Thursday, February 21, 2002Grand
opening Monday
By Chris Markuns
Eagle-Tribune Writer
METHUEN -- The first day's offerings say it all: An all-day book fair, two-hour lead
screening program, one-hour breastfeeding seminar, and end-of-the-day stress workshop.
Welcome to the something-for-everyone approach of the Bridgewalk Family Resource
Center, which overcame state budget cuts and last-minute scrambling to make it to Monday's
debut. The week-long open house will feature the smorgasbord schedule that is expected to
be its staple -- an ever-changing, eclectic combination of free children's programs and
parenting services that the town has never seen in one place.
"But families are eclectic, right? Their needs are eclectic, so we need to meet
all those needs," said Julie Tetreault, who oversaw Bridgewalk's creation as director
of the Methuen Community Partnerships for Children Program (MCPC), a collection of all the
town's public schools and early childhood education centers. "Parents wanted more
information, families needed more information. We're hoping this meet a lot of different
needs."
Located in what used to be the cafeteria of Central School, Bridgewalk will keep kids
occupied with arts and crafts, story sessions and playgroups, while parents are welcome to
attend workshops and seek advice on everything from handling divorce to heating bills.
It's the addressing of issues that the MCPC, which is an extension of the Greater Lawrence
Community Action Council, first started hearing about back in 1997.
"There really wasn't one place to go in Methuen where they could find these
answers," Tetreault said.
Specific offerings, said coordinator Dolli Pariseau, will change based on input.
"It will depend on the response we get," she said. "The important thing
is we find out what people are really interested in."
Developed over the course of two years and paid for with Department of Education cash,
the whole project almost became another state budget casualty in December. More than
$18,000 in funding went up in smoke, and Tetreault and company had to scrape for
donations, grants and free services wherever they could find them.
"We were trying to put in the Cadillac, but we have had to kind of downsize,"
she said. "I really honestly think it never would have occurred if the entire
community wasn't behind it, and that's what's been great."
Given the close call, Pariseau doesn't mind opening with the scaled-back, patchwork
version.
"We're starting small," she said, "but at least we're starting."
Schedule of events
The Bridgewalk Family Resource Center opens next week with a five-day open house. All
events are free and open to Methuen residents. Call coordinator Dolli Pariseau at
(978) 681-4907 for more information.