#InvestInFamilies

[logankellysworld]

Will you join us as we support marriages and families in our community? Your donation proves families in Panama City and NW Florida with marriage & family strengthening resources. To donate, click the link in my bio. Thank you! #investinwhatmattersmost #investinfamilies #makeadifference #itsworthit #investinourfuture #strongmarriagesstrongcommunities #strongertogether #livethelifepanamacity #strengthenmarriagesandfamilies #yourdonationmatters #givetoday (at Lynn Haven, Florida) https://www.instagram.com/p/CGShKZAF8Z6/?igshid=fq3z2pg0s0zb

[scy-chicago]

Debunking Alternative Facts: The Reality of Chicago’s Violence Problem

This week’s blog was written by Kendra Freeman at the Metropolitan Planning Council as a response to the misconception that Chicago violence is an out of control issue that can be resolved only by calling in federal authorities. SCY is reposting this blog in an effort to stress that the violence in our city has complex individual contributing factors that must be improved upon systemically and be focused on areas that are verifiably disenfranchised. By taking away rhetoric that is unfounded, communities can look more closely at things such as segregation, public safety and neighborhood investments. Read the full article here

[sifisojohnngobeniradebe]

Crazy entertainer... #PositiveVibesOnly #InvestInSmiles #InvestInFamily https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv696uvBwV9BqcPUjLw_dQxwXOW_8BJtP6iJrs0/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=uhh9ru7ocvvh

[jasonbcole]

Good morning from the car riders line! #investinfamily #kiddos #dadslife (at La Vergne, Tennessee) https://www.instagram.com/p/BpRoqkWnR36/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=24k35zrwk47h

[krob123-blog1]

Family comes in all shapes, sizes, and shades. Removing the labels, breaking down the walls- and opening up to bigger possibilities of Love!!! This week's podcast is the 2nd part of Tanisha Merrell's story. A story of a woman who dared to see family as bigger than the "norm" better than what people say "it will be." And it all begins with surrendering every moment to Jesus and his wisdom. Please listen and share. . . . #joyontheface #investinfamily #honor #familyfirst #blendedfamily #blended #stepfamily #love #motherhood #motherhoodunplugged #motherhoodrising #jesus #podcast #podcasts #podcasters #podcasting #episode58 #lovetheoneyourewith #parenting

[bloomnaturals-blog]

This guy is special. Those boxes are full of chairs for us to sit on while on the beach. He works so hard to make the cottage a respite. So, yesterday we threw off the books and decided to have a lesson in blessing him. Armed with 2 SUVs loaded with those boxes, we drove to the lake. If only they would assemble themselves. #mydadisthebest #bestpapa #investinfamily #michigansummers #eagerforsummer

[culturestrike]

#Repost @lexx_valdez ・・・ A beautiful (and free!) #SchoolsNotPrisons poster available at #TruthToPower by @ernestoyerena, courtesy of @amplifierfoundation. #InvestInFamilies #knowledgeispower #ernestoyerena

[lexxdigs]

A beautiful (and free!) #SchoolsNotPrisons poster available at #TruthToPower by @ernestoyerena, courtesy of @amplifierfoundation. #InvestInFamilies #knowledgeispower #ernestoyerena (at 990 Spring Garden)

[scy-chicago]

A Lifetime Sentence: Incarceration of Parents Impacts Health of Their Children into Adulthood

This week's blog is on a study recently published with the American Academy of Pediatrics by our Lurie Children's colleague, pediatrician Nia Heard-Garris, about the impact of parental incarceration on children's health.

A new study published in Pediatrics found that young adults who had a parent incarcerated during their childhood are more likely to skip needed healthcare, smoke cigarettes, engage in risky sexual behaviors, and abuse alcohol, prescription and illicit drugs. These findings have potentially broad impact, as over five million U.S. children have had a parent in jail or prison.

Strikingly, incarceration of a mother during childhood, as opposed to a father, doubled the likelihood of young adults using the emergency department instead of a primary care setting for medical care. Young adults whose mothers had been incarcerated also were twice as likely to have sex in exchange for money, while those with histories of father incarceration were 2.5 times more likely to use intravenous drugs.

“The United States has the highest incarceration rates in the world. With the climbing number of parents, especially mothers, who are incarcerated, our study calls attention to the invisible victims – their children,” says lead author Nia Heard-Garris, MD, MSc, a pediatrician at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and Instructor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “We shed light on how much the incarceration of a mother versus father influences the health behaviors of children into adulthood.

Full story here

[scy-chicago]

What Parents/Families Need

This week’s blog is written by Nia Heard-Garris, MD, MSc, FAAP, Pediatrician with Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and Researcher with Smith Child Health Research, Outreach, & Advocacy Center. Dr. Heard-Garris focuses on policies, systems, and supports that enrich families.

Policies that are good for families are also good for parents and what I’ll focus is where families could benefit.

Much of the focus on parenting has been on how parents have failed or are continuing to fail at parenting.  I appreciate that parenting doesn’t come with a manual and we all could use some guidance; however if we are not willing to look at the structures and systems that are failing and disadvantaging families, such as our justice system (e.g. mass incarceration, that breaks up families), many of whom are impoverished and racial/ethnic minorities, we are being dishonest and irresponsible.

We need to talk about the physical environment, where families live and play. Families need safe, toxin-free (which includes lead) environments. Families need affordable housing that preserve the dignity and respect of those living there.

Families deserve neighborhoods that have grocery stores or other places that have affordable, fresh, nutritious food. Families should also be able to allow their children to play outside without the fear of violence, shooting, or harassment from anyone (including law enforcement).

Families deserve good childcare (with experienced caregivers and caregivers) that is safe, affordable, and have flexible options. Similarly, children deserve good schools that are trauma-informed with experienced teachers. All children should be safe and intellectually stimulated at their schools. Children also deserve schools that address their learning and physical limitations, but also push them to grow and learn.

Families deserve to be able to find and secure jobs that pay a living wage and offer the opportunity for skill development and growth.

Families deserve access to adult education and job training to further their ability to secure employment and possibly advance their careers. This includes individuals who are learning English as a second language. We cannot cast those individuals aside.

Families are in need of medical and dental insurance that allows them ALL to seek quality healthcare when and where they need it. Furthermore, families need access to doctors, dentist, mental health professionals, and occupational, speech, and physical therapists that are easy to get to with schedule availability.

A city, state, and nation that provides families with housing, educational, and economical opportunities in addition to healthcare is the future I envision. It is the only way forward, because it is a future that actually allows all families and children to live their best life and thrive! That is what families and kids deserve.

[scy-chicago]

Adverse Childhood Experiences: The Relationship between a Violent Childhood and Adult Health Outcomes

This week’s blog was written by recent SCY intern, Gabriella Rader. Gabi earned her Bachelor of Arts in Molecular and Cell Biology with an emphasis in Neurobiology from the University of California, Berkeley and is pursuing dual degrees in Medicine and Public Health at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. 

What if I told you that your life expectancy could be cut by 20 years if you were exposed to something six times? What if I also told you 12.5% of individuals have been exposed to this more than 4 times already? That means that, from a fairly common exposure, your life expectancy can drop from current U.S.A. expectancy (about 78 years) to what would have been typical for someone born in the 1920s or ‘30s. What is causing this century-long backslide? The exposure I’m talking about is what is known as an “Adverse Childhood Experience.” Adverse Childhood Experiences, or ACEs, is “the term given to describe all types of abuse, neglect, and other traumatic experiences that occur to individuals under the age of 18.”[i] These experiences include emotional, physical, and sexual abuse; emotional and physical neglect; and growing up in a home where there was substance abuse, mental illness, violent treatment of a mother or stepmother, parental separation or divorce, or had a member of the household go to prison.[ii] These encompass a broad range of violent events as well as other traumas. In a landmark study from 1995 to 1997, the CDC and Kaiser showed that in addition to the impact on life expectancy, ACEs have an incredible effect on a number of health outcomes.[iii] Long term, someone who has experienced a higher number of ACEs (represented by a higher ACE score) is more likely to develop an alcohol or substance abuse problem, develop depression, attempt suicide, develop heart disease or diabetes, or develop chronic bronchitis or emphysema as well as a number of other health impacts. When a child witnesses or experiences violence, there are long-term health and behavioral outcomes that can continue to impact that child through adulthood. This lends further credence to the idea that violence is a public health issue.[iv] Even if we did not consider immediate physical injuries that can be experienced by those exposed to violence, and could last a lifetime, health continues to be impacted by violence in other ways. Very few would argue that the increases in diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and other major killers of Americans are not public health issues. The evidence that exposure to violence in childhood can lead to increased incidence of these chronic health conditions suggests that public health resources should be directed towards violence prevention. Childhood experiences “have a tremendous impact on future violence victimization and perpetration.”[v] That is, there is a potential to reduce future violence and health impacts by addressing early childhood experiences. The good news is that ACEs are preventable. We can promote “safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments”[vi] for children, to help all kids succeed. Creating state-level partnerships with child abuse and neglect prevention organizations, continuing to collect data for state-specific ACE information, and taking a data-driven approach to prevention of family violence are all strategies to prevent ACEs. A number of other strategies can be found in the CDC Essentials for Childhood framework.[vii] ACEs have been studied for almost 20 years, but we still have a lot of progress to make in terms of preventing them. Educating each other about the effect of ACEs is the first step. The ACEs study shows us that a violent childhood can impact individuals’, families’, and communities’ long-term health and success. Now it is up to us to invest in proven violence prevention practices to protect children today, and for the rest of their lives. 

[i] https://vetoviolence.cdc.gov/apps/phl/resource_center_infographic.html ii] https://vetoviolence.cdc.gov/apps/phl/resource_center_infographic.html [iii] https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/acestudy/about.html [iv] https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/history_violence-a.pdf [v] https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/acestudy/about_ace.html [vi] https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/childmaltreatment/essentials.html [vii] https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/essentials_for_childhood_framework.pdf

[scy-chicago]

June 22 Quarterly Meeting: Illinois Health and Human Services Transformation

SCY hosts quarterly meetings to inform, engage, and connect. The goal of these meetings is to provide a foundation of information, expertise, and experience on a timely and relevant topic provided through a speaker presentation or panel discussion. SCY is posting this event as this week’s blog to hope to connect individuals, ambitions, organizations, and agendas surrounding youth violence. 

The second Strengthening Chicago’s Youth (SCY) quarterly meeting of the 2017 calendar year will focus on the Illinois Health and Human Services Transformation initiative. In early 2015, these efforts began as a way to increase collaboration across government agencies in hopes to better meet the complex human service needs. Small group discussions will concentrate on children and youth, families, mental health, juvenile justice and communities in an action-oriented format. This will follow a panel discussion on the progress of the initiative and its implications for violence prevention. This meeting will also provide a great opportunity to network with others doing this work across a variety of fields in Chicago and surrounding areas.

The event will be held on Thursday, June 22 from 9:00 am to 12:30 pm at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, 11th Floor Conference Center, 225 E. Chicago Ave. Discounted parking vouchers will be available for the garage at 321 E. Erie Street or 222 E. Huron upon check-in at the 2nd floor registration table. Check-in begins at 9:00 am and the meeting will start promptly at 9:30 am while light refreshments are provided. Registration here

[scy-chicago]

My Lessons of Tutoring

January is National Mentoring Month and today is “I Am A Mentor Day.” SCY Operations Coordinator Kirstin Grabski writes this week’s blog on her personal experience with tutoring and volunteering as sustained investment in youth.

January is a time of the year that is filled with brisk cold air, letting go of the past year’s troubles, and resolutions to do better and be better. And while I have many goals for 2017, I finally have the privilege of working towards them in my personal and professional life.

As a young high school student, I always felt that volunteering was an important part of who I was. I volunteered for a youth sports program that required over 8 hours a week from summer to winter working with elementary school students. I was a part of this team throughout all four years of high school and loved being someone these kids could look up to and have fun with. And as a result, seeing them excel was a feeling I will never grow tired of. I moved away to college and began to adjust to various changes and create my own path in life, but felt like something was missing. I joined a few university groups that allowed me to volunteer, but it wasn’t the same. Several years into my post-graduate career I came across an opportunity I’m so happy that I didn’t pass up.

A friend told me about a tutoring opportunity specific to underserved youth in the City of Chicago with Tutoring Chicago and asked if I would like to join with her. As soon as I started, something felt different from my past experiences. I will admit I have learned firsthand that mentoring is not always a rewarding, selfless, easy thing. It requires patience, compassion, communication and persistence. With my earlier volunteer experience, the students were largely from privileged backgrounds and all had the advantage of being able to participate in an afterschool sports program. The students I work with now experience many more barriers to success, and the struggles and rewards are much different. The experience redefined how I felt about mentoring. Any volunteering is a wonderful thing and mentoring a young person to have a positive impact on their life is certainly something to invest in. But while struggling to get through flashcards and sounding out big words, I realized my own small impact could be bigger than myself.

Image taken from Tutoring Chicago’s Facebook Page

Many of these students who are behind in reading, writing, and math skills do not have the attention or resources they deserve to be able to excel. We work on other life skills such as how to address an envelope, how to use a map, and other important things. Learning and practicing all of these are not always easy after a full day of school and other home and family circumstances we as tutors may not know about. I am no teacher but I have learned if the time I spend with her creates any sense that she has someone to rely on, talk to or believe in her; I hope that she just might be able to carry that beyond just academics. And if so, that makes all of the tough days much more valuable.

As one of the newest members of Strengthening Chicago’s Youth (SCY), I feel like I am now able to have a positive impact and work on issues of social injustice in both my personal and professional life.

To learn more about volunteering opportunities with Tutoring Chicago, check out tutoringchicago.org/volunteer.

There are many ways to take action in January as National Mentoring Month such as becoming a mentor or tutor through local opportunities using Tutor/Mentor Connection or the Illinois Mentoring Partnership. Another way to join the movement is to recognize the following important National Mentoring Month Dates:

Monday, January 16, 2017 - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service A day to share in the inspirational words of MLK, Jr. and elevate the spirit of service through volunteerism. 

Tuesday, January 17, 2017 - International Mentoring Day A day of international conversations on social media where photos, video and powerful mentoring stories messages are shared. 

Thursday, January 19, 2017 - #ThankYourMentor Day A day for all who have real life mentoring experiences to thank those who helped them on their path to adulthood and beyond. 

[sifisojohnngobeniradebe]

"by exploring beneath the surface we often discover that what we judged of little worth really contains hidden treasure." #Smitten #Family #Aunts #DankieLife #Chapter38 #NgobeniRadebe #SJNgobeni #Jele #Mdhluli #Mdluli #Radebe #Ngobeni #Nkambule #FamilyTree #Womandla #Izimbokodo #WCW #WCE #KnowWhoYouAre #KnowYourRoots #CelebrateFamily #InvestInFamily https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx9LGyFHYNw_ZZI4xp4AamPvJHauOjnE6bLZCI0/?igshid=fq2qgh1qa9n3

[sifisojohnngobeniradebe]

"We don't have it all but God got us and that's all we need"... #HappinessIsAchoice #PositiveVibesOnly #AllYouNeedIsFamily #InvestInSmiles #InvestInFamily #OurGlassIsHalfFull #LetGod #LetChildrenBe #SeeTheWorldThroughTheirEyes #Woza2019 https://www.instagram.com/p/Br5-RPABP2R/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=17ot1s66yx2kk

[sifisojohnngobeniradebe]

We present to you our feisty #MissLittlePerson... #Radebe #RadebeKids #RadebeNose #ChildrenAreTheFuture #SeeTheWorldThroughTheirEyes #MyBrothersDaughter #HappinessIsAchoice #InvestInFamily @sifisocharlesradebe #TheFutureIsBright #CelebrityKids https://www.instagram.com/p/Bq87ZFehE4J/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=gk483iu9adew