Please see the Media Advisory below and please join us!
Advisory: WMass Family Homelessness Resource Fair
Provider-to Provider Program to Focus on Preventing and Ending Homelessness
WEST SPRINGFIELD, MA – The Western Massachusetts Network to End Homelessness will host the Western Massachusetts Family Homelessness Resource Fair for Providers on Thursday, June 8, 2017, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon at Center for Human Development’s (CHD) Pace School Gymnasium, 69 Capital Drive, West Springfield. There is no admission charge and no registration is required.
This resource fair, organized by the Family Services Committee of the Western Massachusetts Network to End Homelessness and sponsored by CHD, offers a provider-to-provider sharing of resources to better assist families that are at risk of or are experiencing homelessness across the four counties of Western Massachusetts . More than 40 providers of housing, child care, domestic violence, education, employment, mental health, substance use and more will be in attendance, coming from across the four counties of Western Massachusetts.
Four 20-minute breakout sessions will target specific topics, including:
- 10:00 – State Emergency Assistance (EA) system: learn about the criteria for eligibility, diversion resources, shelter services and re-housing and stabilization programs
- 10:30 – Domestic Violence Services: learn from domestic violence shelter providers how to access support and what it entails
- 11:00 – Veterans Services: learn from veterans service providers how best to determine eligibility and what specialized resources are available
- 11:30 – Employment Services: learn from each of the region’s career centers how to access employment support for families and what services entail
Providers interested in having space at a table to share their resources are invited to contact Pamela Schwartz at pschwartz77@gmail.com. An RSVP from attendees to Schwartz is appreciated but not required.
“This event is a great opportunity for providers to come to learn, get connected and discover opportunities to help families prevent and end homelessness,” according to Pamela Schwartz, Director of the Western Massachusetts Network to End Homelessness. “All are welcome.”
Organizations providing information on their resources include: After Incarceration Support Services-Hampden County, Behavioral Health Network, Berkshire Regional Housing Authority, BerkshireWorks, CareerPoint, Catholic Charities, Center for Human Development, Center for Human Development, Center for New Americans, Central West Justice Center, Clean Slate Centers, Community Action of the Franklin, Hampshire, and North Quabbin Regions, Community Legal Aid, DIAL/SELF, Elizabeth Freeman Center, Franklin/Hampshire Career Center, Franklin Regional Housing and Redevelopment Authority, FutureWorks, Gandara Center, Holyoke Community College, Holyoke Public Schools, Mass. Fair Housing Center, Mental Health Association, New England Farm Workers Council, Safe Passage, Safety Zone (CHD), Secure Jobs Initiative, ServiceNet, Soldier On, Springfield Housing Authority, Springfield Partners for Community Action, Springfield Technical Community College, Square One, Tenancy Preservation Program, Valley Opportunity Council, Veterans, Inc., Veterans Administration Medical Center, Way Finders, WIC – Chicopee, WIC – Springfield, WomanShelter
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