Massey also recently assisted efforts in getting Ohio legislators to pass victims compensation reforms. The goal was to reduce barriers for those victims of crime who are seeking to receive aid from the Ohio Victims compensation program.
Previous program rules denied aid to anyone with a felony conviction in the previous 10 years. Victims could also be denied aid for being suspected of a crime even if they weren’t charged or convicted.
An investigation from this news organization found that the Ohio’s victims compensation program had some of the strictest rules in the country and routinely denied more claims than it approved.
“We knew that some victims were not being compensated due to outdated policies,” Massey said. He helped gather testimony and encouraged people to speak on behalf of reforms.
The Springfield News-Sun asked readers to nominate people – Unsung Heroes – from their communities who go above and beyond to help others, but rarely receive recognition for their work.
Massey was nominated by Patricia Cain who noted several organizations in which he is involved, including Awakenings.
“In this program Stephen mentors young men and is a role model for them to develop potential in their lives.’' Cain said in her nomination. ‘‘He recently took several of them to dinner at Stella Blue, to the Kuss for a special program, to the ice skating rink, as well as to other downtown venues. On their own, most would never have the opportunity to go to these places.’’
He has also worked with a number of state organizations and has worked closely with Gov. Mike DeWine’s team when DeWine was an Ohio Attorney General. Massey is also on several state boards.
Massey first joined CitiLookout in 2011 when he was hired on as a case manager. Before that he worked at McKinley Hall, an addiction treatment center in Springfield.
Massey now serves as the Chief Operating Officer for CitiLookout, which offers one of seven trauma recovery centers in the state.
At the time Massey joined CitiLookout it was a counseling center with just a couple of counselors at their disposal. Now it has 10 counselors, programs geared towards domestic violence, offers trauma recovery and has a team of crime victim advocates.
The nonprofit has worked with about 600 people throughout the year, Massey said, adding that he wanted to give credit to Barb Dotson, the executive director of CitiLookout.
“Being a black man in leadership is not always an easy thing. You always have hope and have people that will help lift you up. That support put me in a lot of spaces that I might not have been in otherwise,” Massey said.
Massey also started working on Awakenings five years ago. It seeks to connect with area youth by offering guidance and emotional support.
Massey said that he didn’t connect with his father until later in life and did not have a lot of male mentorship early on in his life. He said that inspired him to reach out and work with the community’s youth.
Name: Stephen Massey
Age: 55
Organizations: CitiLookout, Awakenings
Hometown: Springfield
Person who inspired you and why? Lisa Thomas with the Addictions Resource Center and Shelley Lopez, the founder of CitiLookout. They were women that gave Massey a chance and an opportunity to help the community.
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