MetroWest Daily News Quotes Katherine Garrahan in “Wayside to expand with new Framingham group home”

March 5, 2019

Human services agency Wayside Youth and Family Support Network, which works with adolescents and their families, is demolishing their building in Framingham and building a new one in order to meet needs from the community.

Katherine Garrahan says in the article:

With a growing waiting list, Wayside will be able to serve more adolescents with learning, emotional and behavioral challenges and their families, lawyer Katherine Garrahan said.

Addressing the Zoning Board Thursday, Garrahan said Wayside’s Lockland Avenue campus serves about 82 youth who reside in group homes, and a similar number of students who travel there during the day.

“Over the past few years, Wayside has monitored an increasing waiting list and need for its services by youth in the greater community,” she said. “The result of this focus is the conclusion that more residential beds are needed to decrease the time that children and families wait for residential services.”

Wayside owns two buildings on Lockland Avenue, located north of Rte. 9. The main building at 21 Lockland Ave., built in 2009, houses Wayside’s licensed educational programs. It includes classrooms, a library, a cafeteria and other educational and therapeutic programs, as well as administrative offices.

The second, smaller building at 3 Lockland Ave. dates to 1927. Wayside uses it for staff offices. Garrahan said the nonprofit considered a range of options for the property, including renovating the building, but determined that demolishing it and building a new structure made the most sense.

Continue reading “Wayside to expand with new Framingham group home” on the MetroWest Daily News website.