Meet Dylan Labonte, Bellingham’s New Health Agent

By Jennifer Russo 

There is an old adage that goes, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” For Dylan Labonte, this is also a personal philosophy. Growing up right here in Bellingham, he knew what he wanted to do pretty early on – to be the vehicle for health improvement in the place that he called home. 

There is something to be said about coming into a new position full of big ideas and a true, can-do attitude. Labonte is helping to lead our Earth Day town cleanup efforts and looks forward to other ways he can make and keep Bellingham beautiful, welcoming, and safe.

Responsible for enforcing policies of the MA Department of Public Health and the Bellingham Board of Health and conducting inspections of local businesses to ensure health safety, Labonte also hopes to bring forth a lot of education around the policies to the town. 

A recent Public Health graduate of UMass Lowell, Labonte threw his hat in the ring right away. He is excited to bring his knowledge and expertise to protect residents and make the town an even better place.

“I want people to love it here and want to live here,” says Dylan. “A lot of concerns about potential health issues, such as clean drinking water or sanitary restaurant practices, are all super avoidable with the right protocols and research in place.”

“One big thing I am really excited to dive into is reducing the amount of food insecurity we have here in town. A lot of people don’t realize that there is a percentage of people who struggle with putting healthy meals on the table. Making sure everyone is fed, reducing food waste, and getting ahead of this crisis is one of the first things I am looking to tackle,” he shares.

This, along with helping people who aren’t in livable housing situations, staying on top of communicable disease prevention, educating students on health impacts of drug use, having classes come to town hall to learn about how the government works in town, along with other great initiatives Labonte champions.

“I am a big believer in not necessarily reinventing the wheel or fixing something that isn’t broken; however, I do think that there are many things that can be improved for even more efficiency or even revolutionized with the resources we have available,” he says.

“I want to get to a place where people in other towns across the state see ours as a community that is involved and health conscious, how good health regulations can bring about change, and really mark Bellingham as a true example of what a healthy town looks like.”

For more information about our town’s Board of Health, visit https://www.bellinghamma.org/board-health or call (508) 966-5820.