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Empowering Community Through Networks:
Building Communities through continued Partnerships.
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April is Autism Acceptance Month! The need for acceptance is greater than ever, as we strive for individuals on the autism spectrum to live fully in all areas of life.
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The Autism Society, along with other national autism organizations are leading the legislative effort for lawmakers to federally and globally designate April as Autism Acceptance Month, a shift from the commonly used phrase “Autism Awareness Month.”
Efforts will still be focused on the importance of fostering acceptance to ignite change through improved support and opportunities in education, employment, accessible housing, affordable health care and comprehensive long-term services and supports.
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Village Voices
Network members' voices bring good news and share highlights from
around our community.
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Food Equity & Holistic Health |
Suzeth Dunn-Dyer, is a long-time leader with Vital Village Networks. She has spent 20 years planning and executing grass roots community health and community engagement initiatives in the Boston area. Some of these community initiatives include creating urban gardens, the Abundance Boston food app, large community health fairs, intergenerational fitness programs, and community leadership programs.
Suzeth recently started a holistic home care agency called “ Abundant Life Home Health Care”, which is located in the heart of Panama city, Panama. She developed a holistic faith-based approach to home health care. Abundant Life Home Health Care will provide a high level of professional culturally relevant/ family centered care to our patients and their families. Suzeth wanted to bring a new concept or model of health care to Panama by introducing food as medicine, and be able to medically tailored meals for people suffering from chronic illness as part of our home care services. Abundant Life Home Health Care partnered with Maritza Pino, integral practice nutritionist/health coach and owner of 'My Healing Cuisine" to develop this additional service as part of their holistic model of Home Health Care. Abundant Life Home Health Care is the first home care agency providing physical, spiritual and emotional care as well as integral nutrition education and meals that heal.
View recent Interview with Suzeth & At-Large Boston City Councilor Julia Mejia. (Starts at 5:00 minute mark)
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PACEs Connection: Community Partner |
ACEs Connection is now PACEs Connection. PACEs stands for Positive and Adverse Childhood Experiences. PACEs Connection are the human and digital catalyst that unites the people, organizations, systems and communities in the worldwide PACEs movement.
PACEs Connection sends out a Daily Digest and Weekly Roundup of the latest PACEs-science, trauma-informed and resilience-building news, research and reports.
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Network Events
Connect with Vital Village Network at these upcoming events. Click
event to RSVP or learn more.
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April Network Connection Meeting |
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We invite families of children 0-8 in Boston to join us for an evening focused on learning, voicing needs, and collectively brainstorming solutions around supporting children's social, emotional, and mental health when returning to in person childcare and school.
The solutions we voice will be summarized as recommendations and shared out.
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Every Thursday at 3:30 pm
April 15th, 12pm-1pm
April 27, 6pm-7:30pm
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Community Events
Join Vital Village Network partners and other community organizations at these upcoming events. Click event to RSVP or learn more.
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April 14th, 6:30pm - 8:30pm
Join to learn about the differences between early intervention and special education, the transition planning conference, the special education procedures including referral, evaluation, the Team meeting, eligibility determination, services, goals, placement, response options and parent’s procedural due process rights for resolving disputes.Please sign up to attend through the Zoom Registration Link
April 14th, 6pm - 7:30pm
Join Boston While Black as they discuss local policies, inclusive planning processes, and access to capital black people need to take up more of existing spaces and create our own. In this installment of the Black Boston Reimagined series, Boston While Black will bring together policymakers, real estate developers, cultural curators, and business owners to discuss the role that space plays in creating community, culture, and commerce.
April 14th, 6pm - 8pm
Roxbury Community College has partnered with Our Village Initiative. Every second Wednesday of the month, we gather virtually to learn different strategies on wealth creation. We encourage you to register as we will add webinar content between sessions to provide even more strategies.
April 17th, 9:00am-1:00pm
Families of individuals diagnosed with autism, as well as BCBA professionals are invited to a FREE Online live conference and workshop that will provide current and very practical information about living with autism.
April 19th-23rd, 12:00p-12:45pm
BMC Pediatrics is hosting Kid's Kitchen: Camp Edition virtually on zoom through the Teaching Kitchen each day at lunch time (12 noon) during April school vacation week 4/19-4/23. It is open to kids, teens, and families. Sign Up Here.
April 26th 6:30-8:30pm
This presentation was developed to help families gain a deeper understanding of the how to be an effective communicator. We will talk about why effective communication with the school is important and about the different methods of communication. You will also learn about parent’s procedural due process rights for resolving disputes. Please sign up to attend through our Zoom Registration Link
StreetCred offers free tax preparation to make sure you get the money you deserve!
We help individuals with children who make under 56K and individuals without children who make less than 25K per year. Documents needed to file: Government-issued ID, Social Security Card, W2 forms for all jobs in 2020, All 1099 Forms, Proof of health insurance.
Registration for Explore It Summer Camp is now OPEN TO ALL!
Explore It will provide full-day, in-person, week-long summer camp experiences for children entering grades K-2. Campers will enjoy the full Museum, play games, explore the Museum's waterfront and the adjacent Martin's Park, as well as engage with hands-on STEAM discovery experiences.
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Opportunities
Check out job, volunteer, and grant opportunities available in our
community.
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We have a new opportunities page! Please click the button below for a full list of job, volunteer, and grant opportunities with descriptions and links. |
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Resource Connector
Learn more about resources relevant to children and families in our community from our community.
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VVN Wellness Bank Resource Guide |
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The Wellness Idea Bank is a comprehensive and community-driven guide for those in the Greater Boston Area that helps collect events, ideas, and resources for supporting wellness and social connections. Please check out the new February edition of our community-created Resource Guide, tailored to and focused on relevant and time-sensitive resources for residents of the Greater Boston Area.
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Massachusetts Association for Mental Health (MAMH) has worked to improve understanding of mental health conditions and combat disparities in health services access. We envision a day when all individuals and families across the Commonwealth have the resources and opportunities they need to promote resilience and protect overall health.
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Mayor Martin J. Walsh, the Mayor’s Office of Women’s Advancement, and the Boston Planning & Development Agency recently announced the release of a Request for Proposals (RFP) of $250,000 in funding to support organizations working to create equitable access to child care services in Boston.
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COVID-19 Information and Resources |
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The City of Boston launched the Equity in Vaccine Access (EVA) Line to help Boston residents who have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 get vaccinated. While the virus has affected every community, data have consistently shown that people of color and older adults face greater risk from COVID-19.
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Scoop on the Stats
Explore data related to early childhood education and network initiatives!
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COVID Black works at the intersection of health data, information, the humanities, race and social justice. We redefine statistics and information into living data and stories about Black Health. We are data griots. We are Black data storytellers. And we are redefining the future of Black health by marrying ancestry with data analytics & technology.
A more qualitative data highlight might be their Homegoing memorial which is both restoring a cultural tradition and honoring lives and is something partners and members can contribute to.
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Sharing Technology
Explore technology related to child and family well-being.
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The Abundance App 3.0.1 is now available on iOS and Android devices, as well as on desktops. Abundance empowers Boston residents to easily access affordable, high-quality food resources. Download the FREE app today!
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CONtexts aims to promote positive outcomes between caregivers and children by sharing weekly resources through a FREE text service and interactive resource sharing map. These resources are ideal for anyone working with or caregivers of children ages 0-5.
To subscribe, text KIDS to 8-8-5-8-8
Once you're subscribed you will receive 3 weekly FREE text messages:
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Monday: Nearby community resources
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Wednesday: Wellness tips
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Friday: Family-fun events
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Our Mission
Vital Village is a network of residents and agencies committed to maximizing child, family, and community wellbeing.
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Share with Us
Have an event, job opportunity, or resource to share with the network?
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Stay Connected
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