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The Charlestown Coalition News:
Issue 65
January 2022
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Team Updates: Thank you, Shannon | |
14 Years of Service
It is with heavy hearts that we announce Shannon Lundin White's departure from the Charlestown Coalition. Shannon’s impact and her leadership through all of our addiction and recovery efforts have been nothing short of transformational. The systems she created, relentless advocacy efforts, and unconditional faith and love she lead with are unparalleled. She has transitioned to the role of Director of Recovery and Community Engagement at Chapters Recovery Center in Danvers. We wish her nothing but the best and look forward to working with her in her new capacity.
We know that Shannon is irreplaceable, so we will begin a community process to assess the currently addiction/recovery needs of Charlestown as we restructure that body of work. If you would like to be involved in that process contact Ciara Williams at cwilliams@mgh.harvard.edu
Want to leave a message for Shannon? Click here for her Kudo Board!
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Team Updates: Sarah Coughlin | |
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After 8 years of serving as the Director of the Charlestown Coalition, through the Mass General Center for Community Health Improvement, Sarah has been promoted to the CCHI Director of Community Engagement. In her new role, Sarah will continue to have high-level engagement with the Charlestown Coalition, but will also direct and implement targeted long and short-term strategies that serve the needs of the Center’s external partnerships. Sarah will be leveraging the great work of the Charlestown Coalition as CCHI expands its capacity and reach in Boston in a more formalized way and will oversee the Community and Cultural Engagement Manager, Cindy Diggs.
"I am thrilled about this new opportunity to expand upon the incredible work we have done collectively at the Charlestown Coalition. I look forward to continuing collaborations with you all in this new position."
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Team Updates: Welcome Ciara! | |
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Ciara is our new Program and Communications Manager. Originally from New Hampshire, Ciara is passionate about community and health outside of hospital walls. Ciara obtained her Masters in Public Health from Northeastern, where she was inspired to help protect the health of communities in Boston.
Read more about Ciara here.
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Celebrating Senator Edwards | |
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Please join us in congratulating newly-appointed Senator Lydia Edwards. Lydia has always known the power and value of building strong communities and has been a dedicated partner in our coalition and youth work from the very beginning. She stood by us and fought with us through a challenging community process of developing a community Peace Park, ensuring public spaces remain open and welcoming to ALL. Knowing the importance of representation, she successfully advocated for and appointed the first EVER youth seat on an Impact Advisory Group for the BPDA during the redevelopment plans for the Charlestown Boston Housing Authority. She is a woman of action and has helped facilitated 21 straight months of community race dialogues following George Floyd’s homicide. From planting flowers in the Peace Park with us to literally jumping out of planes with our director -- Lydia has always been ALL IN with us.
Join us in congratulating SENATOR Edwards!!
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Thank you to Erik and Sarah with First Church | |
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We want to thank Erik and Sarah Malloy and the entire First Church community for all they have brought to Charlestown over the last 6.5 years. They graciously opened the church doors to the recovery community when space for meetings was desperately needed. They partnered with us for community events, prevention month BBQs, our annual overdoes vigils, movie nights, peace park events and more. We are blessed to have been able to use First Church space to host our weekly Turn It Around group meetings. They have both been tremendous assets to the Charlestown Community and we wish them all the best as they transition on to their next chapter. | | | |
January Race & Equity Dialogue | |
Our first Race Dialogue meeting of the year included a great discussion about how to talk about racist statements and ideals that others around us may have. Thank you to all who joined and shared -- stay tuned for next month's meeting! | |
On January 20th, Turn It Around and Charlestown Coalition leaders participated in our Annual Give Back Day - taking nearly 100 bags of warm clothes and toiletry items into downtown Boston, passing them out to anyone in need. Through generous donations from the Charlestown community, and big donations from non-profit Hope and Comfort and local consulting firm RSM, many people received hats, gloves, scarves, socks, jackets, and personal hygiene products for the holidays and cold winter months. We cherished the opportunity to get out in the city and connect with our fellow Bostonians! | |
Community Race & Equity Discussion | |
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Join us on Tuesday, February 15th, 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 we will be meeting this month on Zoom.
This forum is being co-sponsored by the Charlestown Coalition, Turn It Around Youth Program, Senator Lydia Edwards and her team.
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The Charlestown Coalition’s Trauma Response Team was formed in July 2016 through a grant from the Boston Alliance for Community Health (BACH). The Trauma Response Team initially started as a group of residents who wanted to learn more about trauma, its impact on the community, and how they could best serve residents during traumatic situations.
Over the past several years, the Trauma Response Team has served as an important part of the Charlestown Coalition by supporting the community and connecting people to treatment concerning issues around loss, community violence and substance use disorders. Our Trauma Response Team consists of dedicated and passionate people who are leaders in their community.
This month we want to recognize Tina Goodnow, who has been a part of our trauma team for the past year. Tina is an amazing mother and longtime resident of Charlestown, who has been serving her community for many years. Currently, Tina is on the board of the Charlestown Residence Alliance, acting as the board's Vice President. In this role, Tina advocates and supports Boston Housing Authority (BHA) Charlestown residents by ensuring that their voices are heard and their needs are met. One of the remarkable things about Tina is that she is such a kind person. She truly cares and will go above and beyond to support someone in need. Tina is also someone who people trust and can easily talk with, never judging but instead listening to understand. Tina is guided by her faith and a person who has overcome many struggles but despite challenges, continues to thrive. We want to thank Tina for her commitment to the community and being a valuable member of our trauma team.
To learn more about Tina Goodnow or our trauma team, go to our website.
https://charlestowncoalition.org/trauma-response-team/
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Upcoming Coalition Meetings | |
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Trauma Response Team
February 1st at 5:30 PM
Meetings are held virtually until further notice. Contact
Phenice Zawatsky to learn more.
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Charlestown Family Support Task Force
February 1st at 12 PM
Meetings are held virtually until further notice. Contact
Phenice Zawatsky to learn more.
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Where Are They Now?
Turn It Around Alumni
Guess Who? It's Geno!
Find out what he has been up to and how Turn It Around has impacted his life!
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Turn It Around:
Youth of the Month
Our first Youth of the Month of 2022 is Sue De Andrade. Sue is 14 years old and one of our newer members. When Sue first joined TURN IT AROUND this past fall, she was painfully shy, but consistent with her attendance. Now, only a few months later, Sue has a bunch of friends in TIA, participates in everything we do, and is advocating for friends of hers to join. Sue is the epitome, of what this group does for young people in the community. We aspire to help one Charlestown youth at a time to TURN IT AROUND!! Congratulations Sue!
-Mswati Hanks,
Youth Program Coordinator
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This month, we interviewed Charlestown local Lawrie Durham on his path to recovery. Thank you, Lawrie for your thoughtful insight on recovery journeys. | | |
To learn more about our programs, our staff, community partners, resources, upcoming events, Turn It Around, program impact, and more, click below: | | | | |
