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As we celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the merger of Eliot Community Human Services and Massachusetts Society of the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (MSPCC), we’re reminded of the many ways our organizations’ unique strengths – including Eliot’s comprehensive wraparound services and MSPCC’s longstanding advocacy on behalf of Massachusetts children and families – complement one another. The success story of Christopher (age 18) and his mother, Jackie, provides just one example of the ways in which Eliot and MSPCC services and advocacy intersect.
At the age of two, Christopher entered into Department of Children and Families (DCF) care, moving between seven different foster homes before coming to live with Jackie shortly before his fourth birthday. Christopher and Jackie first connected with Eliot’s services in their hometown of Malden when Christopher was in kindergarten, and for years, they worked with Eliot on an off-and-on basis, using services as they were needed. Then, Jackie recalls, “When Christopher went into high school, he struggled with his mental health. So after a hospitalization, I reached back out to Eliot. This time, we sought more intensive therapy.”
Over the years, Christopher and Jackie have received comprehensive services from Eliot, working with a team lead, a Family Partner, and external and in-home therapists. They credit the wraparound model of care with being especially crucial for their family:
“Eliot has always been in the background helping me,” Christopher reflects. “When I’ve used their services, they have been very organized and hands-on.”
Christopher and Jackie’s Family Partner, Lori Coleman, has been an especially vital resource. Eliot’s Family Partners have lived experience as caregivers and work closely with families and care providers to assist with navigating youth-serving systems, identifying available community resources, and facilitating connections with self-help and support groups. “I’ve called Lori so many times when I needed to talk through something,” Jackie says. “Having somebody to work with that understands what I’m going through and just knowing we have these supports in place has made a world of difference.”
Christopher is now a high school graduate who plans to begin UMass Boston’s Pathway program, which provides students with the opportunity to begin their college coursework as non-degree students before entering a degree program, this fall. And while Eliot’s services have proven essential to Christopher and Jackie throughout the journey that got him to this point, Lori has also made sure to call upon MSPCC when needed. When Lori learned Christopher wanted UMass Boston “swag” for the holidays, she contacted MSPCC’s team, who, Jackie says, “were especially excited for him, since kids who have been in foster care go to college at much lower rates than those who haven’t.” MSPCC donors immediately jumped in to provide Christopher with a generous package of UMass Boston apparel.
Christopher’s story has also helped to shape MSPCC’s advocacy work. Young people who have been in DCF care typically qualify for the state’s Foster Child Tuition Waiver and Fee Assistance Program; however, those attending non-degree programs like Pathway aren’t eligible. When Lori learned this, she reached out to members of MSPCC’s policy team; they, in turn, have weighed in with legislators about a bill that would expand the scope of programs eligible for tuition and fee waivers and have identified opportunities for Christopher to share his story while advocating for the bill’s passage.
As we head into the next decade of Eliot and MSPCC’s partnership, Christopher and Jackie’s story serves as a powerful reminder of the ways in which we work closely together to both provide wraparound care and advocate for policy change, reflecting our shared commitment to uplifting families and communities at both an individual and systemic level.
