Program History
Family Outreach of Amherst was established in 1989 in response to the closing of the Helen Mitchell House, an Amherst homeless shelter for women and children. Although the shelter staff found housing in Amherst for the six families who had been staying at the shelter, they were concerned that these families were not stable enough to sustain their housing. With funds from the town of Amherst and private donations, the Helen Mitchell Outreach Project was created to follow the families into the community to ensure that they would not become homeless again. In 2001, the name was changed to Family Outreach of Amherst.
In 20 years, FOA has gone from providing case management services to those original six families to serving over 300 families a year through our Home Visiting Program, Advocacy, and Information and Referral services and more.
Being poor does not mean a family has more problems than a family with more material resources, many families with limited incomes live healthy, happy lives. However, if a family is suffering from domestic violence, substance abuse, past trauma histories, or mental and medical health issues and has very few resources or access to resources, those issues can become bigger and more difficult to address.
Access to outside intervention is needed. Fortunately in Amherst and its surrounding communities, Family Outreach of Amherst is dedicated to offering that intervention.