Wellspring Initiative
Lead Organization: Partners for a Healthier Community, Inc.
Key Partners: Baystate Health, Western New England University, the Pioneer Valley AFL-CIO, The Center for Popular Economics, MassMutual, Providence Health System, Massachusetts Higher Education Consortium, Regional Employment Board of Hampden County, Springfield Technical Community College, United Way of Pioneer Valley, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Center for Public Policy and Administration at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Michael Kane Consulting, Third Sector New England; Western New England School of Law; Western Mass Enterprise Fund.
Project Location: Springfield, Mass.
Contact: Frank Robinson, executive director, Partners for a Healthier Community, frank.robinson@baystatehealth.org
Project Description:
People who have jobs tend to be healthier—now and later in life—than people who are unemployed. Researchers believe that this relationship is tied at least in part to the fact that people who are employed have access to resources, such as health insurance and transportation, which can help them maintain better health. In Springfield, Mass., the poorest metropolitan area in the state, Partners for a Healthier Community will work with the Center for Public Policy and Administration at the University of Massachusetts, the Center for Popular Economics and several local organizations, businesses and non-profits to create entry-level jobs in low-income neighborhoods to ultimately improve residents’ health. In addition to creating more employment opportunities, the Wellspring Initiative, as the coalition is known, will also aim to improve living conditions in several blighted Springfield neighborhoods.
To create new jobs, Wellspring will help the region's largest employers shift their purchases of goods and services from outside the region into inner-city Springfield, supporting a market for new, local, employee-owned cooperatives. This new demand will support the establishment of new cooperative businesses including a local food hub, a dairy processing plant, a commercial laundry facility and construction and energy efficiency firms. Wellspring cooperatives will be a source of both jobs and job training for low-income residents and, hopefully, a way for these people to increase their current and potential wealth. In addition to job creation, Wellspring will also launch a culturally and educationally appropriate job training program to teach skills for work readiness, self-management and technical proficiency.
Wellspring has raised a total of $105,000 in matching funds from the following partners: Baystate Health, MassMutual Foundation, Providence Health System, Regional Employment Board of Hampden County, Springfield Technical Community College, United Way of Pioneer Valley, and University of Massachusetts Amherst.
