Community Activities + Programs

The North Suburban Child & Family Resource Network supports all parents, caregivers and educators of children prenatal through entering kindergarten who live in Lynnfield, Malden, Melrose, North Reading, Reading, Stoneham, Wakefield, Winchester and other surrounding communities. Programs and activities are located within our eight-town service area.

We aim to help parents and caregivers create a healthy home environment and promote family well-being through education and community support. We provide parent education workshops, playgroups, support groups, family activities, parenting information, and community resources. Programs and activities are located within our seven-town service area. Resources for services for older children are also available.

For more information and to join our mailing list, please call 781.246.5187 or visit www.nsfamilynetwork.org.
Like us on Facebook.

Funding is provided by a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care through the Wakefield Public Schools, in collaboration with MelroseWakefield Healthcare. Additional funding sources are a variety of grants and generous donations from our families and supporters.

We offer numerous programs to help parents and caregivers access the support their families need:

• Ages and Stages Developmental Screenings: As parents, we want to know that our children are on track developing and learning all that they can. Through the Department of Early Education and Care, we have received access to a developmental and social-emotional growth screening tool, called the Ages and Stages Questionnaire. This screening tool is a great way to learn more about your child’s development. Once completed, you and a staff member can review the results and see what we can do together to help your child reach their full potential. If you have any questions, please call our office at 781.246.5187.
• ParentChild+: PC+ helps your family in your role as your child's first and most important teacher. A trained Early Learning Specialist will bring educational toys and books for your child to keep. Your ELS will visit twice a week for 30 minutes at your convenience. You'll learn creative ways to read and play and become actively involved in your child's education. If you have any questions, please call our office at 781.246.5187.

Are you struggling to meet your weekly food bill with a child under 5 years old? 
Are you a new mom on unpaid maternity leave? 
Has your family recently experienced a reduction in work hours or job loss?

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of those questions, you may be eligible for WIC (Women, Infants and Children) benefits. The North Suburban WIC is a health and nutrition program sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the USDA, administered locally by MelroseWakefield Hospital.

To find out if you’re eligible, please call 781.338.7578 or apply online.

Current participants can meet with the family support coordinator, who can help them find additional community support such as housing and childcare needs. For further information or to schedule an appointment please call 781.338.7570.

Visit our Facebook page.

Once a month, on the second Saturday, staff and volunteers gather to assemble bags of high-quality, nutritious produce and staple pantry items for free to community members in need through local organizations. Volunteers are always welcome. To volunteer, please call 781-338-7576.

North Suburban WIC Program/MelroseWakefield Hospital offers this program, in partnership with the Greater Boston Food Bank and the Malden Zonta Club.

We offer free, drop-in virtual support programs several times a week. Breastfeeding and pregnant mothers who want to learn more about breastfeeding are welcome to attend. MelroseWakefield Hospital lactation consultants and counselors facilitate Baby Cafés.

For more information, please call 781-979-MILK (6455), email breastfeeding@tuftsmedicine.org, or join us for our next session.

If you need a helping hand, call 781.338.7579 to request infant and children’s clothing up to teen sizes, baby essentials such as bouncy seats, highchairs, pack n plays, swings, baby carriers/strollers, exersaucers, infant tubs and more. We are unable to provide car seats or cribs. Everything we have in the closet has been donated and is for the most part gently used.

If you would like to donate to the Mothers Helping Mothers Clothing Closet please call 781-338-7607. The items we accept for donations are: in season clothing, baby equipment: bouncy seats, high chairs, strollers, pack n plays, infant tubs, swings, carriers, diaper bags, blankets, pack n play sheets, exersaucers, jumperoos, diapers including open packages, children’s books. We are no longer accepting maternity clothing and we do not accept used walkers, car seats, cribs or toys/stuffed animals.

We offer courses on a variety of topics aimed at promoting community safety, health and wellness. We are committed to providing families with information to lead healthier lives through education and support programs. Our community health education classes are conducted by clinical staff, certified childbirth educators, CPR and first aid instructors and other educators. Classes are offered throughout the year and most are free of charge or low-cost.

For more information, visit https://www.tuftsmedicine.org/get-care/our-locations/about-melrosewakefield-hospital/community/community-health-education, contact CHE@tuftsmedicine.org or 781.338.7561.

Healthy Families Melrose/Wakefield and MA Home Visiting Initiative is a home visiting program available for first-time parents aged 24 and under. We serve families in Everett, Malden, Medford, Melrose, North Reading, Reading, Stoneham and Wakefield. You are eligible for this free and voluntary program if you are a first-time parent, age 24 or younger and your baby is less than one year old at the time of referral. All Healthy Families programs provide three years of support services, health and parenting education, child development screening, and group services to families and their children through regular home visiting and other activities. You do not need to receive care from a MelroseWakefield Hospital facility or physician to be eligible.

Healthy Families supports you with services, such as:

• Connection to community resources and activities
• Information on child development
• Prenatal and parenting coaching
• Support groups and activities
• Support of goal development for the future

For more information, contact us at 781.338.7550.

Healthy Families is funded by the Children’s Trust. The MA Home Visiting Initiative is funded by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Services are free to families that meet the eligibility guidelines with no income requirement.

Aging in Balance is a community outreach program for older adults (aged 50+) with a focus on providing healthcare education classes and monthly blood pressure monitoring and ask-a-nurse clinics. Evidence-based and evidence-informed classes are facilitated online and in person by healthcare professionals on a variety of topics including:

• Blood pressure management
• Brain health
• Chronic pain management
• Fall prevention
• Grandparents raising grandchildren
• Living with heart failure (CHF)
• Management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• Pelvic floor education
• Perimenopause and menopause education
• Sleep health
• Stress management
• Stroke prevention

For information about upcoming classes please email AginginBalance@tuftsmedicine.org, call 781.338.7559 or check the classes + events page.