GLWIB Member Profile
Name: Karen Frederick
Title: Executive Director
Organization: Community Teamwork Inc.
Phone: (978) 459-0551
Website: http://www.comteam.org/
About Member:
Karen has been the Executive Director of CTI for just over 7 years. Most recently she was the Chief Program Officer, but Karen has been with CTI since 1978, when she started as the Childcare Director. She attended Merrimack College where she received a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology. Karen then attended Tufts University and received a Master’s Degree in Education in Child Development. In addition to CTI, Karen has been an instructor on the adjunct faculty of Middlesex Community College, Wheelock College, and Lesley College. She has served on the GLWIB for seven years, since she became the Executive Director of CTI
Organization Description:
Community Teamwork Inc. serves two roles as a private, non-profit Community Action Agency and a Regional Housing Agency. CTI’s mission is to assist low-income individuals to become self-sufficient, to alleviate the effects of poverty, and also to assist low-income people to participate in the decisions that affect their lives. CTI was established in 1965. Agencies like CTI were created when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 and officially declared a War on Poverty. There are now 1000 agencies like CTI across the nation and 24 in Massachusetts. CTI is the second largest CAP agency in Massachusetts with 500 employees, and an annual budget of approximately 73 million of federal, state, local and private funding. This past year CTI served 44,000 residents in the Greater Lowell region, the highest amount in their history
What are some of the new projects CTI has in the works?
CTI has several successful programs that cover a lot of ground in the region. The Child and Family Services Division serves 1200 children a day in Lowell, Dracut, and Billerica. The Head Start program is open to all communities. Head Start provides low-income children with a pre-school program that promotes cognitive, physical and emotional development.
Community Teamwork's Energy Department offers a host of heating and conservation programs including fuel assistance, weatherization, burner repair and replacement, and several other programs to help families stay safe and warm each winter.
The Division of Housing & Homeless Services is the combination of numerous programs that help low and moderate income families establish or maintain safe and permanent housing. CTI offers rental assistance programs, homelessness prevention programs, transitional housing for domestic violence victims, shelters for homeless families, homeownership opportunities, housing advocacy and self-sufficiency initiatives throughout 43 cities and towns in Massachusetts. CTI owns two residential shelters in the area for homeless families. The Scattered Sites program allows homeless or battered women and their families to live in affordable apartments for up to 24 months while in transition to safer sustainable permanent housing. CTI rents 63 units in and around Greater Lowell.
CTI's goal of creating and expanding affordable housing led to the creation of Common Ground Development Corporation, a subsidiary of Community Teamwork established in 2002. Common Ground's mission is to develop new affordable housing for low and moderate income persons and families in the Greater Lowell area.
The New Entry Sustainable Farming Program (NESFP) is a partnership with the Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition, Science, and Policy, Community Teamwork, Inc., the Massachusetts Department of Food and Agriculture, the USDA Farm Service Agency, community groups and local farmers. The NESFP is a training and technical assistance program for immigrants and refugees living in Massachusetts. The program offers training in agriculture, farm business planning, and up to three years on one of its training farms in Lowell, Fitchburg, and Worcester with the goal of helping immigrants become successful new farmers.
In the last year, CTI developed PATH (Pathways to Advancement and Training in Healthcare) which joins YouthBuild as part of its new Division of Workforce Development.
YouthBuild is a program for young adults between the ages of 17 and 24 who have dropped out of school. YouthBuild offers GED preparation classes that provide over 1,200 hours of classroom instruction. YouthBuild, funded by the US Department of Labor, also provides students with important learning tools like critical thinking skills, small business management, economic literacy, and computer training in our state-of-the-art computer lab. All YouthBuild students learn carpentry and construction skills while they work together to create affordable housing in their community. This year’s class is the largest ever with 80 students.
The Pathways to Advancement and Training in Healthcare (PATH) program, funded by the Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund administered by the Commonwealth Corporation, focuses on obtaining employment and advancement in the healthcare industry for entry-level and incumbent workers in the Greater Lowell area. PATH partners with local healthcare employers to develop curriculum and career pathways. This program has been very successful as several students have been promoted and hired as a result.
To learn more about the services CTI provides please visit their website, http://www.comteam.org/