Foster Care Organization Expands Into Wakefield

WAKEFIELD, MA — Foster care organization Plummer Youth Promise expanded its operations with a 1,638-square-foot office suite on Audubon Road in Wakefield. Founded in 1855, Plummer Youth Promise provides group home, supported apartment, foster care, skill-building and detention diversion programs for kids and young adults who are in or at risk of entering the foster care or juvenile justice system.

It has four other locations: two sites in Salem, which provide residential and community-based after school services, and sites in Lawrence and Springfield, which house foster care and mediation programs.

The Wakefield office will house social workers who serve young adults ages 18-22 living in community apartments and young people living in group homes that are not operated by Plummer.

"When we reached out with a space challenge, the response from Cummings Properties was immediate," Plummer Youth Promise acting executive director Nicole McLaughlin said in a statement. "They were helpful in a way that was beyond what we expected, presenting a variety of location options so that we could consider what would be most effective and convenient for our staff and the youth we serve."

The property is owned by Cummings Foundation and operated by Cummings Properties. All rental profits will go toward charitable causes, according to Cummings Properties leasing officer Steve Cusano.

The Foundation has awarded more than $260 million to date to greater Boston charities. Plummer Youth Promise was awarded $100,000 from Cummings Foundation in 2017.