Last year, when Pathways Family Resource Center opened its second space in Salem, Mass., some of the first visitors to arrive were City Connects Coordinators who wanted to see what the organization could offer Salem students.
“It was very exciting,” Christina Sakelakos says. She’s one of the City Connects Coordinators at Salem’s Collins Middle School. “The Family Resource Center offers parent support groups and classes. They connect parents to other community resources, and they provide on-site child care while parents attend meetings at the center.”
“We often partner with them when we are concerned about a student’s attendance or their behavior in school. Or if we’re noticing that a parent is struggling with getting a student to go to school.”
Pathways Family Resource Center offers support groups for fathers and grandparents as well as nutrition programs and support groups for Spanish-speaking families. The center also provides services to children who are being supervised by the Massachusetts Court System or who are at risk of being supervised.
In addition to providing a range of services, the Family Resource Center staff reflects the cultural, linguistic and socio-economic background of the families being served. And the center is proud of its physical space, paying “careful attention to the design and layout of our physical environments – including interior finishes, outdoor spaces, selection of developmentally-appropriate equipment, and room arrangement — with the understanding that these details profoundly impact children’s learning and behavior. The environment also impacts caregivers’ abilities to do their jobs.”
Over time, The Family Resource Center’s work with City Connects has deepened, enabling City Connects serves as conduit between the Family Resource Center and local children and families.
“We have grown a really strong partnership,” Mia Riccio, Salem’s City Connects Program Manager says. “Resource Center staff have come to our meetings to share their offerings, and as a result of this connection, we were able to work with them on providing families with gifts for the holidays.
“Their school liaison and in-house clinician are consistently in contact with our City Connects Coordinators as they work to support students and families with a wide-variety of needs.”
Sakelakos says one of the key strengths of the program is that it continues through the summer, providing support when kids are out of school, so families don’t have to wait until the fall to get help at school. And parents who have gone to the Family Resource Center praise its support.
“Not everyone knows about the Pathways Family Resource Center,” Sakelakos says. “That’s why we’re excited to tell families about it so they can benefit from the support.”
City Connects Blog 