By Camelia Garrick, AmeriCorps VISTA Community Mobilization Coordinator and Desiree Hartman, Senior Program Coordinator
Being a librarian these days goes beyond wandering among stocked books and beyond the library walls. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Children's Librarians across Boston Public Library neighborhood branches have dedicated their time and efforts to creating an outlet for children and families to come together for book readings, songs and activities focused on Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) with Children's Mental Health Storytimes.
A blog series profiling the work of community leaders across the country working to address the twin pandemics of COVID-19 and racial injustice in their local communities. The series amplifies diverse leadership and the impact on communities, partnerships and members.
Since becoming involved with the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF), Conrad Robinson has made it his mission to prioritize and recognize the needs of every family with which he works. “It's about being vulnerable, transparent, but also having compassion and understanding where people are coming from and supporting them through their journey,” Robinson describes his role at DCF as an Area Resource Coordinator where he works alongside supervisors, social workers, and managers to correctly identify the best placement for children at DCF. His department supports young adults between the ages of 18 to 22 who are transitioning from DCF to independent living. They also work with members of the local communities and families to keep children safe from abuse and neglect. Robinson, a long-time community leader with Vital Village Networks (VVN), eventually became a social worker and began to develop and implement plans for young adults who need direct social services, such as housing and mental health services. On top of his busy day job, Robinson also is the program director and lead faculty for the Certificate in Community Advocacy and Leadership program, a partnership between VVN and Urban College of Boston.
Understanding and limiting the spread of coronavirus has consumed our focus over the past few months. Physical distancing, child care and school closures, the persistence of masks, hand washing, have been essential steps to help protect each of us from the virus. However, this physical distancing has consequences that we need to talk about: isolation, loneliness, boredom, monotony, stress, anxiety, and fear. Mental health often takes a backseat when physical health is at risk. Health is both physical and mental, and when we prioritize the physical, it is at the expense of our mental wellbeing. Quarantine may yield so many negative mental health consequences, it is dangerous to overlook how it is impacting our mental wellbeing.
Three months ago, I had the opportunity to attend Boston Public School’s Citywide Parent Council Safety meeting led by Dina Cundiff, Naeemah Kennedy, and Gloria West- parent champions, “Phenomenal Moms,” and active members of the Boston Community.
Jeffrey Cipriani is a 2nd grade teacher at Orchard Gardens K-8 Pilot School in Boston Public Schools. He is a Teach Plus Teaching Policy Fellow. He has worked with Vital Village Network and the Child Witness to Violence Project on Trauma-Sensitive Classrooms.
Genevieve Guyol was a Teach for America member in Chicago in 2013, where she taught first and second-grade special education. She is currently a third-year medical student at Boston University School of Medicine. Read her blog, featured on the Teach for America website, to learn more about how her experience in the classroom has shaped her interests in medical school and desire to create interdisciplinary partnerships with medical providers, teachers and schools in order to affect change on a much broader, systemic scale.
By Libby McClure, MS Candidate, Vital Village Emerging Leader
We are working to leverage existing data systems to establish benchmarks for assessing the well-being of children and indicators of risk and protective factors. Our goal is to improve the quality of data and tools that allow community residents and community institutions to promote family and community safety. We hope these benchmarks and shared data system will be a catalyst for community engagement and accountability.
Led by Jeri Robinson, Vice President for Education and Family Learning at the Boston Children’s Museum and Jason Sachs, Director of Early Childhood for Boston Public Schools, the committee is charged with developing a strategy to support an ambitious goal:
