Family Support Center Updates

The Family Support Center provides services to people and their families from diverse cultural, ethnic and linguistic backgrounds including those who are supporting an individual with autism. The Family Support Center’s purpose is to support families when they need it most, to provide resources for people with autism and developmental disabilities and for their families to attain the highest level of support to positively impact their lives.

The past few weeks have been especially busy for The Family Support Center.

• Bridgewell’s Family Support Center was awarded a United Way of Massachusetts Bay (UWMB) United Response Fund SNAP Rapid Relief grant. We were able to distribute gift cards to Market Basket for $250 each to family on our caseload – 60 families and a total of $15,000.
• Bridgewell employees and the employees of the Department of Developmental Services North Shore Area Office teamed up to collect dry food items! We were able to distribute bagged items of food to 28 families.
• The Family Support Center was a Toys for Tots recipient! Forty-two families came down to the center or arranged drop offs to obtain four toys per household.
• The Family Support Center held its annual holiday party at Bridgewell’s headquarters. Rebecca offered a face painting. She was very patient and kind and if individuals were uncomfortable with having their faces painted, she offered to paint their hands. DJ Bethany got everyone in the room moving and grooving and singing along with her positive bright energy. Daughters of employee Giselle Taveras dressed up in blow-up Santa and Grinch costumes who danced along with the crowd and took pictures with individuals and their families.
• Over sixty people attended the Stone Zoo lights in Stoneham. It was a very chilly night, but everyone expressed what a lovely time they had.

For more information, contact Kirsten O’Keefe, Director of Family Supports at kokeefe@bridgewell.org or click here to learn more.