Social Service Groups Hope to Operate Under One Roof

The will present charter members of the Attleboro Area Self Sufficiency Collaborative with $10,300 Thursday to support the group's first step to make services available all under one roof. 

Several social services leaders in the community have joined together to form a collaborative group and open a self-sufficiency center in Attleboro. The center would be a place where people could visit to address all of their needs including food, clothing and self-help support.

Agencies Unite

Under the same roof would be representatives from Saint Vincent de Paul Society, the , ARC of Northern Bristol County, Self Help,  and (WIC), to name a few. 

"We really are unique in the way we collaborate," said Irene Frechette, president of the Attleboro Area Council of Churches. "The whole idea of a self-sufficiency center is, because we all live on government grants and donations, we are looking for below market rent.

"We have to keep our overhead as low as possible to maximize what goes out to help people," she added. 

Being in one location would enable the group to invite state agencies to meet the people of Attleboro, have a drop-off center for children while parents go on interviews and a dialysis center.  

Study Underway

With $10,300 in support from the , the group was able to hire Douglas Annino of Annino Corp. Architects and Planners to develop a feasibility study. 

The feasibility study will determine if the old 200,000 square-foot building at 34 Forest St., once occupied by Texas Instruments, makes sense for the center's location. 

"Right now we are trying to talk to anyone interested in developing that property," Frechette said. "Doug (Annino) is interviewing agencies, conducting a preliminary space evaluation and schematic design."

"We haven’t found anything else near that size that is centrally located," Frechette added. 

Ideal Location 

Currently, many of the city's outreach groups are located at 95 Pine St., where they rent space in the city-owned building.  

Pine Street needs a lot of maintenance and will soon need a new furnace and roof. 

Having the center in Attleboro made the most sense for a number of reasons, according to Frechette. People walk from Attleboro's East Side to receive services currently offered in the Pine Street building, disenfranchised people ride bicycles to receive services, the building is located on the bus line and and WIC provides families with checks to buy food at nearby stores.

While the effort is in its first phase, Frechette said it is the groups' "hope and dream" to provide services all under one roof in three and five years.