Volume 12, Issue 2: February, 2025

"Power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love."



-Martin Luther King Jr.

Dear Renee,

Thank you for your community and participation in our local Boston Network Connector Newsletter. In this edition, you will find featured stories from our Vital Village Networks community, upcoming in-network events and opportunities, resources shared by our VVN community partners, and a monthly research highlight, Scoop on the Stats.

• Spotlight Stephanie Crawford, Vital Village Networks 2024 Innovation Awardee
• Meet the 2025 Fellows: Community Food Systems & National Birth Justice
• Register for the February 10 Network Connection Meeting - Navigating Change: Immigration Policies and Community-Driven Advocacy
• Access the VVN Immigration Resource Sheet
• Explore opportunities with the Boston Breastfeeding Coalition & 2025 VVN Data Storytelling Workshop
• Find local opportunities with the City of Boston, BPL, and Codman Square Health Center
• February Scoop on the Stats: Understanding the Relationship Between Housing and Family Homelessness

"I find joy in hearing someone think that there's a definite way that something has to go, and then giving them a little bit of liberation and autonomy."

Stephanie Crawford (M.Ed) is a Boston Public School Kindergarten Teacher, a PhD student in Early Childhood Education, a doula, a peer support lactation buddy, a mother to a six year old son, and the founder of Propa City Community Outreach. The inspiration for founding this particular organization came from a life-altering event over a decade ago.

In 2011, Stephanie’s 39 week old son was stillborn. It was through this extreme loss that she became more interested in maternal health and started Propa City Community Outreach, where she works with families experiencing loss and helps them look toward healing while simultaneously supporting them through their grief journey. The Community Outreach Center expanded to include a space that addresses the broader needs of the community when Stephanie recognized this broader gap in service and support.

In 2024, for her incredible leadership, creativity in her work, and care for the community, Stephanie was nominated as a community leader for the Vital Village Networks Innovation Award. The term 'community leader' often emphasizes the 'leader' component more than the 'community' it represents; however, Stephanie underscores that true leadership is about working both for and alongside the community. It is important not only to see what the community needs, but to leverage it, centering who you can work with and how you can come together with others to support an individual holistically. 

Through her innovative, community-focused, and compassionate leadership, Stephanie has fostered a cycle of families helping-



families. She has seen mothers who received her care become mentors themselves, and begin their own initiatives, projects, and journeys. Stephanie shares that this inspires her to continue being a community leader. She feels that, “to see that transition from when they were so dark, so low, as I was, from grief- to be able to take grief and hold it, and it doesn’t hold you,” has given purpose to her story of loss. 

As expansive as Stephanie's work is, her advice on being a community leader can be broken down into two relatively simple categories: First, to observe community leaders who you find inspiring, and who exemplify qualities that you hope to embody in your leadership. For Stephanie, these included empathy, love, faith, and peace. The second: to just lead. Speak up where you can, be bold, and do it.

When asked where she finds the most enjoyment, she said it is through “helping families own their own journey, whichever one it is.” Through guiding others to realize that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach, she has found that when you own your journey, you find more peace. 

To connect with Stephanie:

Propa City Website

Personal Website: stephknowsbest.com

Instagram/Facebook: @propacity_co

Listen to the latest episodes of In the Arena with NOW

Tune in to the latest Episodes for Season 3 of in the Arena with NOW.

Episode 4: Radical Community Connection: Interconnected Freedom and Leadership for the Future - Featuring Mia Birdsong, Futurist, Author and Executive Director of Next River: An Institute For Practicing the Future.

Episode 5: Young People are Community Power: Nurturing Culturally-Rooted Safe Spaces - Featuring Julie Garreau, Chief Executive Officer, Cheyenne River Youth Project.

Listen here.

Meet our 2025 Community Food Systems Fellows

Eleven local leaders have been selected to participate in the 2025 Community Food Systems Fellowship Program, an 18-month leadership program to support local food system leaders to build skills, capacity, and networks in their efforts to build equitable and resilient local food systems. Learn more about this dynamic group of fellows and the work they are leading.

• Learn more here.

Welcoming our First Cohort of National Birth Justice Fellows

Introducing the first cohort of the National Birth Justice Fellowship; an 18-month leadership program advancing birth equity across the United States. The fellowship unites 11 community leaders who are committed to dismantling systemic inequities in maternal and infant health while fostering sustainable change. Learn more about them and their commitment to community-led and dignity-centered systems of health, education, and care for birthing families.

• Learn more here.

Immigration Resource Sheet compiled by Vital Village Networks

In light of the significant changes in policy and law, we have compiled the following resources for immigrant adults, families, and children who may be impacted. This includes links to websites, PDFs, and printed materials - some available in multiple languages - organized by the following categories: "Your Rights," "Free Assistance," "Emergency Planning," and "Changes to Laws and Protections."

• Access the resource here.

February Network Connection Meeting: Navigating Change: Immigration Policies and Community Driven Advocacy

Monday, February 10th | 5:30 - 7:30 pm ET | Hybrid Event | Mattapan Community Health Center, 1575 Blue Hill Ave, Boston, MA 02126

Join us for an evening of learning, connection, and dialogue with Pastor Dieufort Fleurissaint "Keke" from True Alliance and Darrin Howell from AFL-CIO as they address the current immigration policies impacting our community members.

• Register here

Data Storytelling Workshop Series: Information Session

Thursday, February 6th | 9:00 - 10:00 am ET



Who is telling the story of your community? Join Vital Village for the free virtual Data Storytelling workshop series and build your capacity to create and share stories that support social change using data tools. Visit our website to learn more and register for the upcoming Information Session on Thursday, February 6th from 5:30 - 6:30 pm ET on Zoom.

• Learn more and submit your interest in joining the Workgroup here.

ROSE Community Transformer Training

Training Dates: March 25 - 27th | Virtual



Learn essential skills for providing peer counseling in lactation management and methods for resource referrals in this 3-day training offered by Reaching Our Sisters Everywhere (ROSE) and the Boston Breastfeeding Coalition (BBC). Submit your application by February 21st at 11:59 pm ET.

• Learn more and apply on the BBC Website or at VitalVillage.org

Breastfeeding Scholars Support Night

Wednesday, February 26th | 6:00 - 7:30 pm ET | Virtual



The Boston Breastfeeding Coalition (BBC) works to improve breastfeeding supprt access, foster social connections, and promote early child enrichment in Boston. The BBC support parents, empowers advocates, and provides pathways for professional lactation counselors. Monthly Scholar Support Night meetings cover topics like IBCLC share-outs and latch support. For more details on upcoming opportunities with the BBC, click here.

• Register for the next Scholar Support Night here.

Haitian/Creole Children's Mental Health Storytimes



Beginning in the month of February, VVN in partnership with the Codman Square Branch of the Boston Public Library will be offering a set of storytimes in Hatian Creole with storyteller Charlot Lucien. Please stay on the lookout for updates on dates and times for this special offering!

• Sign up here to receive weekly Children's Mental Health Storytimes updates and events.

City of Boston Resources and Events

• Cold Weather Safety Tips - access the resource here.
• Bank on Boston: Budgeting Basics for Teens - Thursday, February 6th, 5:00 - 6:00 pm | Virtual. Register here on Zoom.
• Black Veterans Appreciation Luncheon - Saturday, February 22nd, 10:30 am - 2:30 pm | Boston City Hall, 1 City Sq (Lower Level 2; Congress St entrance) Boston, MA 02109. Learn more here, no registration required.

Dorchester Winter Farmers Market

Saturdays from 11am - 2pm | 6 Norfolk St Dorchester, MA 02124



Visit this unique Winter Farmers Market in Dorchester for fresh produce, baked goods, arts, crafts, and more! The market accepts SNAP and HIP benefits, and is organized by the Codman Square Health Center, BOLD Teens, and the Codman Square Neighborhood Council.

• Learn more here.

The Hidden History of Black Boston with Joel Mackall at Boston Public Libraries

Monday, February 10th from 5:30 - 7:30 pm | Connolly Branch of BPL | 433 Centre St Jamaica Plain, MA 02130



Learn Boston's 400-year African American history with Joel Mackall.

• Learn more here. No registration required.

Scope of the Issue

• Over 186,000 individuals experienced homelessness on a single night in January 2023, including 17,385 unsheltered.
• In 2021, 381,124 individuals in 119,070 family households used emergency shelters or transitional housing.
• Families, often led by single mothers with young children, face vulnerabilities like limited education and financial hardship.
• Common causes include job loss, domestic violence, and financial crisis.

Impact on Children

• Emotional and behavioral issues, health problems, and educational disruptions.
• Frequent school changes, lower academic performance, and family separations exacerbate instability.

Several policies have been instrumental in supporting homeless families in the United States:

Fig. 1

Call to Action

To address family homelessness, a multifaceted approach is necessary. Government agencies, nonprofits, and the private sector must collaborate to expand rapid re-housing initiatives, provide comprehensive support services, and develop policies focused on long-term family stability.

Families Receiving Emergency Housing by Type:

Fig. 2

References:

1. Homelessness in Greater Boston. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.bostonindicators.org/reports/report-detail-pages/homelessness_and_housing
2. National Alliance to End Homelessness. (2023) Who Experiences Homelessness? Children and Families. Retrieved from https://endhomelessness.org/homelessness-in-america/who-experiences-homelessness/children-and-families/

Stay connected and explore more of our engagement pathways and opportunities across Vital Village Networks programming. You can view upcoming events and opportunities through the gallery snapshot below, by following us on social media, or keeping up with our website calendar and Linktree.