CHNA 18: Working together to build healthier communities through community based prevention planning and health promotion.

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Newsletter October 2021
Events from Community Friends & Partners

Projects & Programs

Partner Newsletters

Resources
September Events
From Community Friends & Partners

Open House
October 13 - 6:15 PM
Open to All Interested Community Members
We provide high quality early education in a nurturing, play-based, emergent curriculum, emphasizing childrens' interests. We help develop social and emotional skills and cognitive development for children, three months to five years old. Many of our families speak multiple languages. We provide personalized child care from 8 AM to 6 PM, Monday through Friday.

The Early Learning Center (ELC) continues to thrive under the new leadership of Sarah Montoya, the ELC Program Director. As a bilingual educator, Sarah brings a wealth of experience as a Board member of the Massachusetts Association for the Education of Young Children, and 25 years in early childhood education as a teacher and a leader. 
This Fall: Our Free
Community Webinars
Empowered Health, Empowered You: Taking the Time to Take Care of You
Gain helpful insights on breast care, exercise and nutrition this three-part Lunch and Learn series focused on the well-being of women at home and in the workplace.
Hosted by the Mass General Cancer Center at Newton-Wellesley
October 6, 13 & 20, 2021
12:00-12:45pm

Healthcare Career Exploration Series
Explore exciting career opportunities in a hospital setting including day-in-the-life job descriptions and educational requirements Featured careers include nursing, tech positions, professional clinical roles such as child life and mental health specialists, support services and many more!

A four-night series hosted by the NWH Workforce Development Council
Wednesday, October 20, 2021
Wednesday, November 17, 2021
Wednesday, December 15, 2021
Wednesday, January 19, 2022
7-8:30pm
My Aging Feet are Killing Me! An Overview of the Most Common Problems Associated with the Aging Foot.
A Senior Series Event co-hosted by NWH/New England Podiatry and the Weston Council on Aging
Wednesday, November 10, 2021
10:00-11:00am
 
Heartburn & Reflux: What You Need to Know About GERD
A two-part series hosted by the Heartburn and Reflux Program at NWH
 
What is Heartburn and How to Prevent it with Diet and Lifestyle Changes
Tuesday, November 16, 2021
7-8:30pm
 
Medical and Surgical Treatments for Heartburn and Reflux
Tuesday, November 23,,2021
7-8:30pm
Click Here to Register (registration will admit access to both sessions)
Building Trust for Decision Making
Tuesday October 26th, 2021

Description: Community engagement looked very different over the last year and a half. Coalitions and community organizers found creative ways to engage people in both traditional (flyers, phone calls) and non-traditional ways (Twitter, LinkedIn, virtual community meetings). What this past year demonstrated was the importance of community, and of maintaining relationships and connection with one another. In this training, facilitators explore community engagement through the lens of participatory decision making, delving into how we can build trust with community members and ensure their voices are leading the conversation when it comes to making decisions. Participants will be asked to consider the offered strategies, tools, and resources for both in-person & virtual community engagement work.
October Training Opportunity!
9:30AM - 11:30AM EST Both Days
Online via Zoom

Topics: How community engagement can facilitate decision making, especially in a virtual space, how to build trust through community engagement.

Trainers: Kelly Danckert and Jamiah Tappin, Health Resources in Action
 
Audience: Coalition leaders and members, community members, and public health professionals.
 
Learning Objectives:   
Participants will be able to:

Identify promising practices for building trust with community members.

Discuss how building trust may (or may not) look different when comparing in-person and virtual community engagement.

Learn frameworks for bringing community voice into decision-making processes.
What If I Say the Wrong Thing? Tips for Communicating When Your Loved One Is Depressed 

Free Webinar
Wednesday, October 27, 2021
7:00 to 8:30 PM ET/
4:00 to 5:30 PM PT
In this webinar, Dr. Chris Segrin shares how caregivers can communicate effectively with a loved one about their depression, manage conflict, maintain their own boundaries, and offer hope to a person living with depression. 

Register to join us for a live webinar discussion or watch on demand after it airs. After the webinar, complete our online evaluation and you'll receive a free copy of 60-page handbook - Helping Someone Living with Depression or Bipolar Disorder: A Handbook for Families and Caregivers.

Can't attend the live webinar? Register today to submit your questions and watch the recorded webinar after it airs.
Annual Good Shepherd Institute Dinner:

Love Is Not A Zero Sum Game: Losing My Wife to Early Onset Alzheimer’s Disease
October 27, 2021
Join us for our Annual Dinner with Keynote Speaker: Tom Keane

Last year, Tom featured two pieces in Boston Globe Magazine in January and October, respectively, that initially chronicled his experience of losing his wife to early onset Alzheimer’s Disease and subsequently discussed his grief and what helped him feel less alone. “How could my wife have Alzheimer’s? She was only 56?” Keane writes, as he chronicles the 7 years from recognizing her early onset signs of confusion, to neurologists and researchers, memory care facilities, and ultimately her death.
Tom’s unguarded account of his experience as his wife’s caregiver and the decisions you have to make touch on feelings of isolation and loneliness, the continued new realities of daily life as her disease progresses, and what we make from the experience of grief. 

The Boston Marriott Newton (2345 Commonwealth Avenue, Newton, MA

Event Schedule: 
5:45pm Registration & Cocktail Reception
7:00pm Dinner & Evening Program
8:30pm VIP Reception

Projects & Programs
Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA)

Walker Therapeutic & Educational Programs is excited to continue offering Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) to school districts across the state. We are able to provide each district with a YMHFA training at no cost to the district thanks to generous funding from the Department of Elementary & Secondary Education. At this time, we are facilitating the blended training only, which comprises 2 hours of pre-work and 4.5 hours of live training via Zoom.


For more info, please contact Shannon Lee at slee@walkercares.org. 
Click on PDF to enlarge
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health launched Get Outraged!, a public information campaign to educate parents of middle- and high school-aged youth about the dangers of vaping. 
Partner Call to Action:

Refer parents/caregivers, schools, community, etc. to www.GetOutraged.org
Handouts about vaping and quit resource for youth are available free of charge at the Massachusetts Health Promotion Clearinghouse.
Share the campaign on Facebook from: Greater Boston Tobacco-Free Community Partnership  and MakeSmokingHistory
Retweet or tag on Twitter @MassDPH or @MakeSmkngHistry 
PPAL Receives
Mini-Grant to Address Vaccine Hesitancy

Funding Will Be Used
for Family Outreach
Recently, PPAL received a mini grant from the National Federation of Families to address COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Although Massachusetts has a high vaccination rate, as of August, 2 million people over the age of 12 were still unvaccinated.

Through this grant, PPAL will focus on outreach to families, with a focus on Latinx families. Some of the activities will include getting information to families we know, including the families we met in spring 2021, when we were funded to reach out to undocumented residents to provide funding for rent, groceries and techology needs. You might see us at several health fairs with materials about vaccines - especially for families. Stop by and chat with us!
Farmers Market Coupons for Brookline Residents

The Brookline Department of Public Health announces it has received a $43,000 grant from the Kresge Foundation that will help make the Brookline Farmers’ Market more accessible to low-income families.
The grant will provide 500 Brookline residents and their families with coupons to purchase fresh fruit and vegetables as well as other food products during the 2021 farmers’ market season. Individuals and families of two will receive $40 in coupons while households of three or more will receive $80 in coupons. Coupons will be valid at the Farmers’ Market through Thursday, Oct. 28.
Brookline individuals and families who reside in Brookline Housing Authority sites or whose household income meets federal poverty guidelines are eligible to participate in the program. Beginning in mid-August, staff from the Brookline Department of Public Health will schedule registration dates at the Brookline Senior Center and various BHA sites to register people who qualify for the program.
Information on the location and times to sign up for the program will be available at www.brooklinema.gov/health or by calling 617-730-2295. Coupon books for the Farmers’ Market will be distributed at the time of registration.
CHNA 18 Providing Mental Health Support in Waltham and Beyond

With funding from McLean Hospital, CHNA 18 has recently partnered with several organizations in Waltham to provide mental health support to people of all ages in Waltham and beyond.

Waltham Connections for Healthy Aging/Healthy Waltham: Addressing loneliness and isolation among seniors during the pandemic. 1) The Waltham Senior Civic Academy, helping Waltham seniors to learn about how government and programs work and to improve their skills as advocates. Connecting residents to leaders of government and agencies is intended to also open channels of communication and cooperation. An ultimate goal of the program is to help residents be more active in the community and to create change in policies and programs. 2) Welcome to the Digital Age, a program to provide free Chromebook computers, high-speed internet, and training for low-income Waltham seniors who want to get online. 3) Mind, Body, Spirit, a program to counter social isolation among Waltham seniors and also to help build emotional resiliency. Other supported programs include:

Five-minute video “Bursts” from well-known psychologist and therapist Jon Mattleman, MS, providing families with coping mechanisms for dealing with the isolation and stress from the pandemic.

“You are Not Alone”: Self-guided video modules developed by Ivy Watts of Ivy Watts Speaks for middle school-college age students, focusing on self-care, staying motivated, and dealing with uncertainty. 

Wraparound Waltham: Wraparound Waltham is a multi-agency collaborative led by Waltham Partnership for Youth with the objective of helping immigrant students graduate high school. Through a case management approach, they support families in accessing jobs, housing, food, health and mental health services - needs which have all increased dramatically due to COVID. The objective of Wraparound Waltham is to provide families the support they need so their children can stay focused on school.
LISTEN: The Troubling Trend of Suicide in Young Children. A Conversation with Jon Mattlema‪n‬.

Suicide is a leading cause of death in US elementary school–aged children, and the suicide rate in black school-aged children has increased in recent years. Learn how we can support the mental health of young children. 

Partner Newsletters
September 2021: Embracing Change
and Hope

  • FY2020-2021 Year in Review
  • Mindfulness Uncovers Our Strengths
  • Put It In Your Phone! Suicide Prevention Campaign
  • New Program! Positive Education for Mental Health & Well-being
  • Community Conversations Returns
  • MHA of Palm Beach County (FL) Hosts Just Talk About It
  • Meet Minding Your Mind’s Newest Clinician, Alona Leviner-Sommer
  • Web’s World 2.0 at Flanigan’s Boathouse to Support The Jake Weber Fund

Resources
The Metrowest Regional Coalition Resource Directory for
Suicide Prevention
WATCH CDC Compiling COVID-19
Community Resource Guide 
 
WATCH CDC, a local nonprofit focused on community organizing, is doing amazing work compiling a centralized COVID-19 Resource Guide to support the Waltham community during this difficult time.
The guide currently lists resources related to healthcare, food (including FREE LUNCH AND DINNER for all Waltham youth), housing, utilities, income and employment, and is being updated continuously.

You can also find a list of ways to volunteer or donate during this time, and information regarding service closures and interruptions.
We encourage all Waltham community members to visit this site. 

If you are aware of a COVID-19 related resource that is not listed, please share with WATCH CDC at jack@watchcdc.org.
Needham Center at The Heights

(Needham's Aging Services)

Sends out daily highlights with a wide array of resources, zoom/facebook programs for free of charge, and other new and information as we go though the pandemic.
To receive the highlights, email Assistant Director of Programming and Transportation, Aicha Kelley

(Massachusetts is extending its tax filing deadline from April 15 to July 15.)


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For more information on resources, grants and job opportunities, please visit our website.