MVCS - Island Wide Youth Collaborative

The Island Wide Youth Collaborative (IWYC), a Massachusetts Family Resource Center, provides services for at-risk families, young people and community members. The goal of a Family Resource Center is to support families to strengthen their bonds, connect to others and engage in their community. The Island Wide Youth Collaborative (IWYC) continues its mission to provide services to the families of Martha’s Vineyard. In February of 2020 the IWYC was named a Full Massachusetts Family Resource Center. This designation provided expanded funding from the Department of Children and Families. Four full time positions were added and programming capacity was greatly increased. In March of 2020, the IWYC was able to quickly meet the demands of underserved families on the island by providing much needed essential items such as food, diapers and baby wipes. Working in collaboration with MVCS Early Childhood Programs contactless deliveries were made to families across the island. The IWYC staff also worked with numerous community partners – schools, Island Health Care, Martha’s Vineyard Hospital and other organizations to fill gaps in services. Programming for parents has been provided virtually beginning in April of 2020. Staff worked tirelessly to create a strong safety net for families and we continue this work into 2021.