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Numerous coalitions and interconnecting groups meet throughout Fall River
to organize and carry out many tasks necessary to providing health and
human services. Some of these groups are listed below with the most
recent contact information available. Please notify the webmaster (David
Weed) if you have more current information or additions or deletions
to this list. Note: All meeting times listed are based on
the most recent report. Please check with the contact person before
attending any meeting as specific times and locations may have changed
since this listing.
This list was last updated on January 4, 2010 |
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Group or Coalition Name |
Purpose |
Meeting Time and Location (if known) and
Contact Information |
|
Access to Health Care
Work Group
 |
The Access to Health Care task force is a subcommittee of the Partners
for a Healthier Community. The goal of this Work Group is to promote the
health and wellness of the community through voluntary, collaborative
participation of health and human service providers with the goal of
linking under served community members in Greater Fall River and to increase
access to health education, primary care health screenings and referral services. |
Group meets 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. on the 2nd Tuesday of
every month (except July) at HealthFirst Family Care Center, 102 County
Street, Fall River.
Contact Chairperson Paula Harrison
at HealthFirst Family Care Center at 508-679-9376
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B.O.L.D.
Coalition
 |
BOLD is a substance abuse prevention coalition comprised of
community volunteers, agency representatives, educators, city
government, school representatives and youth. We are all working
together to create a healthy community for our young people to live in.
We use evidence-based programs and practices to accomplish our
objectives. We currently have five subcommittees and an Advisory Board.
The Advisory Board is made up of the Chair and Vice-Chair of the
Coalition as well as the chairpersons of each of these subcommittees:
Advisory Board ,Mission/Vision , Data, Events Planning, Communications
and TADA! (Teens Against Drug Abuse). |
Advisory Board and other committees meet at various times
as scheduled. Contact Director
Karen Fischer at 508- |
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DSS Providers Meeting |
Representatives of agencies who provide services to
children and families in the Massachusetts Department of Social Services
meet together monthly. |
Meets Mondays
Contact:
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Fall
River Adult Literacy Partnership
 |
The Fall River Adult Literacy Partnership is a coalition of
organizations, educational institutions and businesses who are committed
to developing quality literacy services for adults who could benefit
from basic skill instruction in order to meet their needs as parents,
workers, citizens and lifelong learners.
Their goal is to increase the membership of
relevant constituencies in the Fall River Adult Literacy Partnership in
order to develop the capacity to expand ABE and ESOL classroom opportunities
and support services. |
Meets monthly at Bristol Community College
Contact Victor Tavares, SER-Jobs for Progress, 508-676-1916. |
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Greater Fall River
Domestic Violence
Coalition |
The Domestic Violence Coalition brings together
organizations and people committed to ending domestic violence and
sexual assault. We create social change by addressing the root causes of
this violence, and promote justice, safety and healing for survivors.
The Coalition advocates for responsive public policy, promotes
collaboration, raises public awareness, and supports our member
organizations to provide comprehensive prevention and intervention
services. We are guided by the voices of survivors. |
Meets the last Thursday of the month at 3:00 p.m. at
Bristol Elders, Father Devalles Blvd. Contact
Cathie Phillips, SSTAR Women's
Center, 508-324-3530 |
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Greater Fall River Child Protection Council
 |
The Child Protection Council is an organization of many
professionals and their sponsoring agencies who volunteer their time and
skills to provide needed programs for the Fall River Area. The Council's
activities provide opportunities for community services to come together
and jointly assess community resources, discuss community needs, and
plan programs. The commitment and concerns of the community
professionals for the welfare of children and families are the
foundation of the council. The Council has representatives from
approximately 25 organizations. |
Meets 1st Wednesday of the month at 10:30 in the Nannery
Conference Room, Sainte Anne's Hospital, Forest Street entrance.
Contact Co-chair co-chairpersons Pat Reardon or
Laura Dellaire at People, Inc. at 508-679-5233 |
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Greater Fall River
Council of Churches |
The Council of Churches brings a dozen or more local
pastors together for scheduled meetings throughout the year.
|
Contact Rev. Donald S.
Mier at 508-672-5381. |
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Green Futures
 |
Green Futures is a non-profit educational and
advocacy organization of people who share a concern for the
protection of our shared environment. All communities are
entitled to clean air, clean water and sufficient open space
for the continued presence of their indigenous wildlife and
habitats. Green Futures knows environmental stewardship
leads to sustainable communities, stable economies and a
healthy and productive life in harmony with nature. We
follow the axiom, “think global, act local”.
|
Meetings are held at 7:00 p.m.
at the Union United Methodist
Church, corner of Highland Ave.& Pearce St., Fall River, usually the
third Thursday of each month. Check the
calendar for
details. E-mail
info@greenfutures.org |
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Healthy
City Fall River Design Team
 |
The Design Team is made up of dozens of individuals representing a broad
array of groups and activities that contribute to the health of the Fall
River community. Members of the Team meet quarterly to review the
progress of the Healthy City Fall River process and to make
recommendations to the Planning Team, a smaller group composed of
representatives of the Mayor’s Office, the Fall River Department of
Health and Human Services, Partners for a Healthier Community and the
Southeastern Center for Healthy Communities. The role of the Design Team
is to interpret the input of the community, to help shape a plan of
action and to evaluate the overall progress of the initiative. |
Meets from 8:30 to 10:00 a.m.. on the 3rd Thursday
of January, March, June, and September at SSTAR, 386 Stanley Street, FR
Dr. David S. Weed
(508-324-2411) chairs the workgroup. |
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Healthy
Lives Advisory Group
 |
The Healthy Lives Advisory Group is a community-driven action group
welcoming representation from local community activists, community based
civic group organizations, local health and human services, the
educational community, local boards of health, and volunteers of all
ages who come together to change community norms around healthy risk
factors for heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. It serves as
the primary advisory body for the DPH-funded Healthy Lives Program
and the Tufts University-funded Children In Balance program in
the Fall River Public Schools.
|
Meets on the second Friday of the month, from 10:00 to
11:30 a.m. at Charlton Hospital (see calendar
for schedule of meetings).
Healthy Lives Coordinator
Mike Ramos at 508-837-0815
|
|
Healthy Families Collaborators Meeting |
Providers who provide a range of services for children
funded by the Mass. Dept. of Public Health meet together to share
information and resources relevant to their services. |
Meets every 6 weeks at 10:30 a.m. at 636 Rock Street
Contact Laura
Dellaire, Director-Healthy Families/EIPP at 508-679-3078, X11 |
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Youth
CHOICES
Task Force
 |
The focus of the Healthy Youth Task Force is on all issues that
affect youth, including youth substance abuse and violence
prevention and any intervention involved in
preventing youth risk behaviors. This work group works closely with school
systems to ensure an integration between school-based and over thirty
community programs. |
Meets on the first Wednesday of the month (except July and
August), at 3:30 p.m. at CD-REC, 72 Bank Street (see
calendar
for schedule of meetings) Co-Coordinators:
Christian McCloskey and Jamison
Souza. |
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Homeless Service Providers Coalition
 |
Representatives of organizations who provide services to
the Fall River homeless population meet monthly to discuss issues and
concerns. |
Meets on the 4th Thursday of the month at 9:00 a.m. at
First Baptist Church, 228 N. Main Street, Fall River.
Contact Mary Camara,
Planning and Housing Coordinator at 508-679-0131. |
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Mayor's Task Force to End Homelessness
 |
Fall River has joined a growing list of cities around the
country that are participating in a national movement to end
homelessness. The Mayor’s task force includes representatives of
homeless service providers, the health care community, religious
organizations, neighborhood organizations, consumers and law
enforcement. This group is charged with developing a ten-year plan to
end homelessness in the City of Fall River. The project is based on
concepts developed by the Federal Interagency Council on Homelessness
and the National Alliance to End Homelessness. |
Meets most months at 9:00 a.m. at the Citizens-Union Bank.
Contact Fall River Health and Human Resources Director
Dr. Henry Vaillancourt
at 508-324-2404 or C-U Bank President
Nicholas Christ at 508-678-7641. |
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Multi-Cultural Health Committee
 |
The group is comprised of community leaders, members of
the Cambodian, Hispanic and Portuguese communities, hospital staff, and
trustees. Access to health care, communication barriers and a need
for a better understanding of the different cultures of our Greater Fall
River community have been addressed. The committee has been credited
with a number of significant accomplishments providing health topics
related to cultural groups, courses in English as a second language and
practical Portuguese; hiring of bilingual personnel and offering
annually, six
$500 multicultural scholarships
to employees, employee relatives,
and community members on the basis of set criteria including residency
in the Greater Fall River area, pursuing a degree in nursing and/or
health care related profession, and being bicultural and/or bilingual. |
Meets on the 2nd Tuesday of the month at 1:00 p.m. in the
Nannery Conference Room, Saint Anne's Hospital, Forest Street entrance.
Contact Saint Anne's Social Work Services, 508-674-5600, X2280 |
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Peaceful Coalition
 |
Comprised of a diverse
population of teenage boys ages 14-19 representing the spectrum of Fall
River's ethnic and racial demographics, the
Coalition works to create a
safe, violence-free school and community. The group visits, speaks to and
mentors groups of elementary and middle school students throughout the City
on issues of gangs, violence, healthy choices and values. |
Meets most Fridays during the school year at B.M.C. Durfee
High School. Contact
Paul
Leite or Thomas Khoury, Student Advisors, 508-235-2694 |
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Tobacco
Treatment Meeting
 |
The
Municipal Employee Wellness program, working
with representatives of Fall River, Attleboro, Mansfield, N.
Attleboro, Somerset, Swansea & Westport meets with town health
representatives as well as representatives of local treatment providers,
insurers and pharmaceutical companies who supply cessation products at
Fall River Fire Department headquarters at the Industrial Park on how to
best assist the large percentage of municipal employees in the seven
communities to use the available smoking cessation resources. |
Meets monthly at the Fall River Fire Department headquaters
at the Industrial Park. Contact Municipal Employee Wellness Program
Coordinator
Julianne Kelly
at 508-324-2405 for details. |
United Interfaith Action
 |
United Interfaith Action was founded in
1995 by clergy from Fall River and New Bedford to address the serious
problems facing our families and neighborhoods. UIA works with members
to develop their leadership skills to enable them to be active in public
affairs. We are inspired by the democratic values of American history
and the faith values of our different religious traditions. We are
dedicated to promoting justice and improving the quality of life for all
residents of Southeastern Massachusetts. UIA has involved parents in
after school issues, youth in education issues, and workers in job
training issues. |
Meets at 7:00 p.m. at various churches as scheduled
Contact organizer
Scott Spencer at 508-673-467 |
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United Neighbors
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The United Neighbors Community
Partnership (UNCP) is a collaboration of over 40 community and state
agency representatives, religious leaders, local government staff and
concerned citizens. We are committed to promoting a strong, healthy and
safe community which will assist families in the promotion of domestic
peace and tranquility, optimum growth and development of our children
and secure and stable family environments. As a Coalition we will
strive to coordinate and build on existing resources in an effort to
develop strong, sustainable family support systems.
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Meetings are usually held on the first Monday of every other month at 9:45 a.m. in the
chapel of St. Vincent's Home, 2425 Highland Ave, Fall River. Contact
Executive Director Wendy Garf-Lipp
for current information.
United Families is
located at
209 Bedford Street, Suite 401, Fall River (508)324-7900 |
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