"At the start of the heating season my family oil tank began to leak after a delivery of oil. The tank which was old and rotted needed immediate replacement. Without the emergency assistance of WCAC and the Heating Emergency Assistance Retrofit Task Weatherization Program (HEARTWAP) we would not have been able to afford to do that as we are low income and our oil company quoted the repairs at $3,000 which we did not have. We are a working family and without this program we would not have been able to get this taken care of quickly and safely. We would not have had heat as deliveries could not be made until the tank was replaced. Thank you for what you do!"

- Sarah, Douglas

When Tianna Salas found herself pregnant at just 17 years of age, her school nurse referred her to WCAC's Healthy Families of Southern Worcester County program.  The program provides home visits with an experienced Family Support Advocate to educate and guide expectant and new parents to develop skills that will move them to self-sufficiency and help them raise a healthy family. The program has a positive impact on both maternal and child health, preventing child abuse and neglect, improving child well-being, family functioning and parent well-being. For Tianna it meant access to tremendous resources - everything from what to expect from her changing body to how to quiet a fussy infant, as well as guidance on getting her driver's license, employment resources, clothing thru the Baby Boutique and more.

Today, her daughter, Kaylianna, is a happy, healthy toddler - almost three years old. Tianna juggles her responsibilities as a mother along with two jobs thanks to a supportive family and ongoing guidance from her Healthy Families Advocate.

For the past two years, Tianna has been able to utilize the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program which WCAC offered for the first time to Healthy Families participants in 2015. Utilizing IRS-certified volunteers, the program provides free income tax preparation. "Instead of having to pay to get my taxes done, I was able to get them done for free," she said. "Not everyone has that opportunity. Getting everything from my return helps to save money which is important when you're struggling."   The $5,300 return she received this tax season was promptly deposited in the bank, saving up for a car and other needs for her young daughter.

WCAC's Healthy Families program serves first-time parents (moms and dads) of any age from pregnancy through their child's third birthday, residing in 17 communities located in southern Massachusetts. All services are voluntary and free of charge with no income guidelines. Click HERE for more info.

WCAC is a partner in the Worcester Tax Free Services Coalition, a collaboration of businesses, financial institutions and non-profit organizations who work to promote free income tax credit benefits to low and moderate income working individuals and families as a strategy to build household assets and increase economic self-sufficiency.The VITA program operates January - April each year. Click HERE for more info. 

Charles and Lucy Kombo emigrated from Kenya to the United States in 2011. With an infant daughter in tow they settled in Southbridge initially living with family in the area. Referred first to WCAC's Early Head Start program, within three weeks a Head Start spot opened and their daughter, Flora, was enrolled. Charles recalls how encouraging, helpful and supportive the other parents were - one even drove his daughter to and from school until he got his own car. He credits Head Start staff and fellow parents with helping him secure his first job as a cleaner.

"The family advocates were so aggressive in helping us - to know how to get a job, how to have a good future," says Charles. "They could see the real outcomes and worked to help us move from poverty to a good level."  He recalls too how Head Start teachers intentionally placed Cindy in a classroom with another child from Kenya who like his daughter spoke Swahili. Teachers worked hard to teach them English which in a very short time he says they both came to understand and speak. "By the time she entered kindergarten she was very smart," he boasts, "and never lagged behind."

Flora is now in third grade, with younger sister Cindy poised to graduate from Head Start this spring.  Both Charles & Lucy are now employed full-time and recently bought their own home. In fact, Charles now helps to drive a co-worker's child to and from the Head Start program believing strongly in paying back the kindness extended to him when he was in need. He has become involved with the center's Policy Council, offering his support, guidance and an all-important dad's perspective.

Meet Juan Martinez - he earned his High School Equivalency certificate (HiSET) through WCAC's Job & Education Center WINGS program last spring. He enrolled at Quinsigamond Community College the very next day and just completed his first year of college. "WCAC provided a very relaxing environment to allow me to focus on my work. They were really fair and understanding," he says. "Without them I think I'd be back at square one working some part time job not really doing much." 

Instead, the 19 year old Worcester native will be spending his second summer employed through the YouthWorks Summer Jobs Program at Future Focus Media, learning about video, photography and audio in TV and film production - a career he ultimately hopes to pursue. He's involved with a special project where he is serving as a mentor, working alongside special needs students and other college and high school students to produce a documentary which will ultimately be shown at The Hanover Theatre in Worcester.

One year ago Kassandra Davila was a single mother of two, living in a Springfield shelter. Today she's living in her own apartment in Worcester enrolled in a Certified Nursing Assistant program at Quinsigamond Community College and credits the support she received through WCAC's Job & Education Center with helping her find a better path. She earned her HiSET through the WINGS program and worked part-time as the receptionist and scheduler for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program while waiting for the CNA program to begin. 

"A year ago I just wanted a job but WCAC helped me realize that was a dead end and I wasn't going to have a career," she says. "Now I'm in a healthy environment and I'm already looking into pursuing my LPN after I finish with my CNA. Everyone at WCAC wants you to succeed."

WINGS is funded by a grant from the US Department of Labor's Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act and provided locally through the Central MA Workforce Investment Board. YouthWorks program is funded through the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, administered by the Commonwealth Corporation, coordinated locally by the Central MA Workforce Investment Board, and managed in Worcester and Webster by WCAC. Click HERE for more info.