VOC's Community Needs Assessment and Strategic Plan

VOC’s leadership team began planning for our 2018-2020 Community Assessment Report and Strategic Plan in June of 2016. Since then, we have distributed, collected, and analyzed hundreds of surveys from community members, participants, board members, and employees. We have held multiple focus groups, interviewed various key stakeholders, and researched the causes and conditions of poverty in our community. All of this data was studied and compiled into our 2018-2020 Community Assessment Report and Strategic Plan (CARSP). 

As a result of this process, VOC is planning to focus on creating and enhancing the following programming:

• Increasing the number of safe and affordable housing units available in Chicopee and Holyoke
• Increasing the access and availability of affordable child care
• Increasing job training programs
• Providing individuals and families with referrals and resources for drug and alcohol addiction services
• Decreasing the amount of low-income families with food insecurity