy, stickers and different types of prizes. The eggs were just part of the day though, as families were able to grab a bite to eat, and could meet local farm animals.

"It's wonderful to be able to share with families across the Central Mass. area an Easter egg hunt," said Fattman. "It's a brilliant day, the sun is out. Could have been a lot worse, especially if we held it yesterday. But, we're excited to have these families come run around the field and sort of escape the worries of daily life and just enjoy their family."

And of course, what's an Easter egg hunt without a visit from the Easter Bunny, who took some photos with the children and their families.

But one local family at the Easter egg hunt got a surprise much bigger than finding some eggs.

Ryan Leger of the United States Army flew back into the country a few days ago after spending nine months deployed overseas in Saudi Arabia. He worked together with his wife and Senator Fattman to surprise his children at the Easter egg hunt. Leger came home a few days earlier than his children had expected. We caught up with Leger moments before he reunited with his children.

"I'm excited. You know, it feels great," said Leger. "It's awesome to be able to be here and be able to surprise my kids, surprise my family, and it's just going to be worth it when I get to see their faces."

Leger's wife Courtney shares the same excitement.

"It's a great reminder of the silver lining of the service of military families,” she said. “You know, it's easy for me because I get to busy myself with the functions of life. But for littles, it's hard because they can see their dad not being there for certain things, and it's going to be a nice moment for them."

Leger says he's always wanted to support his country, and he's thankful for his family being there for him as his support system.

SUTTON - National Guardsmen jumped into action Wednesday when a fire broke out at a hotel where migrants are being housed.

The fire started in a kitchen at the Red Roof Inn in Sutton. Fire Chief Matthew Belsito said six National Guardsmen, who were deployed to the hotel at the request of the governor to help families, helped evacuate the migrants.

"The National Guard tried to extinguish the fire with two fire extinguishers and were unsuccessful," said Belsito. "They assisted in getting the people out."

One migrant from Haiti told WBZ TV that his family smelled smoke and they got out.

"People recognized that there was imminent danger and they started self-evacuating," said Belsito.

Sutton Fire put the fire out, which didn't spread beyond the kitchen. One person was taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation and is expected to be OK.

Belsito said he's warned officials the Red Roof Inn isn't suitable to be housing migrant families.

"One, there's no sprinkler system," said Belsito. "I do not have municipal water system here. We had some concerns with the E-911 system here."

Despite the fire, families were in high spirits as they waited for the OK to return inside. National Guardsmen passed out meals and helped keep everyone calm.

"Perfect day for them to be their first day here," said Belsito.

Tiffany Chan

Tiffany Chan is a general assignment reporter for WBZ-TV.

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After opening a new facility in Boylston, a Sutton manufacturing company that is a joint venture of the Kraft Group has purchased a lot in an under-development industrial park in Westminster for $7.4 million.

UN1F1ED2 Global Packaging Group, the Sutton-based packaging manufacturer and distributor, has purchased a development site at Westminster Business Park. UN1F1ED2 is a partnership between The Kraft Group’s Rand-Whitney Container of Worcester and Sutton’s AGlobal Solutions. The Kraft Group’s other companies include the New England Patriots football team.

UN1F1ED2 bought the Westminster property from another packaging company, Indiana-based Schwarz Partners, for the same price Schwarz paid in 2022.

Officially, the buyer was an affiliate of UN1F1ED2 – UGPG Westminster LLC of Foxborough. It purchased Lot 1-8 on Theodore Drive in Westminster on June 16 from an affiliate of Schwarz: New England Sheets LLC. New England Sheets had purchased the lot in 2022 from the Westminster Business Park developers, which is affiliated with Core Investments of Boston, according to the Worcester Northern District Registry of Deeds.

UN1F1ED2 doesn’t appear to have filed any development plans for Lot 1-8, although the Westminster Planning Board did not respond to a request for information.

UN1F1ED2 has been active in the industrial real estate market. It is building two industrial buildings, a combined 1 million square feet, in Sutton. In May, the company took over a 325,000-square-foot facility in Boylston, next to a 384,000 square-foot manufacturing facility operated by Rand-Whitney.

In December, the Kraft Group sold a 275,620-square-foot warehouse in Lancaster to Boston investor The Seyon Group. UN1F1ED2 will continue to operate out of that location.

The UN1F1ED2 purchase in Westminster is not the only news at the 311-acre business park, which is permitted for 1.5 million square feet of commercial space, according to the Core Investments website. In March, the Westminster Planning Board approved a 600,000-square-foot warehouse on a 46-acre site on lot 1-7 on Theodore Drive. The warehouse was proposed by Equity Industrial Partners of Needham.

Equity Industrial owns a nearby industrial facility at 100 Simplex Drive in Westminster.