What We Do
Homes. Jobs. Education.
Wellspring House was founded in 1981 by seven dear friends who were willing to take the risk to do something radical: create a home where they themselves would live and provide temporary shelter to families, living side-by-side as a community. They found a suitable place — a 17th century former inn in Gloucester. Thirty-eight years later Wellspring House retains its strong sensibility. We know that money runs out, marriages fall apart, illness devastates a home. Yet, we have also proven that care and support provided in the context of a welcoming community can change lives. Wellspring still shelters homeless families. We are also focused on the future, having helped hundreds of families to secure permanent homes, graduated more than a thousand low-income adults from our education and job training programs, and facilitated the development of over 100 units of affordable housing on Cape Ann.
Community, Commitment, Change. These are the hallmarks of Wellspring’s work.
Homelessness Prevention and Shelter
Wellspring assists over 1,000 families each year. Through active case management, advocacy, referrals and one time cash grants, families are assisted in homelessness prevention, emergency shelter placement, and securing long term housing. Wellspring also sponsors a Holiday Store during the winter season to help provide 362 families with gifts for their children. For more information on our homelessness prevention and shelter programs, click here.
Adult Education
Wellspring offers free classes for adults to improve skills, prepare to take the HiSET (high school equivalency test), meet the requirements for college entry, and navigate the job market. Math, English, computer, and career development courses are taught in a supportive environment with tutors and faculty who provide individual assistance to each and every student. For students who speak a native language other than English, Wellspring offers free English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) in collaboration with the Sawyer Free Library. For more information about our Adult Learning Initiative classes, click here. For information on our ESOL program, click here.
Career and Educational Planning
Wellspring’s Education Resource Collaborative (WERC) offers customized one-on-one career and educational counseling and group mentoring for adults who seek to gain the skills and educational preparation to secure jobs that will pay living wages. Through a careful assessment and planning process, each WERC student creates his or her own detailed “Personal Pathway for Success”, a road map to a future career goal. WERC is also available for seniors and recent graduates of Gloucester High School. For more information about our WERC program, click here.
Job Training for Living Wage Jobs
Wellspring partners with North Shore Medical Center and its affiliates to offer our MediClerk job training and placement program. To date, we have placed more than 400 students, 85% of whom have secured stable administrative jobs in health care settings. Last year, our graduates earned starting wages of $14-$18/hour with benefits, opportunities for advancement, and future tuition support. Approximately 36 students graduate from MediClerk every year. For more information about MediClerk, click here.