AMHERST — With her husband landing a job as a professor at the University of Massachusetts for the next four years, Karin Chellew said she had anxiety about moving to Amherst from Germany with her 3-month-old son.
“Since I learned we will have to move in here, I was literally freaking out, especially because we will be far away from home and family, and to a completely different continent,” said Chellew, who is originally from Spain.
Upon getting to town, Chellew discovered the Amherst Family Center, where she and her baby boy, Philip, have experienced what she describes as a “calm” and “delightful” environment. She said she is seeing her son develop in many areas thanks to the center, which is open to families with children ages 5 and under and is free of charge. It’s also a place where she is meeting other local parents.
“The Family Center is so rich in so many levels, and we love it,” Chellew said of the center in the old North Amherst School at 1200 North Pleasant St.
But now, the Amherst Family Center, which offers free drop-in programs daily during the academic year, may be in jeopardy.
UMass, which helps support the program, recently informed the Parents Advisory Council, whose chairwoman is Lucy Perkins, that its funding could end in June. A partner for the past 15 years, Perkins said the potential loss of support from UMass, which operates the center through the office of Student Parent Programs, would be a devastating blow to the program founded by parents in 1986. Parents have launched an online petition at change.org to supplement written appeals to the university. The center operates on approximately $36,000, according to Perkins.
“One thing we’re hoping is to find another department at UMass that would help us,” Perkins, of Granby, said.
UMass spokesman Ed Blaguszewski released a statement Monday saying the university would continue to fund and operate the center through June 2020, and would be “assisting families to identify one or more of the family service providers in the Amherst area to meet their needs.”
“While there was a great need for playgroups, drop-in centers and parent services a decade ago, many other resources are now available for UMass-affiliated student parents,” Blaguszewski stated.
He said the university is making new investments to support student parents and will evaluate how best to spend resources on their behalf at the university.
The petition launched by families stated that without university funding “or adequate time to transition back to a parent funded organization, the Amherst Family Center may close.”
Bignon Bio Yerima, a newcomer to Amherst after her husband was offered a job at the university, learned about the Family Center and has appreciated taking her young daughter to its programs, she said.
“This is a place where my daughter and I get to meet people from different countries and different backgrounds,” Yerima said. “We play together and share so many things together. I made many friends here, and so did my daughter.”
The center is overseen by director Susan McGinn with assistance from UMass students and also has depended on grants from United Way, the Collaborative for Educational Services and Highland Valley Elder Services. An annual event Valley Kids Festival & Craft Fair, formerly the Apple Harvest Festival, also supports the program.
Open weekdays from 9 a.m. to noon during the academic year, the center subleases the town-owned space from Head Start. Also in the same building are ServiceNet’s REACH Early Intervention and Community Action’s Women Infants & Children (WIC) offices.
Perkins has been part of the center since her son, who is now 3½, was born, and she has continued going with her daughter. “It’s a very nice community for this age group and their families,” Perkins said.
The center averages 25 families per day, and of 37 families who participated in a recent survey, three-quarters said they use it twice or more per week, Perkins said. A considerable number come from nearby apartment complexes, such as North Village, where many graduate student families, visiting scholars and international professors reside.
A first Wednesday potluck often includes cuisine from afar, including China, Syria, Afghanistan and other countries. “It’s great to see people sharing dishes from their culture,” Perkins said.
Andi Wan, a visiting scholar in the Department of Afro-American Studies at UMass and a doctoral candidate at Zhejiang University in China, takes her 2-year-old son and notes that her mother-in-law can also join in the fun and learning.
Wan sent a letter to UMass in which she wrote about the center, “For such a wonderful place with multi-functions, it is really heart-breaking to hear about the news that it will be closed in June. We really hope that you can reconsider your decision.”
She praised the program and its staff and student volunteers.
“To our impression, the family center is always hosting many children everyday, whether it’s good weather or bad weather. Susan and her students helpers are so nice and helpful. All the parents and children loved this place.”
Margaret Sawyer, an organizer with the Pioneer Valley Workers Center, has brought her 4-year-old daughter, Mabel, calling it precious support for parents and one of few resources for families with children so young in Amherst.
“As our city grapples with maintaining excellent schools and welcoming more young families, I hope we will find a way to save this low-cost program that does tremendous good,” Sawyer said.
“I really appreciate what UMass has done to support this institution for so long — it’s been a huge gift to Amherst,” Sawyer said.
Leverett resident Amy Gaubinger said she brings her 18-month-old daughter, who is learning sign language, at least twice a week, and that the center offers community-building for children and parents that has no substitute.
“It’s the only place in the area that is open every single day and everyone is welcome,” Gaubinger said. “It offers enough of a schedule and routine that children really benefit from it.”
“We moved to this area because the community values programs like this and the university contributes to programs like this,” Gaubinger said.
“I honestly can’t imagine what my experience of Amherst would have been without the Family Center, and I wish to have the privilege to continue taking my daughter there,” Yerima said. “I hope other families, now and in the future, have that opportunity, too.”
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@ gazettenet.com.
