Springfield Partners for Community Action still serves as the connection place in city
She runs the diaper program at Springfield Partners, supplying about 100 families, accounting for 166 individual children each month.
'Diapers are expensive,' said Mickey E. Harris, the executive director of Springfield Partners for the past few months.
Springfield Partners is an $8 million to $10 million a year operation, offering home weatherization, tax preparation, financial literacy education, first-time homebuyer classes, veterans programs, SNAP counseling and apartment rental assistance, and is a general one-stop shop for people in poverty looking for resources.
'People come to us when they are in need and frequently frustrated,' Harris said. 'We give them something to help.'
These are frustrations that might mount and resources that might become more scarce, given growing needs and uncertainty about the federal antipoverty programs that Springfield Partners manages.
'There are differences in terms of resources and changes in ideology,' said Harris, an attorney before taking over at Springfield Partners.
It's also a time for celebrating the career of former Executive Director Paul F. Bailey, who retired Jan. 31 and will be honored at an event on Saturday at the Sheraton in Springfield.
The cause for celebration comes at a time of uncertainty, however.
J.C. Schnabl, Springfield Partners for Community Action deputy director, said the agency already has lost out on $100,000 in federal money that normally passes down through the state.
'For staffing,' Schnabl said. 'And we are already shorthanded.'
Springfield Partners celebrated 60 years in 2024. It was born through the efforts of President Lyndon Johnson and his slate of War on Poverty programs, also known as the Great Society. Those programs called for community action agencies to put those programs into effect in neighborhoods across the country.
Springfield Partners was the first community action site to open in Western Massachusetts in 1964, Harris said.
And it still serves as a major connection point for people in need.
'Our model is to do everything we can do to fight poverty any way we can,' Harris said.
More than 700 households took advantage last year of weatherization and household improvements, said Craig Tomlinson, director of that program. That involves assessing and making improvements. There are programs that provide air conditioners and dehumidifiers, as well.
It's funded by the state and federal governments, as well by utilities through their efficiency programs.
Taxpayers — 1,123 of them to be exact — came to Springfield Partners for Community Action this spring for help filing their taxes, said Terryl Wilson, Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program coordinator. All told, that's probably $1.5 million or more in refunds, she said, as she finished reporting the results for the VITA effort in 2025.
'Tax preparation is very expensive,' Harris said. 'And a lot of people don't know how to do taxes.'
Programs like tax preparation also give Springfield Partners a chance to offer other resources. Workers search out people who are eligible but not signed up.
Springfield Partners closed its child care center last year and now leases the space to Playful Minds Learning Center.
Harris said Springfield Partners continues to evolve.
'How do we encourage people, young people especially, that what they can accomplish is limitless? If you can dream it, you can do it,' he said.
And that's going to take collaboration. Not everything has to be Springfield Partners for Community Action's idea or its own program.
'We can jump in,' he said.
A Food Truck Festival put on in October by the Indian Orchard Citizens Council is a great example. By participating, Springfield Partners got a chance to reach out to the community and let people know about SNAP, about homebuyer classes, rental advancements and other services.
'We are trying to flow with the need,' Bailey said. 'There is more need and not as much funding to support those needs.'
Over 24 years, there was one key lesson, Bailey said.
'Not to judge,' he said.
It's tempting to see someone in need, someone in poverty, and see it as a result of a personal choice or failure.
'That is rarely the case,' he said.
Western New England University president Robert Johnson stepping down
Holyoke Landing, location of Popeyes and Starbucks, sold
Howdy Awards honor 10 for hospitality excellence in Springfield area
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But two things may flip this entirely on its head: Android XR bringing the Google Play Store to specs, and Snap's new consumer glasses channeling the word of devs creating hundreds of thousands of lenses over the past few years. 'We're really here to build this with the community because it's an entirely new paradigm,' said Snap's Myers. 'There's a lot of things that will take time for people to understand and figure out. It's not just going to be, 'oh, here you go, developers — come build for this!' That's not going to work in my opinion. It's a community-led discussion and I couldn't be happier with that.' The constant stream of new apps to the smart glasses of the future needs to become as synonymous as the app store is to the iPhone. All-day stamina guaranteed Batteries are not ready for prime time in smart glasses — the longevity of lithium ion cells are always heavily compromised by the limited capacity balanced by ensuring the glasses are not too heavy on someone's face. The end result is making sure you're careful with the number of interactions you make with your Ray-Ban Meta shades at the moment. Fortunately, Meta is on the right track of improving this with the Oakley Meta HSTN glasses effectively doubling the longevity. That being said, there's still a way to go. What's the answer? Nobody is quite sure yet, but it seems to start with the direction smartphones are heading in: silicon carbon. This next generation battery tech is able to pack more power within the same space, meaning this could be a starting point to move forward. The other thing the industry has learned, just like Meta did with the Ray-Bans, is how battery life is all about calculating and optimizing the software usage to every microwatt. "I worked on smartphones for a very long time, said Myers. 'While the battery capacity has grown pretty consistently, it's really the way people are using the software that has gotten much better. We see the same trajectory for Snap OS.' If Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses prove one thing, it's that when it comes to AI devices, glasses are the best realization of that vision — better than Rabbit R1, better than the Humane AI Pin. But even more than that, we've seen multi-modal AI unlock some truly useful features in a pair of smart glasses. Because at the end of the day, you want your glasses to do more than tell you you're looking at a tree. 'AI will be the core intelligence layer. It will understand context, proactively assist, personalize the interface in real time. Wearables will evolve from tools into true companions — adaptive, discreet, and intuitive.' 'XR, for me, is the best interface to interacting with the digital world. What happened in the digital world is being transformed with AI. So it just happens that this AI requires multi-modality.' said Qualcomm's Bakadir Whether I'm exploring the world and want extra facts about a landmark, or I'm stuck on things to eat and want some assistance on what to make from the things in my fridge, having AI directly on your face is the most natural form factor. 'AI will be the core intelligence layer. It will understand context, proactively assist, personalize the interface in real time. Wearables will evolve from tools into true companions — adaptive, discreet, and intuitive.' said David Jiang, CEO of Viture. We've made small steps towards that with Snapdragon AR1+ Gen 1 — allowing you to run a 1-billion parameter AI model entirely locally. That is significant for the future of smart glasses, but it's only one step forward. Now the next step is moving into agentic AI and personalization — using data to train your own device around you for more proactive, more agentic assistance that can help before you even think you were going to look for help. Remember when the Apple Watch came out? The real reason for it existing didn't come until a few years in. When those sensors came into their own, it became the go-to health tracker that it is now. I feel that the moment is coming for smart glasses. The use cases are currently limited, but the moment we start sticking sensors on them, not only would you be able to track physical health, you could even track emotional health, too. 'We believe that understanding emotions is a force multiplier for AI, in terms of it being effective for you in the context of wearing glasses all day. If you want AI to be really effective for you, it's critical that it understands how you're feeling in real-time." said Streen Strand, Emteq CEO. And why wouldn't you? In a February survey by Sentio University, 96% of AI users reach out for some therapeutic advice. Sensor tech is looking like a key focal point of the future of smart glasses — fueling not just eye-tracking and hand gestures, but pairing with AI for more personalization. 'We believe that understanding emotions is a force multiplier for AI, in terms of it being effective for you in the context of wearing glasses all day. If you want AI to be really effective for you, it's critical that it understands how you're feeling in real-time." We've done this dance before. Remember Google Glass? There's a reason why the phrase 'glassholes' exists, and it's because of the social stigma that came with wearing this advanced piece of tech directly on your face. Every new tech category goes through a settling-in process around the way they disrupt common social cues, as they move from seeming traditionally impolite to just being the way things are. But with display tech in smart glasses, I feel that hump of social acceptance is going to take a bit more time to get used to. A great example is the Halliday glasses, which beams a 3.5-inch projected display into your eye from the top rim of the specs. All you have to do is look up at it, which on paper is seriously impressive. However, during my time talking to people wearing them at CES 2025, the amount of perceived eyerolls I got as they looked up to the screen did certainly make me feel like an inconvenience! And then more broadly with the display tech of tomorrow, you'll never really know whether someone is actually looking at you. At least with current bird bath panels making for slightly larger specs, you're giving off a big enough 'do not disturb' signal. But when they disappear and the transition to waveguide happens, it will take time for society to acclimatize. 'We all lose our time to these black rectangles called smartphones, so I see waveguides on smart glasses as a great thing to just glance at when notifications roll in without taking my phone out. But my wife is always on edge about whether I am actually paying attention to her.' said Lumus' Goldman. 'It's not like smartphones in that it's passive AI. There needs to be an AI actively listening to you that memorizes your routines, your conversations, everything about your day to deliver that efficient lifestyle.' Then, of course, there's the privacy concerns of wearing an always-on device on your face. How do you give permission to be seen by these glasses? What does that look like? We saw these become big issues with Google Glass in the early 2010s, and with a personalized AI assistant that needs to be always running to understand you, the worries will be significant and warranted. 'It's not like smartphones in that it's passive AI. There needs to be an AI actively listening to you that memorizes your routines, your conversations, everything about your day to deliver that efficient lifestyle.' said Carter Hou, CEO and Co-founder of Halliday. I know there are significant technical challenges on the road between where we are now and 2035, but more than anything, the cultural one is going to be the bigger mountain to climb. We've already gotten over the 'wearing glasses even though you don't need to' one (look at hipsters wearing spectacles with no lenses for example) — and surely it'll be a matter of time before the technological aspect just becomes a social norm, rather than people asking 'is that a camera in your glasses?' There is a grand vision for 2035, but the future of smart glasses is a lot closer than you think. I initially thought that the race to XR is only just beginning to heat up, but in reality, it's already at fever pitch. With rumored next-gen Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, the impending launch of Snap Specs in 2026, and let's not forget Apple being 'hell-bent on creating an industry-leading product before Meta can,' we're on the precipice of seeing the next step forward in this space. But what makes this category so fascinating to me is that no one company has all the answers. Every dreamer in this area has one piece of the puzzle, and I do believe that in ten years time, these will all come together to become that next category-defining product — that smartphone moment for wearable technology. So buckle up, because it's going to be a helluva ride over the next decade. • Artificial Intelligence • Smart Glasses• Wearable Tech• Smartphones • iPhones• Robots• Cars• TVs
