The Family Support Center provides resources for low-income households throughout the year and connects families to programs such as financial literacy to strengthen their financial condition.
Resources and support includes:
- Emergency rental and mortgage assistance
- Food assistance (USDA food commodities, vouchers to local food pantries, links to other food resources in the community)
- Utility assistance
- Prescription assistance
- Information, referral and advocacy
- Assistance through the Milk Fund, a supplemental nutrition program for low-income families. Click here for application.
Location: 245 Main Street Woonsocket, RI.
Hours: Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays 9:00 – 11:30 am & 1:00 – 4:00 pm; Tuesdays 9:00 – 11:30 am (closed every 3rd Tuesday of the month), and Thursdays 1:00 - 6:00 pm.
Contact: For more information, call 401-766-0900.
The majority of programs are limited to low-income Woonsocket residents. The following documentation is required for all services.
- Proof of all household income or no income, most recent FIP/food stamp statement, TDI, unemployment statement
- Picture ID for applicant only
- Social security cards for ALL household members
- Proof of birth for ALL household members (birth certificates/RI Medicaid cards)
- Current rent receipt, current lease, current mortgage statement
- Current electric, gas/oil bills
- Documentation of crisis (fire report, doctor’s note, etc…)
* must be a “termination notice” if applying for utility crisis help.
Click here 
to download and print the Required Documentation list.
Early Intervention (EI) serves eligible children from birth to three years of age and their families to promote the growth and development of infants and toddlers with developmental delays. Services are provided by a team of qualified professionals working in partnership with the family to ensure the best possible service provision. Services include:
- Comprehensive child & family assessment
- Assistive technology services and referrals
- Nutrition services
- Occupational Therapy
- Physical Therapy
- Speech/Language Therapy
- Special instruction - Child & parent groups
There is no cost to families for these services although insurance coverage may be accessed if available.
For more information, contact Marcia Card, EI Program Manager, at 401-235-6007 or mcard@famresri.org
Additional Resources:
First Connections Program
First Connections at Family Resources Community Action provides free, voluntary, confidential home visits in Burrillville, Cumberland, Foster, Glocester, Johnston, Lincoln, North Providence, North Smithfield, Scituate, Smithfield and Woonsocket to pregnant women and families with young children, birth to age three. First Connections is funded by the Rhode Island Department of Health and Department of Human Services.
What We Do
Conduct home visits
Trained nurses, social workers, and community health workers meet with families in their homes to talk about their needs, answer questions they may have, and conduct comprehensive assessments. If needed, home visitors can make arrangements for interpretation services during home visits. If you are an expecting parent, you may be contacted after the birth of your child to arrange a home visit.
Engage families who may benefit from home visits
Anyone may offer to arrange a home visit for a family. We take referrals from:
- Birthing hospitals, when a newborn is discharged from the hospital. Referrals are based on the results of the newborn developmental assessment or on the clinical judgment of hospital staff.
- Healthcare and social service providers, if they think a child and family would benefit from home visiting.
- Families (i.e, self-referrals).
Link families with medical homes and social services
Home visits are based on the needs of the family. Visit topics may include health education and connections with appropriate healthcare services, human services, and community resources. If a child does not have a medical home, we can help the family find one. Family Resources Community Action can also conduct child wellness screenings and communicate the results with the child's healthcare provider.
What You Should Do
- If you are interested in receiving a home visit, please call 401-766-0900 and ask for the First Connections program. You can make a home visiting appointment at any time if you are pregnant or have a child younger than age three.
- If you are a healthcare or social service provider, refer interested families for home visits. Call Intake Coordinator, Melanie Reyes at 401-235-6079 or 401-766-0900 to make an appointment or fax over a referral form to 401-767-4099. The Department of Health has a list of First Connections providers by community served.
- See the Department of Health website for more information about home visiting and the First Connections Program.
First Connections Brochure
Spanish Brochure
Referral Form
Healthy Families America
Healthy Families America is a national evidence-based maternal and child home visiting program that provides no cost, voluntary, confidential services. The program pairs expectant mothers or families with newborns( younger than two weeks old) with a Family Support Worker, who provides home visiting services to the family and their child until the child’s third birthday.
Program Goals
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Build and maintain partnerships in communities that engage families in home visiting, either prenatally or at birth
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Promote and strengthen positive parent-child relationships
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Promote positive growth and development in children
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Build the strengths of families and their protective factors
Who we serve
Expectant mothers and families with newborns. Families may have more than one child. The program is designed mainly for overburdened parents who have had some form of early childhood trauma. Family Resources Community Actions provides services to young, low-income women in Woonsocket.
What We Do
Identify the needs of families
Before a home visitor (Family Support Worker) from Healthy Families America begins home visits, a Family Resource Specialist visits with a family to see if they want or need long-term home visiting services. For some families, this kind of home visiting is not right, or they need other services, such as a parenting class. The Family Resource Specialist works with families to identify what they want and need.
Provide parents the support they need to be successful
Family Support Workers aim to establish trusting, consistent relationships. This kind of relationship helps families grow and change. Family Support Workers can help expectant mothers and families access community resources and supports, plan for education and jobs, and decrease social isolation. They also offer encouragement and emotional support.
Help parents develop positive attitudes about their roles as parents
During home visits, Family Support Workers focus on supporting strong, healthy relationships between parents (including fathers) and children. They help parents read their children’s cues and respond in nurturing ways. Family Support Workers also help parents become more self-sufficient and confident in their roles as parents.
Increase parents’ knowledge of their children’s development
Family Support Workers work with parents so that they understand their children’s development, including age-appropriate milestones. Using the Growing Great Kids curriculum, Family Support Workers foster nurturing parent-child interactions and encourage brain development and stimulation through play.
Improve family health
Family Support Workers link families to patient-centered medical homes for both parents and children. If pregnant women enroll, Family Support Workers help connect them with prenatal care. They work with parents to help ensure that children up to date on immunizations and receive all their well-child visits. They also work with families to create a safe home environment for the entire family.
What You Should Do
Anyone may refer a pregnant woman or family with a newborn to Healthy Families America. Referrals are taken from:
- Healthcare and social service providers, including WIC, if they think an expectant mother would benefit from home visiting
- Schools
- Families (self-referrals or family member referrals)
If you are interested in participating in Healthy Families America, would like to refer an expectant mother or family with a newborn, or have questions about the program, please call Family Resources Community Action in Woonsocket at 401-766-0900 and ask for the Healthy Families America program.
FRCA provides assessment and treatment for individuals and their families experiencing difficulties with alcohol and other drug use. Services include:
- Substance abuse treatment for addiction and dependency
- Recovery groups led by clinical staff
- Access to Recovery (ATR) assessment and care coordination
(For more information about ATR, go to the RI Department of Behavioral Health, Developmental Disabilities & Hospitals.)
Services are primarily office based. ATR assessment and care coordination are available statewide through patnerships with local agencies throughout Rhode Island. Payment for services is based on Medicaid, Private Insurers, and limited substance abuse contract slots.
All clinicians are licensed or certified based on their specialty (e.g. substance abuse treatment) or receive additional training and clinical supervision toward their licensure. Graduate level interns through their clinical training also provide services while receiving regular clinical supervision by a licensed practitioner.
For additional information or intake contact Celeste Greene at 401-235-6062 or cgreene@famresri.org
FRCA works in collaboration with community partners to provide gifts and resources around the holidays for low income families and their children. We screen eligible families for participation in Adopt-a-Family, coordinate the distribution of holiday gift baskets with community service groups, and assist with other toy donation programs. Details about specific holiday programs will be announced several weeks before the holiday season.