Community Connections (Holyoke Unites/ Holyoke se Une)

Community Connections is a neighborhood-based, resident-driven network of coalitions spanning across Massachusetts. Our primary goal is to create a comprehensive continuum of family support, fostering stronger families, vibrant communities, and preventing child abuse and neglect. Holyoke Unites/ Holyoke se Une, we are committed to improving the lives of families by creating a network that enhances family support, empowers communities, and proactively addresses the issue of child abuse and neglect. We firmly believe in the strength of collaboration, coordination, and resident involvement.

How We Achieve Our Goals:

Community Connections coalitions are at the heart of our mission. These coalitions work diligently to achieve our objectives by:

Coordinating Local Resources

We bring together existing community resources, ensuring that they work in harmony to benefit families. By optimizing available services, we create a more robust support system.

Engaging Residents

Community involvement is vital to our success. We actively engage residents in the planning and decision-making process, ensuring that local resources are tailored to meet the specific needs of the people they serve.

The Role of Our Steering Committee

Our coalitions are led by a dedicated Steering Committee comprised of parents and local resources. This committee plays a crucial role in guiding Community Connections and shaping its future programming. Their focus is to:

Provide Strategic Leadership: The Steering Committee guides Enlace in providing future programming by offering strategic insights and input based on their deep understanding of local needs and resources.
Ensure Community Needs Are Met: By involving parents and local resources in decision-making, we ensure that our services align with the ever-evolving needs of the communities we serve.

Community Connections coalitions operate according to the following premises:

1. Primary responsibility for the development and well-being of children lies within the family, and all segments of society must support families as they rear their children.
2. Assuring the well-being of all families is the cornerstone of a healthy society, and requires universal access to support programs and services.
3. Children and families exist as part of an ecological system.
4. Child-rearing patterns are influenced by parents’ understandings of child development and of their children’s unique characteristics, personal sense of competence, and cultural and community traditions and mores.
5. Enabling families to build on their own strengths and capacities promotes the healthy development of children.
6. The developmental processes that make up parenthood and family life create needs that are unique at each stage in the life span.
7. Families are empowered when they have access to information and other resources and take action to improve the well-being of children, families, and communities.