Marianne Pelletier of the Massachusetts Community Colleges Executive Office offered this update:
On Friday, January 22, 2010 a convening meeting was held at Holyoke Community College to determine whether or not to move forward with a collaborative job training and education program for the homeless populations of Springfield and Holyoke. The meeting was well-attended with representatives from local community colleges, Bay State Health, MCDI, as well as local housing and community organizations.
After a presentation on the COMPASS Community College Collaborative (CCCC), parties agreed to move forward to bring similar programming to both Springfield and Holyoke in partnership with the CCCC. We will be holding a follow-up meeting later in February for parties interested in assisting with the development of the programs. Anyone interested in being part of this should contact Marianne Pelletier at [email protected].
Thank you, Marianne, for leading the way on this exciting initiative in our region!