CommunitiesThatCare – Meeting Minutes
February 25, 2009
Present at meeting: Catherine Dhingra, Valerie Buchanan, Bob Connolly, Mary Ellen Connelly, Dennis Thompson, Lysa Newhall, Leslie Gould, Diana Kerry, Maroli Licardie, Jennifer O’Blenes, Jeffrey Downey, Edward Brito, Mary Trahan, Linda Demerjian, Jen Lange, Diana Moreno, Pamela Freeman, Evalynn So, Ryan Monita, Arthur Aker, Cassie Haughton, Ryanne Filbey, Mallory Burns, Kerri Rosenberger, Susan Hauck, Gemina Gena, Crissy Jache, Jeron Reddick, Amanda Richard, Casey Gardner, Elsabel Rincon
1. We started with introductions at 11:40 am. The meeting was facilitated by Catherine Dhingra. and started with some updates:
a)Catherine spoke of the success of the Highlands Coalition Foreclosure and Community
event at the Ford School in late January. It was well attended and extremely well
organized.
b)Ryan Filbey, of Girls, Inc., updated the group on the POS, our youth partner organization
(which stands for Part of the Solution). The POS had a busy January hosting an Open Mike
Night at Lynn Arts, participating in the MLK Breakfast and being a tremendous help with
the Highlands Coalition Event. Upcoming events include volunteering at My Brother’s
Table, Leadership Training, participation in organizing the HALT (Harmony Among Lynn
Teens) Conference scheduled for April 4. Adult Allies are welcome to come to POS
Meetings. For information contact Ryan Filbey at or at (781) 592-
9744 x210.
c) Cassie Haughton updated us on the activity surrounding Underage Drinking; including the
recent production of a youth lead PSA addressing Changing Parent Norms, the Social Host
Liability Campaign and upcoming compliance checks. For new members Cassie explained
Shoulder Tap and Sticker Shock events coming up. Adults are needed for these events. If
you are interested in helping please contact Cassie at or at
(781)592-9744 x211.
2. Updates from other members:
a) HALT (Harmony Among Lynn Teens) Conference. Lysa Newhall, from the Lynn
Housing Authority described the event which is now in its eleventh year. The first
organizational meeting was well attended on 2/18/09. The format of the event will
include a meal, seminar alternatives geared toward youth issues, speakers and resource
tables, followed by a dance. The next HALT organizational meeting is scheduled for
Thursday 3/5/09 at 3:30pm at Girls Inc., 112 Market Street, 2nd Floor.
b) Pam Freeman from Lynn Community Connections announced The Childhood Abuse
Prevention Awareness Breakfast scheduled for Monday April 6 from 8-10am. Pam also
suggested coordinating the HALT Conference and other events planned for April to
coincide with Childhood Abuse Prevention Month. Also on Wednesday April 1 from
6;30-7:30pm at Pickering Junior High, the LCC in coordination with Dennis Thompson, the
Health/PE K-12 director for the Lynn Public Schools, is hosting an Internet Safety and
Training Seminar. For more information contact Pam Freeman at
or Evalynn So at or either at (781) 477-2902.
c)Leslie Gould, from the Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce, was very enthusiastic about
getting involved with the CTC. She offered any of us the opportunity to use the Chambers
e-blast or fact-blast site to promote upcoming events, reaching approximately 3000
individuals associated with the Chamber. She does ask for at least three weeks notice.
Leslie can be reached at or (781)592-2900.
d) Mary Trahan, from the East Lynn Community Program, a neighbor organization start in
Ward 3 is hosting a meeting on Wed. 3/4/09 from 6:45-8:00pm at Temple Ahabat Sholom,
151 Ocean Street Lynn, parking on the street. Please attend, if you can and support this
initiative to create a new neighborhood coalition in Lynn. You can reach Mary at
or (781)842-4370.
d)Diana Moreno, from Metro Credit Union, introduced us to a program that encourages her
employees to volunteer in their community. If any one is interested in finding more you can
contact Diana at or (781)581-0504 x3101.
3. A new feature of our meeting is allowing a member of the CTC to present their organization to the group. Our initial presenters were Edward Brito and Jennifer Oblenes from Family & Children’s Services with a very informative presentation of CASASTART. You may contact Edward at and Jennifer at or either at (781)598-5517.
Also in attendance and presenting Project Engage was Jeffrey Downey. Jeffrey can be reached at or (781)598-5517.
4. We broke into subgroup and the following resulted from subgroup discussion and subsequent round up session;
a)Youth & Environment Strategies; Dennis Thompson, the Health Coordinator for Lynn
Public Schools was interested in many of the organizations for youth engagement in the city
and requested a list and organizational contacts to be compiled for future reference. Straight
Ahead Ministries discussed the possibilities of reaching out to the school communities in an
effort to quell gang influences in the school system. Further discussion of the Social Host
Liability & Parental Social Norms Campaigns were informational, especially for our newer
members. In addition, some members signed up for Shoulder Tap and Sticker Shock events
upcoming.
b)Family Support; The discussion was centered around the updating of the Linking Lynn
Guide. Discussions included adding resources reflecting need in areas such as parenting
classes, homeless prevention, grandparent support services, foreclosure and joblessness.
Also discussed was the possibility of translating the guide into other languages. Additional
issues discussed in the group and as a larger group was that of coalition combining to have
the most impact for the residence of Lynn and also engaging the Mayor and City Council in
dialogue and cooperation toward common goals for the city.
c)Neighborhood & Community Support; Our discussion centered around initiatives to
replicate the success of the Highland Coalition and how to bolster the effort of organizations
like the East Lynn Community Program. One idea we ran with was getting local high
profile individuals such as Ward Councilors, school principals and local non-profits in
different wards of the city to host a town hall meeting style program to promote civic
engagement and prioritize issues within that community. The event should be held at a local
school so the community can galvanize their efforts focused on that particular school and the
impact the neighborhood has on its children’s success. When opened for wider discussion
the idea of approaching the City Council as a whole and the Mayor seeking their support
first was debated.
The meeting adjourned at 1:10pm – Next general CTC meeting scheduled for Wednesday, March 25, 2009 from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm at the Community Room, Lynn Housing Authority, 10 Church Street.
Addendum; Amanda Richard, from the Children’s Law Center sent the following e-mail with website.
Hi Bob,
I just attended the P21 meeting this morning, where we were introduced to this new website
This is called the North Shore Portal, and it is a site where agencies can send their information so that the public can access local service agencies in the North Shore to find out what programs are available. It seems to be pretty simple. Each agency has to enter their information by clicking on "Get Listed" and then following the simple steps. Hopefully this can be helpful to everyone from CTC and throughout the Greater Lynn Community.
Feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions. I wanted to send this your way since you have so many contacts who may be able to put this exciting resource to good use.
Thanks,
Amanda
Amanda Richard
Community Outreach
Children's Law Center of MA
298 Union Street
Lynn, MA 01903
(T) 781-244-1430
(F) 781-598-9364