Fourth Annual Vigil to Honor Victims of Gun Violence

In September 2014, beloved St. Stephen’s Youth Programs community member Jorge Fuentes was shot and killed while walking his dog in front of his house in Dorchester. Just a dozen weeks later, an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut was attacked by a domestic terrorist toting an assault weapon. These senseless deaths left their communities reeling in shock and sadness- and with a new resolve to address the problem of gun violence in all of its forms across the country.

Every year, on the anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, the Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence honors the victims of that massacre, of gun deaths across the country since that day, and those shot and killed in Massachusetts in the past year. Every year, members of the B-PEACE for Jorge campaign attend to light candles to honor, in particular, the memory of Jorge, and also the new names added in the past year which inevitably include people who have touched the lives of people in our community.

This year, St. Stephen’s Youth Programs teen organizer Victoria Omoregie spoke at the vigil, kicking off a powerful lineup of anti gun violence advocates that included Imam , Boston’s Director of Public Safety Dan Mulhern and Attorney General Maura Healey. She talked about growing up in Dorchester, and told a story of a shooting that happened in a park in her neighborhood that caught a toddler in the crossfire of a shootout. After that day, her family started driving to a far away park in a wealthier and whiter neighborhood where that kind of violence was unthinkable,and then eventually stopped going to the parks altogether and began playing video games inside their home instead.

The speakers following Victoria echoed her message that all people should be safe in our city, “safe, regardless of their race or gender or immigration status or religion or sexual orientation. I want people to be safe from gun violence, and from all kinds of violence, in their schools, parks and neighborhoods.” With a new presidential administration poised to take office, the well-being of our most vulnerable family members, friends and neighbors is uncertain. We know and feel it is more important than ever to join together with our whole community and and Commonwealth and country to heed the words of Mother Jones who said, “Pray for the dead, and fight like hell for the living.”

By Sarah O'Connor, B-PEACE Organizer

Life of a JCIT

My name is Bella Vidaña and I am the JCIT Program Coordinator. I believe that the JCIT program is a hidden gem at St. Stephen’s Youth Programs. Our JCITs, which stands for Junior Counselors-in-Training, are a group of ninth graders who have dedicated every day of the week to leadership development, peer mentoring, civic engagement and self-expression in a variety of ways. We are located on the top floor of St. Augustine and St. Martin in a space that feels more like a living room and home than it does a temporary, two-hour, hangout space. It has become a safe haven for many, including myself.

Within these walls we speak of current events, our passions, what we like and what we do not like, who we are and what we strive to be. We speak of diversity, our differences and our commonalities. We speak of how we can continue to be a better global citizen both in the local communities around us and the communities that may be far but dear to our hearts, including our home countries. And last but not least, we have created a space where everyone feels comfortable enough to be themselves.

How have we created this type of space, you ask? We have created this space by implementing and participating in activities that encourage a deeper knowledge of the topics mentioned above that may not be discussed in schools or at the home. Most recently, the JCITs participated in an activity called Take a Stand. As I read aloud a number of statements that involved race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, differently abled, and religion, the ninth graders had the choice to move to four different corners labeled Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, and Strongly Disagree. They were then given the opportunity to vocally express why they were standing in the corners they chose if they felt comfortable sharing. Through this activity they were provided the chance to think and discuss topics that they may have never thought about or discussed. They were also given a chance to stand up for social and global issues they believe in, which I have found to be one of the most vital parts of youth development.

From the start of program on September 26th until now, I have seen a growth in my ninth graders that I appreciate an endless amount. We are a small army of around eight but we are fierce and we will only get stronger from here on out. If you are reading this and you are a ninth grader or know of a ninth grader that you think will benefit from this program, we will welcome you or them with open arms and lots of smiles and laughs.

If you would like to learn more about the JCIT Program at St. Stephen’s, contact JCIT Program Coordinator, Bella Vidaña, at bella@ssypboston.org.

By Bella Vidaña, JCIT Coordinator

Bringing Professionals and Teens Together

Career exploration remains a cornerstone of the College and Career Program here at St. Stephen’s. The goal of this program is to expose teens to the variety of different pathways out there, as well as provide space for them to think critically about what they are passionate about. One way we do this is through Career Panels, where volunteers from a variety of different fields come in and talk with teens about their own educational and professional journeys. This fall we have held two different career panels, one focusing on the health field and one on social justice.

    During the health panel, students learned about public health opportunities, what it takes to become a veterinarian, and the different career opportunities within the mental health and counseling fields. Panelists talked about their own educational journeys, and what inspired them to pursue their own path. Teens asked questions and networked with the panel, and walked away with a broader sense of what it means to pursue a career in the health field.

    During the social justice panel, students were exposed to careers in labor organizing, community organizing, environmental justice, criminal justice, higher education, and community health fields. Panelists were asked to define what social justice means to them, and then talk about how it relates to their work. Teens then split up into smaller groups where panelists led a discussion on how social justice has been a motivating factor in their own lives. Both panelists and students walked away from it inspired by having the chance to talk with one another, and motivated to continuing to do social justice work in our communities.

    This spring we will have three additional panels. On January 19th, we will have a panel on Education, on February 26th we will focus on STEM careers, and finally on April 27th we will spotlight the trades and alternative careers. If you are interested in being on a panel please reach out to Jeremy Kazanjian-Amory, Sr. Manager of College Access & Success at jeremy@ssypboston.org.

By Jeremy Kazanjian-Amory, Sr. Manager of College Access & Success

Advent Action: #SalsaShutDown with Cosecha and St. Stephen's

On Saturday December 3, nearly 300 people--including many Episcopalians from St. Stephen's Boston and Episcopal City Mission--gathered near Downtown Crossing to show their support for immigrants and immigrant rights. The #SalsaShutDown action was organized by Cosecha, a movement fighting for permanent protection, dignity, and respect for the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States. The SalsaShutDown action was a kickoff of the MigrantBoycott effort which will demonstrate the economic power of immigrants, both as workers and consumers in the United States. But mostly today was about the joy of dancing and bringing some of that energy to the holiday shopping scene.

The day began in Sproat Hall at the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts with a reflection led by the Rev. Marisa Egerstrom. She showed the early-arriving Episcopalians how political action is also spiritual action.  Together, we linked the efforts of Cosecha with the story of Advent and the ways in which Mary and Joseph were also migrants in their homeland, facing oppression under the powers of the Roman Empire. Then, we all received salsa dancing lessons and practiced our steps before exiting in small groups to gather at local stores to show off our newly developed dance skills. All of this was to bring attention to immigrant rights and protection, especially as we face uncertainty of how federal policies may change under a new administration. 

For the Episcopalians who were part of the action, it felt like we were taking well-organized steps (to a salsa beat) toward building the Kingdom of God. 

To see video and other photos of the day, check out Cosecha's Facebook Live video. And to get connected to the next action like this, contact Marisa for more information marisa@ststephensbos.org

By Liz Steinhauser, Senior Director of Youth Programs

SSYP Teen Organizers at #SalsaShutDown

Pre-action salsa lesson in Sproat Hall at the Cathedral of St. Paul

Cosecha and Diomass leaders show unity in Downtown Crossing

SSYP Teen Organizers lead the upbeat chanting of "no music, no music" to keep the beat and dancing going even when the sound system is shut down

St. Stephen's leaders show their style at Primark

SSYP Alumna makes it BIG!

Among the programs of SSYP is our College Access and Success Program. In addition to supporting our teens who are in high school make a solid plan for their post-graduation lives, we also continue to offer mentoring and support to alumni once they are IN college (or another type of program).

One of our alumna, Perla Fernandez, graduated from BPS's Urban Science Academy in 2010. She and we were SO excited when she was accepted into and began attending Wheelock College, as the college has excellent justice-focused academic programs and we could continue to see her since she was right here in Boston! 

In 2014, Perla returned to St. Stephen's as part of one of her Wheelock classes, to serve as an Ubuntu Arts student facilitator.  She helped a team of SSYP teens  learn about the South African philosophy of Ubuntu. Perla served as a mentor for this group of youth by creating a safe space and leading discussions about discrimination, violence, peace, and social justice. Together, they created art [see attached] in response to their learning and feelings that was displayed at Wheelock College’s Towne Art Gallery AND qualified to be displayed at the State House for the annual Violence Transformed exhibit.

And now, that same piece of art will be going to the National Museum of Afro American Artists for an exhibit later this month!!  Congratulations, Perla, for this recognition of your project and for your upcoming graduation from UMass Boston with a Master's degree in Elementary Education! We are so proud of you and your hard work! 

Special thanks to Wheelock Professor Ann E. Tobey, of the Juvenile Justice and Youth Advocacy Program, for this information and for your dedicated commitment to running the Ubuntu Arts program every year! 

By Liz Steinhauser, Senior Director of Youth Programs

A Belated Halloween Blog

This year St. Stephen’s had a blast celebrating Halloween with parties on and off site! 

St. Stephen’s elementary program LEARN decorated bags, made masks and participated in a costume relay. The middle school program YLC participated in a pumpkin carving competition and set up a spooky haunted house for the elementary age kids to walk through!  

St. Stephen’s JCITs (Junior Counselors-in-Training) organized and volunteered their time by helping out at the local Blackstone Park Halloween Party. The JCITs ran a Cookie Decorating and Chalk Art booth. Both were a big hit with the children that attended the event! Furthermore, St. Stephen’s JCITs provided the community with the opportunity to raise funds for a family in Haiti that is connected to St. Stephen’s. In the end they were able to raise a total of $98. The family they raised for was extremely thankful and the JCITs felt accomplished and good in the fact that they were able to dedicate their time celebrating to a bigger purpose. 

On Halloween day, YLC hosted a party at the nearby O'Day park. Both St. Stephen’s LEARN and local kids from the community received bags stuffed with candy and enjoyed activities such as face painting, pin the head on the skeleton and "What's in the Box?” The party was a success and we thank our young people for facilitating a fun day for all! 

By Megan Doe, YLC Coordinator

BRIDGE Scholars Retreat, Advance Understanding, and Share Friendsgiving

Part of St. Stephen's Youth Programs is the programming we do with teens. One component of that effort is our BRIDGE Scholars Program; these are opportunities to Build Relationships and Invest in Domestic and Global Experiennces (credit to James Eddy for the acronym!).  This includes trips to North Carolina for the week of April vacation to rebuild homes or to Honduras to get to know the young people who live at El Hogar.

This past weekend the Teen Team embarked on the first annual BRIDGE Scholar teen retreat. The group traveled to Cape Cod where they focused on relationship building, reflection, and trying new things. For one reflection, everyone completed the Enneagram personality type indicator.  This afforded all of us with an opportunity to better understand the lens with which we see the world and the ways in which our personalities are uniquely wired for communication and relationship styles. Working in personality groups, we spent time walking along the beach and finding objects and images that represented the most important aspects of our personalities. 

Later in the day, teens and staff prepared their favorite dishes from family Thanksgiving traditions and created their own "Friendsgiving". The group shared what we are grateful for and enjoyed an abundance of homemade food. For many teens, the most valuable part of the retreat was getting away from the city and having the time and space to bond with their peers and deepen their relationships. 
 

By Kasey Boston, Director of Youth Development

Giving Thanks for So Much! A Gratitude Brunch

At St. Stephen’s Youth Programs, we have so much for which to be thankful: the joy we get from our young people; the deep connections with their families; the passion and energy of our staff and volunteers; and the hard work of our partner organizations--religious and community groups--which helps to make every dollar and every hour do more for our young people.

On Sunday November 20, we celebrated all of those things--plus our brand new kitchen!--at a Gratitude Brunch with our friends and supporters from Parish of the Epiphany in Winchester. Our collaboration with Parish of the Epiphany has been a long and fruitful one, including so many wonderful B-SAFE meals, our annual Turkey Wahoo event (taking place on Tuesday November 22 this year), and a warm welcome at field trips when our youth visited Epiphany over the years.

Our friends from Parish of the Epiphany provided the seed money for the kitchen project so it was especially fitting and important that they were here as we dedicated the kitchen to long-time SSYP participant and staff member Jorge Fuentes, a lover of good food and a student of the culinary arts, who grew up to be an exemplary leader in our program before he was tragically killed by gun violence four years ago.

We prepared a celebratory brunch in the new kitchen and then sat down to eat together. Along with Jorge’s family, the people of St. Stephen’s and the people of Parish of the Epiphany shared a meal. Even more importantly, we shared a sense of partnership, of purpose to create more justice, and of thankfulness.

Wishing all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Our new kitchen is dedicated to Jorge Fuentes.

Rev. Liz Steinhaser, MirnaLuz Ramos, mother of Jorge Fuentes, and Rev. Tim Crellin as we dedicate the kitchen.

By Jen Cusack, Director of Leadership Giving

Rev. Tim Crellin, Rev. Thomas Brown of Parish of the Epiphany, and Jenny Gray and Beulah Roach, longtime parishioners of St. Stephen's.

Toasting our partnership with Parish of the Epiphany, Winchester

Connecting over a meal.

A view of our brand new kitchen. Come on in for a visit soon!

13th Annual Turkey Wahoos!

THANKS to our partners for making the day so special!

On Tuesday November 22, partners helped the young people and families of St. Stephen's Youth Programs get into the holiday season with our Thirteenth Annual Turkey Wahoos. What is a Wahoo, you might ask? It is an event that makes you want to shout "wahoo!!!" And these gatherings did not disappoint!

Turkey Wahoos make EVERYONE smile! 

At B-READY at St. Augustine and St. Martin, partners from Crosstown Church and the Church of St. Augustine & St. Martin in Roxbury prepared a full Thanksgiving meal for the young people and their families. Before sitting down to the meal, Kiana Lane, serving as a VISTA through Lasell College, helped lead crafts and activites with youth. Nearly 70 people had a fun and delicious time!

At B-READY at St. Stephen's, friends from Parish of the Epiphany in Winchester were thrilled to prepare the Turkey Wahoo meal in our new kitchen (thanks again, Epiphany, for the seed grant that helped us with the renovation!).  Youth ran outside to build up an appetite, made Thanksgiving decorations to take home, and played games before sitting down to a full Thanksgiving meal with their family members. Volunteers from Epiphany served close to 150 LEARN and YLC youth, teens, and family members. 

At the end of the day, EVERYONE had smiles on their faces and an attitude of gratitude in their hearts. 

By Liz Steinhauser, Senior Director of Youth Programs

Families get together for food and love. 

YLC dines in the downstairs Art Room at St. Stephen's

Volunteers from Church of St. Augustine & St. Martin get ready to serve!

Kiana helps the youth of B-READY at St A&M with crafts!

Friends and fixings at St. Stephen's

Strength in Community

There are moments when the only way individuals can get through tragedy and loss is by banding together as one community. Last week, St. Stephen’s Youth Programs (SSYP) suffered an immense tragedy with the loss of one of our teens who died suddenly and unexpectedly. This was then followed up by the election of Donald Trump, the culmination of a contentious, often hate-filled campaign season. These events brought a host of complex emotions for both staff and teens, as we all tried to navigate the variety of different feelings we were experiencing. Grief, anger, frustration, fear, and a certain numbness to what was happening within our immediate community and more broadly within the country at large gripped us all. However, as is often the case, we found that it was incredibly important to turn toward each other and unite as a community to help us get through this time.

On Thursday, November 10th, all thirty-two teens and the entire adult staff of the Teen Programs sat together in a community circle to reflect on the week. Led by our long-time social worker Rebecca Garcia, the group was able to use the restorative justice model of healing circles to create a safe space to share what we were all going through. Students and staff talked about the grief they were experiencing. We shared the fear and uncertainty we felt with the outcome of the election. Teens talked about how they were afraid for their families and didn’t know if some family members were going to be allowed to stay in the country. They talked about the sadness they felt surrounding the loss of a community member. Students expressed an anger toward a country that had elected a president who has routinely spouted hatred towards people just like them. 

And yet, out of the circle came a strong sense of love and hope for the SSYP community. Students and staff held each other as they cried, and all of us were able to know that we were in a place and a group that would always be supportive. Teens expressed a deep love for both the St. Stephen’s community and each other. They were able to find strength in one another, knowing that they were surrounded by people who loved them and who would be there for them no matter what these next four years (and beyond) bring.

Over the past week, it has been easy to be overcome with sense of hopelessness around the state of the society and democracy. However, one thing that became clear last week was that there is hope for and in our community. The strength and resilience that our young people demonstrate on a daily basis should be proof that we will be able to rise above the hatred that we see on the television news. Instead, we can replace it for a love of one another, knowing that together we have immense strength. I personally walked away from the meeting last Thursday with a deep sense of gratitude for the strong community that has been built here. I know that SSYP will continue to fight so that our young people have the opportunity to pursue their own dreams in this world.

By Jeremy Kazanjian-Amory, Senior Manager of College Access and Success
 

Stamina!

Stamina. We have heard much about this word and character trait during the election season.  Who has it? Who does not? Dictionaries define stamina as “the energy and strength for continuing to do something over a long period of time…the resistance to hardship.”[1]  As St. Stephen’s Youth Programs  (SSYP) launches our seventeenth year of the B-READY Afterschool Program, it seems appropriate to think about the endurance and vitality it takes to keep a youth program running for nearly 250 young people for the 180+ days B-READY is in session.  In our programs, I see two groups of people who display the quality of stamina.

Staff Members and Volunteers...

The staff members and volunteers of B-READY are amazing. Every day, they show up ready to love the young people in all of their exuberance, joy, and complexity.  Lead Counselors help youth tie their shoes, complete their math homework, stay safe on the monkey bars, and become a great team player with their group.  Thanks to ongoing training and development, Leads are advancing their skills as positive youth workers and talented out-of-school-time educators.  They also coach our teen Counselors-in-Training who support the growth of younger students, develop professional skills needed to get and keep a job, and learn more about what it means to be a engaged civic leader.  Senior program staff members develop high-quality academic programs that advance the literacy and math abilities of elementary schoolers, the leadership and life skills of middle schoolers, and the artistic creativity of all ages.  Adult staff are helping forty-three seniors develop realistic and fiscally responsible plans for their post-high school lives.  Scores of volunteers are part of mentoring pairs, building relationships with high school sophomores and juniors and helping seventy-five alumni of SSYP stay enrolled and succeed in college.  College students, close to eighty of them, from Boston College, Lasell College, Northeastern University, Tufts University, and Wellesley College come weekly to play, teach, learn, and build connections with everyone at SSYP.   All of this takes a ton of energy, a great ability to overcome obstacles, and the “power of sustained endurance.”[2]  The staff and volunteers of B-READY have stamina.

The Young People!

The young people of B-READY are equally remarkable. Every day they arrive from seven hours of school, still with smiles, hugs, and laughter.  They hang up their backpacks, eat a healthy meal, and reconnect with friends before retrieving their homework and getting to work.  Short essays are written, Spanish skills are practiced, pre-algebra worksheets are finished.  Then it is on to other enrichment activities: practicing mindfulness skills and yoga, learning computer programming using Scratch, engaging in cool science experiments (and learning about liquids and solids in the process), and planning and carrying out a super-fun Halloween party for the whole neighborhood.  The young people are learning and teaching other the skills of patience, kindness, and good communication that make for a healthy community. The young people of B-READY have grit and stamina.

As early voters wait in lines to mark ballots, let us celebrate the energy, strength, and resilience of our B-READY youth and staff.  Stamina lives at St. Stephen’s Youth Programs! 

--Liz Steinhauser, Senior Director of Youth Programs

[1] Wiktionary

[2] Wiktionary

¡Viva La Raza!

On Friday, October 7th, St. Stephen’s held a Hispanic Heritage Celebration to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.  We were joined by our friends from St. Augustine and St. Martin and we had a blast! The kids split into three groups and had three different rotations in which they got to learn a bit about the diverse cultures that encompass Latin America.  The children were able to make their own salsa while listening to traditional Mexican music. They walked over to the Blackstone playground were they engaged in a scavenger hunt where they learned different facts about the various countries, languages, and notable people from South America. Thanks to one of our parents, we were also able to have live bachata and salsa music for the kids to dance and sing along to! To close the day the kids decorated and colored passports with stamps from some of the countries they had learned about that day.

By Sandy Quispe, Site Manager at St. Stephen's

Sandy, born in Peru, has lived in Dorchester since the age of 5. She grew up in the Boston Public school system graduating from Boston Arts Academy. She attained her bachelor's in psychology from University of Massachusetts Amherst. Working with children has always been one of her passions. She loves to see how children grow and develop from early childhood to adolescence.

...and We are Back!

The empty library awaits a class

After weeks of anticipation, the Blackstone Library is open for classes!  Since the school year began, I have been asked on a daily basis when the library will open, by students and teachers alike.  Before officially opening for classes, the library held a preview week in which librarians visited classrooms to introduce the class’s time in the library and read stories.  Students were already requesting books to read aloud throughout the school year and inquiring about books available for checkout in the library’s collection.  

Clifford, the library's mascot

This year marks the seventh year of the library’s existence under the leadership of St. Stephen’s Youth Programs.  Previously, the Blackstone did not have a library!  During our after-school programming, we saw first hand the side effects of this lack of access to books in the reading ability of our Blackstone students. The library is staffed by volunteers and now welcomes twenty classes on a regular basis.  

A mural of Justice Sotomayor hangs in the Blackstone School

This month, we are spotlighting National Hispanic Heritage Month by reading a variety of picture books, short fictional stories, biographies, and bilingual books that celebrate Hispanic culture and Hispanic heros.  In a fifth grade class, we discussed where in the library we would look to find books about well-known Hispanic people.  A student quickly raised her hand and gave the correct answer: the biography section, which is in the nonfiction section, and is marked with blue dots on the book spine.  We then named Hispanic leaders that we might look up.  A student raised her hand named Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor as an important leader with Hispanic heritage.  Another great answer!  Down the hall from the library is a mural of Justice Sotomayor, which was painted by volunteers last Martin Luther King Day.  A framed picture of the mural also hangs in the office of Justice Sotomayor!  

To learn more about the Blackstone Library, become a volunteer, or to learn more about the partnership between St. Stephen’s and the Blackstone, contact Maureen at maureen@ststephensbos.org.   

By Maureen Burns, Lead Organizer of School and Community Partnerships

Creating Leaders for the Present and the Future!

The JCIT program is  a unique hybrid of work training, enrichment, and field trips

Over the past couple years, our programing for rising 9th graders has grown immensely!  What makes the JCIT program unique is its hybrid of youth work training, enrichment, and fun field trips.  When the JCITs are not visiting college campuses, touring organizations like Artists for Humanity, or taking part in Outward Bound activities on Thompson Island, they are working alongside older teens employed as Counselors in Training (CITs) with the elementary school program.  The JCIT program is a transitional one, as JCITs are no longer middle schoolers in full day youth programming, but not yet high school students with part-time jobs.  During B-SAFE, JCITs are building leadership skills that can later be taken into the classroom as well as other jobs, all while working for a stipend. 

JCITs learned about community organizing

This year, our JCIT curriculum introduced them to community organizing.  Not only did it provide them with the knowledge, language, and tools to work as future community organizers, but they gained a deeper understanding into the organizing work being done at SSYP.  Throughout the year, parents have organized to gain a voice in their children’s schools, teens have lobbied to keep money in the city budget for education and teen jobs, and relationships have been built across between faith-based groups throughout the greater Boston area.  

JCITs led programming for elementary schoolers

As the final piece of this curriculum, the JCITs stepped up to the plate and led programming for the elementary school program. After spending the summer learning about influential community organizers, team building, and collective action, it was amazing to give the JCITs the opportunity to show what they had learned.  The JCITs planned the lessons and then taught them.  And teaching a group of elementary age young people is no easy job, even for the best of teachers!  The JCITs were proud of their work and the growth they had made over a few short weeks!  While they were a little nervous at the beginning of the day, they quickly gained confidence in their leadership when they saw the enthusiasm of the kids.  Their leadership spoke to the incredible potential young people have, when given the opportunities to grow and show off!

By Maureen Burns, South End School and Community Organizer

Maureen earned degrees in psychology and studio art from Loyola University in Chicago. A formative piece of her education involved collaborating on community-based research projects in Chicago which focused on youth perception of community violence. This experience in youth empowerment and community development, coupled with her experience as a preschool Teaching Assistant and nanny, led her to become a part of St. Stephen's Youth Programs. She strives to support and foster positive social, emotional, and academic development of the community's young people.

Goodbye B-SAFE

“How many summers have you been a part of B-SAFE?  Two, five, ten, fifteen, twenty?”  This is a question I have been asked many times by parents, staff, partners, teens and young people over the past eight summers.  As my final summer comes to a close I’ve been thinking about what first brought me to B-SAFE and what kept me coming back.  

What brought me here is simple.  I needed a job for the summer of 2009.  I started as a Site Director at St. Augustine & St. Martin.  I continued as a Site Director at St. Mary’s in 2010 and 2011.  I have spent the past 5 summers as Program Administrator supporting multiple sites and most recently the entire registration process for all of B-SAFE’s many, amazing programs.

For the first few years I returned because of the connections I made with the young people and their families at my sites.  As I took on a new role I found that the behind the scenes work I was doing helped to make things a bit easier for the staff.  So, I kept going.   I took on more responsibilities and worked to try and make things more streamlined and organized for everyone.

It wasn’t always easy but it felt great to know that I was helping the people I worked with.  This is when I realized that what drove me to return to B-SAFE had changed.  I was doing it for the staff.  If it was possible for me to make things easier and less stressful for them I wanted to do it.  The staff became what made me keep going when I was exhausted, what got me out of bed at 3 am to work on registration and what brought me back again and again.  

I have experienced a lot of ups and downs during my eight years at B-SAFE.  I have made amazing friends who have become my family.  We have cried together from frustration, exhaustion and grief.  But more than anything we have laughed together.  I have seem my son Maxwell grow up and go from an 8 year old at St. Stephen’s LEARN who didn’t know anyone to a CIT at Epiphany LEARN who often knows more about B-SAFE than I do.  I feel incredibly lucky as a parent to see how the staff at St. Stephen’s Youth Programs have embraced him, supported him and helped shape him into the person he is today.

I am saying good bye to my time at B-SAFE but I’ll still be around.  If you can’t remember something that happened over the past 8 years chances are I will.  Even though I won’t be there anymore my drive to help make things easier for the staff of B-SAFE always will be.  I hope that by supporting and appreciating the staff I have made it easier for them to support the young people and the families that they serve.

By Jodi Rich, Registrar

This is Jodi’s eighth summer with B-SAFE. During the school year she is Executive Director of the Dragonfly After School Program in Cambridge.

B-BOLD: Emotional Empowerment @ B-SAFE 2016

The insights that surfaced during our lesson on shame and self-love with rising eighth-graders. We ended up talking about history, beauty, and critical thinking. I continue to be amazed and humbled by how much and how profoundly the children are willing to see.

When people ask me what being in divinity school is like, I usually take a deep breath and end up saying: “It’s important.” Earlier this week, someone asked me how B-BOLD was going, I found myself saying: “It’s important.” B-BOLD is the fruit of long, lonely, and—yes—important months and years I have spent in divinity school thinking, reading, and writing about the role that emotional agility can play in strengthening the life chances of our future citizens. B-BOLD is an emotional empowerment curriculum that SSYP’s very own Director of Youth Programs & Priest Associate, Liz Steinhauser, and Tim Crellin, our Founder, Vicar, & Executive Director, kindly trusted me to pilot and roll out at the St. Stephen’s site this summer. 

Some of America’s most courageous thinkers and loving writers—especially John Dewey, Toni Morrison, James Baldwin, Martha Nussbaum, and Melissa Harris-Perry— have inspired the project behind B-BOLD. B-BOLD’s premise is simple: learning how to understand, manage, and, ultimately, transform your emotions is a progressive capability that can empower you to be all you can be. When I say “you,” I imagine anyone who has had—and remains likely—to come to terms with forms of emotional pressure that threaten to keep them small, make them feel worthless, and shut them down. Many a story, including my own, suggests that the weight of emotions does not spare any human life. Nor does the wealth of information and transformation they contain. 

I cannot yet see what or how much connecting elementary and middle schoolers with the power they have to transform impatience into self-control; anger into calm; shame into self-love; and self-doubt into self-belief in the St. Stephen’s sanctuary has unleashed. But deep in my heart, I do believe B-BOLD has empowered our children to embrace a trajectory of 21st-century possibility. 

The children. 

Oh the children. 

The children.

The children have done wondrous things for me. They have persuaded me of the tremendous impact one can make by intervening thoughtfully and ferociously in early childhood education. I have insisted on adding a proviso to love the children to our love contracts since the B-SAFE team started to gather in May. I have loved the children. And I have also found that I need their love as much as they need mine, and maybe more. They have renewed, rejuvenated, and healed me, beyond my wildest imaginings.

I often think of divinity school as a place where we can dream of possible futures. Piloting B-BOLD at B-SAFE this summer has afforded me the privilege and responsibility of delivering possible futures with and for our beloved, darling children. And that is good, important news. B-SAFE is important. 

By Sitraka St. Michael, Academic Team

Malagasy by birth. Chicagoan at heart. Episcopalian by choice. In love with all the beloveds @ SSYP. Sitraka is excited to incubate B-BOLD, an emotional empowerment curriculum, with the Academic Team at St Stephen’s during B-SAFE this summer. When he is not in divinity school, Sitraka can be found running or biking along the Charles, hosting dunch (i.e. dinner+lunch), or writing something about progress and the emotions.

In This Together

During B-SAFE staff training, I led a training rotation that I called “In This Together” about working with partners, about building relationships across difference, about understanding that we are all in this together- staff, kids, families, partners and volunteers. That together we all want the same thing, the best program and experience we can offer to young people. These goals of building relationships can sometimes seem more like challenges during a summer when current events cause division and political campaigns focus more on what separates us. But that is our work, to power on, to not give up or give in.

Each summer I have the honor of being witness to this work. About 50 partner (mostly suburban) churches and their volunteers spend countless hours and resources to make sure that each of our young people and staff eat a nourishing meal and enjoy fun field trips outside of the city. Everyone involved believes that this is important work,  that it is about more than serving lunch, that it is about the care and the joy that is given and received. And, where there is joy and care, there is ample opportunity for relationship.

Every day I witness care- care in making sure a child with a food allergy has the food he/she needs, care in planning all of the last details of a field trip, care in choosing the best activities, care in holding hands while learning together on a farm, or in making a friendship bracelet together.

And, I witness joy- joy in knowing a child is fed and ready to learn or explore or discover, joy in welcoming a group of young people to a field trip and making them feel special, joy in a special interaction, joy in sharing a book, joy in petting a goat together, joy in getting to know someone they didn’t know before, joy in building relationships with children, teens, staff or members of the host congregation.

Many times over the past 5 weeks, I have wondered to myself what our city, our country or our world might look like if we joyfully cared for each other and did the work of building relationships, all in this together.

By Betsy Walsh, Partner Organizer

Betsy earned a degree in Special Education from Vanderbilt and subsequently worked with preschoolers with special needs in the South Bronx. She moved to Boston where she studied counseling psychology and raised a family. Betsy chaired the Outreach Committee at Parish of the Epiphany in Winchester for twelve years, and led their partnership with St. Stephen's. She is also a member of SSYP's Advisory Board and the board of El Hogar Ministries.

Replacing the Summer Slide with a Jungle Gym of Knowledge

In my other life, I teach 6th graders about the intricacies of fractions and proportional relationships. I love teaching, and I am always motivated by the challenge of convincing kids that math can be fun and that there is no such thing as someone that is "good" at math. The challenge that I don't love, and don't look forward to every year, is getting kids caught back up after a summer of lost opportunities. 

We've all heard the research. It goes something like this: Due to students taking two months off from school, they "slide" back in their knowledge and learning and it takes them at least the first few months of the school year to get back to where they were back in June. This is incredibly frustrating and especially so when you understand that the students are often below grade level in one subject or another to begin with.

That's where a program like B-SAFE truly proves itself exceptional. By providing a solid academic program for kids, they are reversing this slide, and kids are often able to go back to school even stronger than where they left off. This is truly invaluable and emphasizes our goal this summer of letting kids "Create Their Future". Whether it's writing creative essays in Word, or doing hands on cooking lessons in Numbers, students are receiving an outstanding education at an increasingly crucial time of the year.

By Joshua Donati, Site Director at Epiphany

My name is Joshua Donati and this is my 5th summer working as the Site Director for Epiphany LEARN. During the school year, I teach 6th grade math at Trotter Innovation School in Roxbury. This past year was my 8th year as a teacher. This past October, my wife and I welcomed our first child, Jack, into the world. He's amazing.

Mexican-American Children Want to Make America Great Too

When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you. They're not sending you. They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people". -Donald Trump

It's Christmas in July with children excited to receive books to take home and read.

The political climate right now is a scary one for several reasons, but one of them is the comments made about immigrants from people that don't know them. I know these people. I am the daughter of immigrants and have worked with the immigrant population for the last 8 years in Chelsea. When you hear from a major political candidate negative things about Mexican-Americans with a side of "some, I assume, are good people" you get this distorted look of what an immigrant community is like. Let me tell you who are the people Mexico is "sending". 

An excited young person shows proud mom all of her hard work this summer.

At B-SAFE San Lucas in Chelsea, a majority of the children are either immigrants themselves or the children of immigrants. The majority of them come from Mexican families. Over the course of the last 8 years, I have been able to know these families, but most of all these children that have grown up in the program. They are the children of parents working multiple jobs to make ends meet. They are the children of parents that use their low wage paying jobs as a reminder to their children of the importance of education. They remind their children constantly of the great sacrifices that they have made. They truly believe in the American Dream that many of us US-born citizens believe is dead. They are open with their children about the reasons they came here, many times to escape great crime warlord cities or to give their children a chance to survive. They teach their children daily about the being grateful for all the opportunities that they are given in this great land of ours and to show their gratitude by serving their communities and paying it forward. This is an ideology that I have only seen in the immigrant community. 

Kids use math to present what a great future looks like for them. 

How this translates to their kids is amazing. I have always seen it this way, but more this summer than ever before. The theme of this summer was to "create our future". And what a bright future we have because of these children. At the closing ceremony they read their essays on the future that they see ahead of them. Many spoke about serving their communities as entrepreneurs, teachers, doctors, veterinarians, and even presidents. They talked about how they want these jobs to make their communities great. There were also essays about what the future of this country would be like in 10 years and they hope to see. While some of the essays were about advancements in technology like flying cars and robots, even those essays had altruistic reasons to them like flying cars because "there would be less pollution and less traffic to make people not be angry when going to work" or robots because "they would walk around and help the homeless people and animals".  Their future was about seeing more farms in communities, people clothing the homeless, caring for the forgotten elderly, volunteering at animal shelters and everyone having a pet because "having a pet makes people happy". These are not words from a politician. This is the future that Mexican-American children want for us. This is how we "make America great again". 

Siblings at our program with the oldest sibling Kennedy volunteering at B-SAFE

I invite anyone that has negative thoughts about immigrants to B-SAFE Chelsea. You will hear from these children some positive ways to "make America great again". You will see love. You will see hopes and dreams that are very much alive. You will see teenagers that grew up in the program spending their summers volunteering in the program that gave so much to them. You will see parents that care for their children. You will see their tired but excited and proud faces as they pick up their children after work. You will see that more than just "some, I assume, are good people". You will see that most actually are good people who want to create a bright future for all. 

By Mauryn Perkins, Site Director at St. Luke's

Mauryn Perkins has been with the B-SAFE program in Chelsea for 8 summers. During the school year she is a 7th grade Spanish teacher at a charter school in Malden. She loves teaching children. She loves organizing things, especially planning and organizing her binder for trips to Disney for her family.

Arts and Action in Ramsay Park

Teen organizers perform spoken word poetry and dance

In the last week of their work in Boston for this B-SAFE summer, the teen community organizers created an event in Ramsay Park that brought together Lenox neighborhood residents (where St. A&M is located), state and city officials, Boston artists, local youth, and various neighborhood organizations for an evening of arts in the park. The community organizers shared a collaborative and original spoken word and dance piece called "We Want To Be Heard" before Anna Meyer and Dancers performed their work "Invisible Imprints of Racism" under the lights of the basketball court. The new mural the organizers painted in the first week of B-SAFE greeted people as they walked into the park. People who had participated in the previous week's peace walk showed up wearing their B-PEACE for Jorge buttons and purple shirts to eat hot dogs and drink lemonade as kids covered the sidewalk in chalk art and stray basketballs and baseballs rolled around their feet. 

Teen organizers work on a mural in Ramsay Park.

What do spoken word, murals and barbecues have to do with building power to transform a neighborhood steeped in a history of street violence and structural violence into a community where peace, justice and equity win? 

We brought people together, around food and art, to share an experience of what could be possible in the Lenox neighborhood. We know its possible because it happens in other parks in other neighborhoods, and because we made it happen in Ramsay, even if just for one night. And the hundreds of people who showed up built the case for each other, for their neighbors, and for the administrators of city and state governance that what happens in Ramsay Park and in the Lenox neighborhood matters. All the people there that night demonstrated clearly with their presence (in the 90 degree heat!) and their attention (even the basketball games paused to watch) and their applause that they are invested in the future of Ramsay Park, and this is how we build the power we need to decide what that future is like. 

City Parks and Rec staff was also at the event to begin collecting input from people about what to prioritize in the upcoming renovation of Ramsay Park. The community process for the redesign will begin in the fall, and Ramsay Park is slated for a major makeover in the coming year. Facilitating resident input for this process- with an eye toward building sustained neighborhood power to hold ground amidst the development swelling around the park- will be a major focus of SSYP's Lenox neighborhood organizing in the fall. 

By Sarah O'Connor, Lenox Community Organizer

Sarah started working with SSYP in the fall of 2014 as a Jewish Organizing Initiative and Network (JOIN) fellow. Sarah works with young people to organize for issues that affect youth across the city of Boston, like funding for public education and teen jobs, and on local neighborhood anti-violence campaigns. Sarah believes that a city that works for the young people in the SSYP family is a city that works well for everyone.