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Don’t miss Babypalooza 2017 on November 4th, 2017, celebrating young families!

Register today for the chance to win great prizes: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/babypalooza-2017-tickets-37729296341

If you haven’t noticed, there’s a movement happening in the south end of the city of Hagerstown, and it was on full display as close to 2,000 people attended the 2^nd Annual South Side Community Block Party at Bester Elementary Field on Saturday.

The legendary Chuck Brown Band from Washington D.C. and Washington County favorites Staff Infection provided the music, local artist Spencer Jackson helped emcee and manage the stage, South Hagerstown High School’s men’s basketball team played against area kids on the court and also volunteered in the dunk tank, Life House Church provided a never-ending supply of snow cones and popcorn, It’s a Blessing to be a Blessing provided endless free prepared food and snacks, and close to 50 community resource vendors, community groups and kids activities were onsite to provide resources and build connections.

People from very different backgrounds joined together in the bright sunshine of the first weekend of fall to create lasting memories in the heart of their neighborhood. There was a tangible sense of unity and community pride, and today only one thing was clear, we belong here.

In a short time, this event has become a tradition, but the ripple effect will continue long after the activities are over, because the world got just a little bit smaller because people took the time to listen to each other and celebrate together. Our hope is families are able to establish partnerships with providers in their community who can help them become stronger, residents can collaborate with their peers, and children can strive for excellence in their schools and neighborhoods.

We invite you to join us and get involved as we continue to lift up local neighborhood leaders and support children and families in the Bester neighborhood. The future is bright because there is greatness here, we hope you’ll consider joining us on the journey.

This event is made possible in part due to the generosity of the Washington County Department of Social Services, Fletcher Foundation and Casey Family Programs. Want to get involved? Give us a call at 240-513-6370 or email at connect@besterhope.org.

Photography by Kevin G. Gilbert

 

 

 

 

 

On Friday morning at Kepler Theater on the campus of Hagerstown Community College, Bester Community of Hope continued its training series focused on trauma informed practices with over 350 attendees present for “Healing Communities”. The much anticipated event brought two nationally renowned speakers and a panel of local and regional leaders to discuss what the research currently says about the impact of adverse childhood experiences on our community, what is currently being tried in our region to respond to social needs, and creative approaches nationally that have proved successful over time.

Leading the event, Dr. Robert Anda, co-principal investigator of the Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) study, expanded on information provided at previous trainings by discussing the direct correlation between trauma experienced in childhood and many of the social problems we experience in communities. He focused on how common ACE’S are in the general population and the call to action that the data represents for community groups to build self-healing communities. It is in those communities that the service sector can be a stronger partner to individuals who have traditionally been viewed primarily as the recipient of services, and shift towards empowering these individuals to be the agent of change in their neighborhood.

Anda followed his presentation by facilitating a dialogue with community leaders who discussed their beliefs in the best approaches to strengthening communities and where they’ve had success in working with children and families.  The panel included Rebecca Jones-Gaston, Executive Director of Social Services Administration of Maryland; Carolyn Holcomb, 2017-2018 Washington County Teacher of the Year; Del. Brett Wilson, Washington County (R-2B); Andy Smith, Brothers Who Care and Hagerstown Chief of Police Victor Brito.

“Credibility is the key,” explained Andy Smith, “People don’t question my intentions in the neighborhood because they know I’m consistently there.” Chief Victor Brito added that he built credibility with Andy Smith as a neighborhood resident by taking the time to get to know him and that this was not just professionally, but personally. “We’re family now.” Looking at the issue from an education perspective, Carolyn Holcomb sees the need to move towards trauma informed schools across Washington County. “We have kids coming to class that are hungry or are experiencing major situations at home or in their neighborhood. In some situations they’re not able to learn until we take a moment to allow them to be heard and acknowledge their feelings. It doesn’t take long, sometimes we can accomplish this in 30 seconds and it can make the difference.” The audience had the opportunity to engage with panelists, and one gentleman explained that he grew up in public housing in difficult circumstances and, “what is needed is consistency. Professionals can come into a community and decide to work on a couple things for a while and then they move on. Trust comes from being there over time.”

Closing the program, Father Gregory Boyle arrived from Los Angeles, California to provide a keynote on the power of boundless compassion, reflected in his countless years of work leading the largest gang intervention program in the world. As the Founder and CEO of Homeboy Industries, he kept the crowd laughing, crying and on the edge of their seats as he recalled numerous stories of challenging situations where unconditional love was the secret ingredient to lasting positive outcomes with individuals and families that had not experienced success previously. He pushed the audience to think about how similar we all are, and that, “We’re not separate. We’re one.” He focused on the idea of mutuality and shared experience, to help build connections and relationships, and that a “community of kinship” is what he has worked to develop at Homeboy Industries, focused on essential healing.

Bester Community of Hope, an initiative of San Mar Family & Community Services (previously San Mar Children’s Home), plans to follow-up this event with smaller gatherings of key groups in Hagerstown interested in expanding the awareness of the ACE research and implementing trauma informed practices in school and neighborhood settings. Their 3^rd annual community summit titled “Collective Impact” is scheduled for Thursday, March 29^th at Hagerstown Community College.

To learn more about the important work of these speakers, explore the following links:

Father Gregory Boyle, Homeboy Industries: http://www.homeboyindustries.org

Dr. Robert Anda, ACE Interface: http://www.aceinterface.com

Just announced! Register today!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We’re excited to announce the next training in our series focused on trauma informed strategies for the community! See the flier above regarding an exciting event we are hosting this Fall with two dynamic speakers and a panel of regional leaders discussing what implementation looks like in their social institutions. Group rates are available for organizations registering ten or more attendees, contact Kerry Fair at 240-513-6370 or kfair@besterhope.org to arrange.

Our last two trainings sold out prior to the day of the event, don’t wait to get your tickets!

Buy your tickets today at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/healing-communities-tickets-34807133072

Over the course of the Fall of 2016 Bester Community of Hope undertook the massive task of a neighborhood survey of the district of Bester Elementary, a representative sample of 320 households. We partnered with a variety of experts and used a 26 question instrument from Community Science called the Sense of Community Index (SCI-2) which was administered door to door using electronic tablets. In total the process took close to three months to administer and an additional three months to analyze. The knowledge and relationships developed were invaluable and we are currently meeting with these seven distinct communities to use this as a tool for action. The information within attempts to capture both resident perceptions, county and state level data, historical narratives and local assets. We will use the analysis of these consolidated findings to partner with local residents to drive our neighborhood efforts over the next several years. Read the full report here:

“What a Difference a Street Makes” Data packet (Released 4/24/17):

2016-bester-neighborhood-survey

If you want to partner in the implementation of these action steps, please contact us so we can connect you to local efforts in your neighborhood. To learn more about our work including our neighborhood data collection methodology, explore the centralized data portion of our website here:

https://besterhope.org/programs/centralized-data

 

 

Close to 500 attendees packed the Kepler Theater Friday morning March 24^th on the campus of Hagerstown Community College for the sold out event “Building Resilience”, an event organized by the San Mar Initiative, Bester Community of Hope. Following two successful events in 2016 focused on trauma informed practices, the training focused on the next steps of a community wide discussion to build greater awareness and implementation of beliefs and strategies bringing positive outcomes for children and families living in vulnerable communities.

The event began with a special screening of the documentary “Resilience: The Biology of Stress and the Science of Hope” where attendees could develop a deeper understanding of the theory behind the Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) study and see practice implementation in a variety of settings. Afterwards, the audience welcomed Resilience director James Redford, who was able to describe his experiences filming Paper Tigers, at Lincoln Alternative High School in Walla Walla, Washington. Redford used the platform to show vignettes of teachers and counselors describing situations where they used common sense relational approaches to get on the level of their students and break through the pain and struggles of their past experiences.

The second speaker was Dr. Lonise Bias, who gave a powerful and stirring speech regarding loss and overcoming tremendous adversity, finding power in the opportunity to serve others in need. Focusing on messages of what is possible and having faith in what can be when serving children, she implored the crowd to have hope and understand that “our children are reachable, teachable, lovable and savable!” Her focus was to encourage audience members to take advantage of their opportunity with families, that “Now is the time, we can’t wait until they fall!”

Closing the event was child welfare expert and pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church in Trenton, New Jersey, Reverend Darrell Armstrong. Over the course of his speech Rev. Armstrong provided important statistics and background information on the implications of race in America and its direct impact on entry into a variety of systems such as prisons and social services. He also told his personal story of survival in the Los Angeles foster care system and his experience as a young child navigating foster homes and being faced with ongoing family struggles. His story was highlighted by the positive impact of a significant relationship, for him that of a social worker, who made the difference in his life as he ultimately beat the odds and graduated from Stanford University and Princeton Theological Seminary.

This event was made possible through the generosity and support of a variety of sponsors and partners including the Washington County Department of Social Services, Alice Virginia and David W. Fletcher Foundation and Casey Family Programs.