By Adam Swift
The City Council honored the memory of community health outreach worker Christopher Alba at the beginning of Monday night’s meeting.
“Over the weekend, we found out some heartbreaking information (about) a friend, a co-worker, and a resident; Christopher Alba passed,” said an emotional Councilor-at-Large Marc Silvestri. “Chris was a community health outreach worker for the city of Revere.”
Silvestri, who served until recently as the city’s veterans’ director, said that during the pandemic, he worked side-by-side with Alba in the veterans’ and substance use office, creating a program to provide outreach to the homeless.
“I’ll tell you firsthand, there is no amount of training, schooling, or professional development that can teach someone how to love unconditionally, without judgment, the way Chris did,” said Silvestri. “The only profession I can compare to what Chris did is an NGO worker in a third-world country. For over two decades, Chris worked tirelessly on issues related to substance misuse and homelessness on an individual and systemic level and has made lasting impacts on the communities he has served.”
Silvestri said social media is filled with messages from people sharing stories about how Alba helped them or their family members.
“Despite his soft voice and calm demeanor, Chris was a fierce advocate on behalf of all the most vulnerable people in our community, and the world is a darker place without him.”
Alba was chosen as the city’s public servant of the month in May of 2022.
In the interview with Alba on the city’s website, he was asked what advice he would give for the future of Revere.
“We all go through things in life, it’s a lot easier to get through things with help and support from others,” Alba stated. “They say a community can be judged by how it treats its most vulnerable folks. I would hope that the city of Revere and all of us that live here, grew up here and are moving here can be kind to our most vulnerable folks, no matter what.”
