Seward’s Bloom program connects parents with resources

For more than 120 years, Providence Alaska's commitment to provide for the poor and vulnerable in our state has been unwavering. In 2025, we invested $66.8 million in total benefit to the communities we serve, including $29.5 million in free and discounted care.

SEWARD, Alaska — When Hilary Acovak first moved to Seward, she didn’t know anyone, and as a self-proclaimed introvert, she was reluctant to seek out new friendships. She had a small son, and they spent most of their time together. But when her daughter was born a few years later, she felt like her kids needed more.   

She found out about the Seward Prevention Coalition’s Bloom program and decided to give it a chance. She said it has changed her life.   

“When I went with my daughter, she loved everything about it, like the snacks, the games and the other toddlers. I saw the look in my daughter’s eyes as she met other kids. And this program helped me, too, to open up. It gave me the opportunity to know other moms, how they are doing and how we can help each other,” said  Acovak.   

Providence Alaska has supported the Seward Prevention Coalition (SPC) since its inception in the mid 2010s. In 2025, Providence provided $41,667 in funding to SPC to help fight the effects of adverse childhood experiences.

The Coalition is a nonprofit organization that offers free enrichment programs for children and adults to help families develop strong mental health practices, strive to aim big, and empower healthier ways to live. There are programs for new parents that offer support, education outreach at the high school to teach teens coping skills, and scheduled outings for young families to get to know one another and learn to lean on each other for support.   

“Providence funding has been an important and reliable source of local support for us,” said Katie Cornwall, Coalition executive director. “For a community-based organization like ours, flexible local funding makes a real difference. It allows us to respond to the needs we are seeing in our own community, develop and launch new programs, expand existing efforts, and fill gaps that may not fit neatly into other funding streams.”  

Bloom 0 — one of six programs that the Coalition offers — focuses on bringing extra attention and care to new parents with children from newborn to 5 years old.  The program offers education, goodies and resources to help support these growing families. It also works to help break the cycle of trauma that can be the result of adverse childhood experiences. By helping new parents find resources, the hope is that families can create a safe, stable, and nurturing environment.   

“Bloom is valuable because it creates a welcoming space for young families during one of the most important and often most isolating seasons of life,” Cornwall said. “At its heart, Bloom is about helping families know they are not alone, and that Seward is a place where young children and their caregivers matter.”-  

On a sunny afternoon in Seward, Acovak takes her children, Michael and Zahliya, to the playground after school. They are eager to climb the jungle gym and ride on the purple dinosaur. One by one, they take turns slipping down a wide green slide, then chase each other back to the top. It is this type of activity that Hilary says Bloom helped her appreciate. Healthy relationships are built not born, and she has worked hard to expose her kids to normal, everyday routines.   

“I was from Nanwalek, but I moved all over the place,” Acovak said. “Then I started working here in Seward, got pregnant and got an apartment. At first, I didn’t like going to any of the Bloom programs because I was always home and don’t like crowds. But I realized my daughter needed more.”  

Soon, she began taking the kids to Tot Time at the library, play time at the local playgrounds and — her personal favorite — the local children’s museum.   

“My daughter really likes to go there, but the museum boosts me back up, too,” she said. Through Bloom,  Acovak said she has met and become friendly with other young parents – one of whom passed on much-needed hand-me-downs, and another who helped her pinpoint a speech impediment and help her daughter obtain speech therapy.   

“We connect with the little ones and also become friends,” she said. “And I needed that. We combine stories, and we learn from each other. You never feel alone.”   

Once, Zahliya fell at the playground and  Acovak said she panicked, blaming herself for the accident, but the other parents reassured her: Children are resilient and so is she. Another time, she and a parent began talking about food allergies, and she received valuable information on foods to substitute. These small acts of kindness have created a community of people who are caring for each other.   

“I started growing out of my shell, and we started going to events more often and now Zahliya is just so excited – she wants to go to the library, the children’s museum, and the school,” she said.  “Letting your babies go and meet other babies is something magical, and I’m glad we discovered this resource.”