Pathways to Family Success

Here in Holyoke , a planning grant called Pathways to Family Success (funded by the MA Dept. of Ed., the MA Family Literacy Consortium and Verizon) is being carried out by the Holyoke Family Literacy Coalition (HFLC). It is a broad based coalition of agencies, organizations and programs which provide education and family support services. View the graphic which depicts membership and efforts.

Members of the HFLC come together on a monthly basis to create a system of education and support services which focuses on the family, not just an adult or child within a family. Although a traditional interpretation of Family Literacy focuses on children birth to 7 or 8 years old, the HFLC is committed to serving children birth through 18 years of age. Acknowledging that working with young children is more preventative, the group also recognizes that teens present significant challenges to families and need as much support and encouragement as young children.

We seek to change the way we do business by focusing on the family, and utilizing a Family Literacy service delivery model. The challenge is that often funding is provided for specific ages or services, which contributes to fragmenting the family and dissipating the power of the skills or assistance it hopes to raise. Therefore, the willingness to: cross funding streams, utilize existing resources more efficiently, and collaborate with other agencies to deliver services to the whole family more effectively, leads to a citywide system of programs and services which better assists family members in reaching their short and long-term goals. Under the auspices of the HFLC, members discuss ways that their programs can “talk” to one another about the family members that they are working with – not in a manner as to invade privacy, but to coordinate services so that programs work in tandem, building upon and strengthening the services supporting the family as a whole. By co-enrolling family members and sometimes even co-locating programs, the HFLC hopes that a Family Literacy service deliver model will better support family members as they move along the path to their self-defined success.

Contact Us:

For more information about the Pathways to Family Success, the Holyoke Family Literacy Coalition, collaborations, donations:
Please call 413-534-2026.

For information about volunteer tutor/mentor training and opportunities:
Please call 413-534-3376.

For information about Even Start, the comprehensive Family Literacy program,
Please call 413-534-2165.