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Mission

The North Quabbin Community Coalition is a community-wide alliance committed to improving the quality of life for all those living and working in the North Quabbin region. We are located at 251 Exchange Street, Athol, MA 01331. You can contact us at 978-249-3703 or info@nqcc.org.1

What does the North Quabbin Community Coalition do for our Community

Collaboration – Coordination – Advocacy

Work started by the Coalition brings over $3.2 million annually to the area in private, federal and state resources.

Promote Economic Development:

  • Host for the North Quabbin Loan Fund Review Committee distributing over $400,000 capital to local business for job creation and expansion
  • Host agency for the North Quabbin Woods website promoting the region as a whole
  • Work closely with the Department of Transitional Assistance Area Office to promote access to resources and SNAP benefits for those who qualify
  • Work with Athol Credit Union as the local Community Development Financial Institution. to ensure community education of financial literacy, first time homebuyers, and wheels to work products

Support for Children & Families:

  • Offer the Talking About Touching safety curriculum to all Athol area schools to 325 students
  • Trainers for the Enough Abuse campaign to end child sexual abuse over 1,200 local people trained
  • Host of the Children’s Health and Wellness Task Force
  • Host of the annual Family Fun Day attracting 1,000 people each year
  • Work with the Department of Children and Families to ensure family voice and children’s safety

Support for Youth:

  • Member of the Communities that Care Coalition, Partnership for Youth Coordinating Council, and Partner with the Franklin Regional Employment Board on youth employment opportunities
  • Partner with all North Quabbin schools to identify resources to support programs

Support for Veterans:

  • Partner with local Veterans Services as well as MA SAVE Team, and the Department of Public Health  to promote access for local veterans
  • Work with Montachusett Veteran’s Outreach Center to provide housing, food and basic needs support to vets

Promote Quality Local Health Care:

  • Founder of local site of Community Health Center
  • Partner with Heywood Healthcare on many initiatives to ensure health access for the community, and to promote the opening of the Quabbin Retreat Facility in Petersham
  • Founder of Healthy Connections and later through access at the hospital

Support for Elders:

  • Partner with LifePath to advocate for necessary services
  • Partner with local Councils on Aging to promote programs and services
  • Home delivery of 230 Thanksgiving meals

Promote Public Safety:

  • Host of the P.A.R.T Task Force which convenes monthly to partner across county lines and silos to attack the epidemic of substance abuse in the North Quabbin. There are currently 55 diverse members.
  • Partner with The Opioid Task Force to receive the NOOR grant supporting the spread of Naloxone to local police departments and public education for life saving skills in the event of an overdose.
  • Host of the North Quabbin Jail to Community Task Force which coordinated the 2016 Sequential Intercept Mapping of The Franklin County Trial Court intersections with community, public safety, Franklin County House of Corrections,  treatment providers and beyond
  • Host of three town National Night Out events to promote police community partnerships

For Everyone:

  • Provide assistance to municipal governments for accessing grants and leveraging funds
  • Maintain a comprehensive local resource directory
  • Monthly newsletter distributed to well over 1000 people a month
  • Maintain Facebook and social media outlets to promote community morale
  • Advocate for critical services  like transportation, access to health care and other basic needs to be available locally
  • Nationally Recognized Training and Consultation of the Nurturing Families and Nurturing Fathers Curriculum, and member of the Family Nurturing Center of MA Training Team to spread the work across MA
  • Provide technical assistance to over 50 non-profits, towns and schools to leverage grant funds and more
  • Ensure that services are not duplicated to maximize all resources

The North Quabbin Community Coalition has provided a community-wide alliance committed to improving the quality of life for all those living and working within the nine-town North Quabbin region since 1984. The model for this Coalition was developed in response to community-identified issues and is focused on developing solutions that are community driven. In a region often referred to as “resource poor”, the network of health and human service providers needed to pay even more attention to the issue of collaboration in order to maximize all existing resources. The spirit of collaboration has allowed the area to develop several unique partnerships, to secure many additional resources and supports and has developed a strong coalition that fosters this growth. The Coalition serves three primary purposes within the community as follows:

Advocacy and Response to Emergent Community Issues

The Coalition serves as liaison to local legislators and helps to inform policy as to the needs of the rural community which is served.

Addressing Community Priorities

The Coalition hosts several task force groups, which serve to address local issues by engaging all stakeholders and developing local solutions to these challenges. Each Task Force serves to provide a forum for area providers to share information and to reduce duplication of services, provide community education and finally, to secure resources to address the needs within the local region.