TURN IT AROUND
Family & Friends Newsletter: August 2022

The purpose of this newsletter is to highlight our amazing youth leaders and all of the activities taking place in the community that they are involved in.

We hope to further engage the mentors and adults in these young people's lives and are available to parents and guardians to answer any questions about our programming. If you need assistance regarding your youth, please feel free to reach out to our Youth Program Coordinator, Mswati Hanks.
Highlight: End of the Summer Youth Enrichment Program
Our summer came to a close with so many fun events, from escape rooms to the Harvard museum, to an End of Summer BBQ held by our group!
Thanks for a great summer program Josviel, JJ, Rosilda, Dynasty, Camila and Ana!
Highlight: Self Regulation with Dr. Forsythe and Dr. Griggs
Some of our youth practicing "butterfly hugs" - alternate tapping of the hands on the upper arms while hugging oneself to calm down.
Learning about different herbs and plants from Linda, gardener extraordinaire. If the youth could correctly identify the plants, they got to take some home!
TURN IT AROUND Awarded Grant from Suffolk County DA Office
Our sincerest thanks to the Suffolk County DA's office for the awarding of the Community Reinvestment Grant to TURN IT AROUND. We could not be the program that we are without grant funding and local support!
Hanging bows for Overdose Awareness
Overdose Awareness Day is really important to us and always has been - we are so thankful to All Roads Charlestown, Sean Boyle and Shannon Lundin for their partnership. We covered a significant portion of Main Street in Charlestown with purple bows, some with name tags of those lost to Overdose. Join us this September for Recovery Month events - see our social media for details and a schedule of events.
Alumni Drop Ins
There are very few things we love as much as we love seeing our TIA Alumni! This month, Karynn, Stephon and Fatima all stopped by. We helped Karynn with some FAFSA questions, provided references to Stephon, and sent Fatima off to her semester abroad in London with LOVE! We want our TIA network to know that we are always here for you - no matter what you may need!
Welcome Home, Zaire!
We’d like to welcome Zaire Richardson as our new Youth Prevention Coordinator here at Charlestown Coalition!! Zaire, who is a proud alumna of TURN IT AROUND, will heading up TURN IT AROUND JUNIOR (more to come soon!!) We’re so happy to have her as an official member of our team, and witness her coming full circle!

Welcome home Zaire! ♥️
Where Are They Now?
TURN IT AROUND Alumni

Guess Who? It's Kaltuma!
Find out what she has been up to and how Turn It Around has impacted her life!
TURN IT AROUND:
Youth of the Month

Our August Youth of the Month, and last of the summer, is Zayrangie (Zay) Guerrero. Zay has been a superstar ever since she joined TURN IT AROUND! She’s a rising sophomore now, but has the maturity and intelligence of someone much older. She loves to help her community. She’s an amazing big sister to her 2 younger siblings. And she brings so energy and passion to the group whenever she’s around. Zay embodies all the qualities we want in a representative of TIA!!


-Mswati Hanks,
Youth Program Coordinator
Join us on Tuesday, September 20th at 5:30pm for our monthly Race & Equity Discussion. This series explores important topics about the impact of race, policing in urban settings, and equity. It is open to all members of the Charlestown community and the general public. Please note meetings are once again in person at the Peace Park until further notice.
 
This forum is being co-sponsored by the Charlestown Coalition, Turn It Around Youth Program, Councilor Gigi Coletta and her team.

Keep your eyes peeled to spot our new banner!
August Birthday Shout-outs to Hope, Dynasty & Luciano and staff member Ciara!
Thank you for helping raise the next generation
of community leaders!