NETWORK CONNECTOR NEWSLETTER
Volume 2, Issue 8; October 2015
In This Issue:

I.     Save the Date!
II.    Bright Spots
VI.   Research
VII.  Useful Tools
Save the Date:savedate
Upcoming Network Connection Meetings!
RSVP ahead of time by clicking on the dates below:


When & Where: 6:00-8:00pm, FGH Building, Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA, 02118
Childcare, dinner, and park validation for the 710 Albany Garage will be provided.

Social Justice Mediation Institute!
Vital Village Network, MLP and DSNI are proudly sponsoring their second annual SJMI and invites you to sign up to be a trained social justice mediator. Learn how to use mediation skills to help reduce conflict and improve your neighborhoods and community! Learn more about SJMI and how to  RSVP  HERE!

When: Oct. 10-12, 17, 18
Where: Orchard Gardens Conference Room
Note: Attendance is required on all 5 8-hour days


Bright Spots:bright
Unsung Hero
At the September Network Meeting, Vital Village named this year's Unsung Hero: Charles Clayton Daniels from Father's Uplift! Individuals from all across the Network shared stories and shout-outs about how Charles works tirelessly and passionately for his organization, the community, and his family. Congratulations, Charles!
Trauma Informed Classrooms
" Preventing conflict is more effective than solving it".

Vital Village has been developing trauma-informed classrooms to better help teachers like Jeffrey Cipriani, from Orchard Gardens, support children in distress. In a recently-published Huffington Post article Cipriani shares his story and experiences teaching students who have experienced trauma. Read the full article  HERE!

PAR Advocacy at the Trotter School
This past year, participants from DSNI's Peer Advocacy Action Roundtable (PAR) have utilized the GRASP tool to better advocate for social justice in their communities. Recently, PAR celebrated the victory of one member in securing a police offer for the Trotter School, thereby making a safer environment for her daughter and other students. Elizabeth identified allies in her community, started a neighborhood petition, and even held meetings with Tito Jackson and John Connolly! Great work, Elizabeth!
Around the Network:network
One Key Question
Boston Public Health Commission has introduced the One Key Question Initiative in an effort to address high rates of unintended pregnancy, low rates of pre-conceptional health care, and inadequate awareness among women of options in relation to contraception. The initiative supports and prepares women to facilitate their own reproductive health needs. Learn more here!

"Play to Learn" Playgroups
Countdown to Kindergarten's "Play to Learn" playgroups bring together parents, children and an early childhood professional to build a community of peers for support, to foster nurturing behaviors, help families access needed services, and model developmentally appropriate practice. Each family attends a 2 hour once-a-week play group. For more information on scheduled times and how to sign up, call the number below for the location that works best for you!

East Boston: 617-308-1098
Dorchester / South Boston: 617-756-9650
JP: 617-821-3959

Promise Fest
DSNI's Boston Promise Initiative (BPI) is hosting their 2nd annual PromiseFest! BPI has a vision to create a learning environment where all children have access to high-quality schools and strong systems of family and community support. This very support will successfully prepare them to attain an excellent education and transition to college and career. Come to the Boston PromiseFest to learn about promising pathways after high school! Free giveaways, workshops, & job opportunities.

When: Tuesday Nov. 10
4-8pm
Where: Location TBD


Make-Believe Play Date :
Meet other families with 0-5 year olds while our children play make-believe together and build their friend-making skills!
RSVP here!

When: Saturday Oct. 3, 10:30-11:30am
Where: First Teacher Office. 221 Blue Hill Ave. Roxbury 02119

READ-Shop:
Talk with other parents about how to work reading to your kids into your daily schedule. Free child-care is provided on site - you get two hours with just adults! Healthy breakfast is provided.

When: Saturday Oct. 17 10am-12:30pm
Where: DSNCS, 6 Shirley St. Roxbury 02119

Let's Get Moving!
Dorchester's Talbot-Norfolk Triangle (TNT) has set a neighborhood goal to increase biking and walking in the area! Codman Square Health Center and other community partners are organizing a "Let's Get Moving!" event Saturday October 3rd to help them achieve that end. The event features free bike repair, a guided walking tour of TNT, slow bike rides, healthy food demonstrations, double dutch, Zumba, and more! Call (617)929-0925 if you have questions!

When: Saturday Oct. 3rd, 1-4pm
Where: 86 Southern Ave. Codman Square, Dorchester 02124

Around the City: city
Free Young Child Health Screenings
Boston Public Schools is currently offering free screenings (vision, hearing, developmental skills, and speech/language development) for children ages 3-4 years old! Please bring proof of residency, and the child's parent/guardian to the screening. RSVP with Maryann Molloy by email, or call her at 617-635-8599.

Where: Campbell Resource Center. 1216 Dorchester Ave,
When: 9am-12:30pm on the following days:
10/6/15 , 11/3/15,  12/1/15
, 3/1/16,  3/29/16,  4/5/16
Protect "Let's Get Healthy Boston!" Funding
"Let's Get Healthy Boston!" trains and recruits residents as Healthy Community Champions, to address the most common causes of chronic illness: smoking, lack of physical activity, and poor nutrition. However, the funding that supports this campaign has been left out of the 2016 House and Senate budget, which will prevent the campaign from continuing its great neighborhood health efforts!

Learn more about how you can protect "Let's Get Healthy Boston!" funding  here!

Dorchester Open Studios
For over 10 years, Dorchester has hosted Open Studios each fall, showcasing and selling the work of local artists, sculptors, jewelers, photographers, and designers. The event helps support the amazing artistic talent in Dorchester. Learn more  here !

When: Oct. 24 & 25
Where: Erick Jean Center for the Arts. 157 Washington St. Boston
Research: Research
Research supports that early childhood exposure to violence is strongly associated with negative outcomes, such as behavioral problems, reduced social competence. Further, it compounds the effects of frequently already present risk factors like poverty and maltreatment. Thankfully, early intervention strategies for children exposed to trauma have been shown to help build their resilience and cope with their emotions! Learn more about the effect of violence on children  HERE!
Too ls:Tools
An individual's sense of confidence in their ability to better their community or address social problems is often an indicator on whether or not they will engage in community efforts to make a difference. By measuring indicators such as civic efficacy, or intention for future engagement, we can learn more about community perceptions on making change, and the opportunities available to them. Click here to find out how you can use data measurement to better empower our communities, and increase engagement!
The Scoop on Stats:stats
all you need to know about data measurement!
Young children that are read to regularly experience literacy development, social-emotional gains, and increased likelihood of later academic success. On the opposite end of the spectrum, those who are not read to regularly in early childhood lack an essential language foundation, and are more likely to do poorly in school, and to even drop out. In the state of Massachusetts, 64% of children under the age of 3 are read to everyday, making MA the #4 best state in the country (National Survey of Children's Health, 2015). However, this overall state success shows significant inequity. Only 53.9% of Black or African American populations reported reading to their child regularly. For Latino or Hispanic populations, this number was even lower: 41.8%. To highlight the implications of this disparity in our own communities, we have shared data from the Neighborhood Survey of DSNI's Boston Promise Initiative (see the full report here!). The Survey shows that within the Dudley Neighborhood in Boston, only 46% of children are read to every day. What can we do, as Boston residents and organizations, to improve this indicator for ALL of our children?

Learn more about the effects of reading to young children HERE.
V ITAL VILLAGE NETWORK
Stay Connected
88 East Newton St. · Vose Hall, 5th Floor ·  Boston, MA · vitalvillage@bmc.org · 617.414.3674