Brocton resident participated in Social & Family Justice panel

Parenting Journey Hosted Second Annual Social & Family Justice Institute

Transforming Our Communities Through Civic Engagement

Parenting Journey hosted its second annual Social & Family Justice Institute on October 22 at The UMass Club. The event reconvened cross-sector stakeholders and partners to discuss what’s at stake for families at this critical time in our country, with a focus on harnessing parents’ power to create social change.

For over 37 years Parenting Journey has partnered with parents and caregivers and has seen firsthand how systems in our society disproportionately affect people of color, low-income families, and immigrants. Parenting Journey brought together professionals from across the region from nonprofits, government, foundations, and businesses to continue last year’s conversation around uplifting parents and cultivating leadership.

“We are proud to lead an important conversation about societal inequities that are plaguing our families and unite our community to address them,” said Parenting Journey Executive Director Imari Paris Jeffries. “Currently public policy does not work for all families; it actually makes it harder for some families to thrive. That is why it is more important than ever for the human services community, parents and other stakeholders to work together to confront systems of oppression.”

State House News Service sponsored a conversation about progressive policy moderated by Robert Lewis Jr., founder and president of The Base, with State Representative Jim O’Day, Bithiah Carter, president and CEO of New England Blacks in Philanthropy and Michael Curry, Esq., senior vice president of government affairs and public policy and general counsel, Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers and immediate past president, Boston Branch of the NAACP.

“Parenting Journey has been a strong advocate and partner for our families. I am proud to say that for the first time Parenting Journey is included in the Senate budget. We need to support organizations like Parenting Journey that provide the programs and civic support that help parents thrive,” said State Representative O’Day. “As a social worker myself, I understand the
difference that programs like these can make for families and communities.”

State Representative O’Day received Parenting Journey’s 2019 Legislator of the Year award.

“I’m thrilled to lend my voice on the topic of authentic community engagement,” said Betty Francisco, general counsel, Compass Working Capital and co-founder, Latina Circle and Amplify Latinx. “I am constantly working to reframe the narrative of our communities from an asset
perspective; one that is focused on the strengths from our diversity and opportunities to support families to move forward. All of us have a role to play in ensuring that communities participate in and feel engaged in our civic and political process. I participated in the Social & Family Justice
Institute to encourage sector leaders to convene, collaborate, and share ideas to increase civic engagement and diversity of representation in our organizations.”

Francisco joined a panel discussion about harnessing community power for social change. Meghan Irons, reporter at The Boston Globe moderated the conversation with Francisco, Sheena Collier, director of economic opportunity, Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and founder and CEO, The Collier Connection; Mac D’Alessandro, executive director and campaign manager, Voter Choice Massachusetts; and Segun Idowu, executive director, Black Economic Council of Massachusetts, Inc.

ABOUT PARENTING JOURNEY

Parenting Journey’s work is inspired by the belief that strong families are the foundation of vibrant healthy communities and the catalyst to ignite social change. The organization is dedicated to providing programs that uplift parents and caregivers and strengthen families and communities, advocating for equitable family policies and disrupting the social narrative around parenting in poverty.

Parenting Journey envisions a world where all parents and caregivers have access to the resources they need to build resilient families and thrive, no matter their race or socioeconomic background.

For more information, visit www.parentingjourney.org/.