Madonna Place is a nonprofit agency whose mission is to provide services that strengthen families and help to prevent child abuse and neglect.

Description:
Our agency offers programs which help to intervene in the cycle of child abuse and neglect. Madonna Place has four unique programs: the Family Support Center, offering primarily centered based services for parents and children. The Families First Program is a prevention program which primarily targets first time parents. A special fatherhood program has been added to our services, allowing us to have a team of staff members who work with custodial and non-custodial fathers individually and in groups. The Family Visitation Center Program has grown from a service within the Family Support Center Program to become a unique and separate program of its' own.
Over 2000 individuals were served by Madonna Place during our last fiscal year; each year the agency reaches significantly more people and has been in a growth mode since its inception in 1987

Clients consistently report high satisfaction with services they receive at the agency, and indicate that the support they receive has helped them to become better parents. The agency also utilizes outcome measures to gauge the success of our programs; we have had consistently good results in all programs, indicating our services have had a positive impact on the lives of the children and families we serve.

The primary recipients of services at Madonna Place are low or low-moderate income, and reside in New London County, with 80% of the Family Support Center clients coming from Norwich. Approximately 1/3 or more are minorities. About 80-90% of the parents are single parents.

History:
Madonna Place initially began as a pilot project in 1981, funded by the Diocese of Norwich. The idea was to develop a safe haven, a respite center, for disadvantaged women and their children. A public health nurse who frequented the soup kitchen in Norwich learned that the parents who ate lunch there wished they had a place to go where they could gather safely and their children could play. This need was further established through information gained from mothers who were using the local WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) nutritional program. Although the pilot project was only funded for six months, enough community interest and client need was generated to reopen Madonna Place in 1987 as a private, non-profit agency (not affiliated with any church)

Contact people:

Kristine Johnson, Program Manager, (phone), (email) Megan Pichette, Coordinator, (phone), (email) Nancy Gentes, Executive Director, (phone), (email)

Address:

240 Main St., Box 825 Norwich, CT 06360 (See a map)

Directions:

The agency is located in downtown Norwich on the corner of Main Street and Franklin St. Our main entrance is on Franklin Street. We are located in Franklin Square, in the same building as Labor Ready.   Nearest Metro/Subway Stop: N/A,   Walk distance (in minutes): N/A   Nearest Bus Stop: Main St., right outside our door minute walk