“Back in the early days of CHHOP shortly after it opened, my aunt, Kathy Brennan, worked there during the early stages,” recounts Colin Smith, County Legislator, District 1.

The connection to CHHOP (Caring for the Hungry and Homeless of Peekskill)   has stayed with him. As a lifelong Peekskill resident Smith has been involved with CHHOP in a variety of different ways including during his tenure as a school board member, City Council member and now as a County Legislator. “In addition to supporting CHHOP’s food drives and fundraisers,” says Smith. “I have gone to Saturday game days with the residents.”

Smith has spent most of his adult life working to make Peekskill a better place. An attorney with a practice in downtown Peekskill, Smith began his career in public service in 2012 when he was elected to the Peekskill City School Board. Five years later, Smith was elected to the Peekskill Common Council and in 2019 he was elected to the Board of Legislators.  An advocate of affordable housing, Smith along with his Council colleagues, helped to facilitate the development of affordable housing for low- and middle-income families as well as seniors.

“CHHOP provides a much-needed service for the community,” says Smith. “People sometimes find themselves falling on hard times. Many of us are only one or two paychecks away from poverty ourselves. We need social safety nets and CHHOP provides that for people who are going through transitions. It provides hope for those who are struggling.”

During his tenure in public service, Smith has made it a point to support continued funding for organizations like CHHOP and for expanded funding of programs that support legal services of Hudson Valley. One of his initiatives helped to secure funding to increase the number of attorney’s that represent tenants in court. “Landlord-tenant courts are clogged with tenants who have no attorney,” he explains. “With an attorney, tenants are almost guaranteed to stay in their homes while they get the rent paid or make other arrangements.”

Given the events of the past few weeks, as demonstrators have taken to the streets to protest police brutality, Smith has been working with other legislators to craft legislation to address those issues. “We are trying to change police culture in a positive way to make it a better, safer job for them and the community,” he says. Smith notes  that the county legislature will be spending approximately the next 30 days looking at ways to better train police officers, improve diversity recruitment, better address police brutality and racial profiling and support the repeal of 50-A, which keeps police personnel records from being public.

As Smith devotes himself to bettering life in Peekskill and the Mid-Hudson Valley area, he wants people to know that CHHOP is there for those who need it. “CHHOP is providing people who are at the end of their rope with a sense of hope and belonging,” he concludes. “CHHOP makes sure their clients know that they are important members of society and  they make sure that their clients don’t fall through the cracks.”