This series shares our learning about, and vision for, peer and community care to strengthen families and prevent contact with the family policing system.
During a community-building workshop early on in the Rise & Shine Parent Leadership Program, we did a group activity where we spun around in circles until we were informed to stop. We were told that when we stopped, the person we were facing would be our buddy. I am usually guarded, have a wall up and do not prefer activities like these—but I was hoping for the best.
As part of our community-building workshops to begin the program, parents in the 2022 Rise & Shine leadership program engaged in discussion about self-care and community-care strategies. Together, parents developed a list of self-care and community-care strategies for our group, which we also want to share as a resource for our Rise community. We hope it can be a tool as we continue to explore ways to build relationships, keep each other safe and care … Read More
In 2021, in collaboration with TakeRoot Justice, Rise released the participatory action research report, An Unavoidable System: The Harms of Family Policing and Parents’ Vision for Investing in Community Care. Following our report release, Rise held a series of eight community report back sessions, engaging parents, parent advocates, social workers, legal providers, and community members in discussions about our research findings. Through this process, Rise identified three policy priorities for 2022-2023.
Rise is working towards the abolition of the family policing system. Here, we outline recommendations based on our experiences, research and community report back sessions that can serve as immediate concrete stepping stones to move New York City toward shrinking the family policing system and strengthening networks of community care that truly support families.
In envisioning collective care, Rise’s organizing team developed this definition of a Community Care Network:
A Community Care Network is the set of people and places in your life that help you to achieve your goals and care for you during difficult times. Your Community Care Network might include people like neighbors, friends, family, faith leaders and many others. Your Community Care Network may also include places like faith-based groups, community centers, clubs, building associations, co-worker … Read More
For fun, my son Aaron and I like to go to museums, playgrounds and zoos. Our favorite museum is Brooklyn Children’s Museum. There is so much to do there that even if you go a lot, you will always find something new to entertain you. Aaron loves to go in the sandbox, look at pretend animals, build in the block lab, play with colored sand and use the water table.
Sitting at home and doing nothing doesn’t seem so bad, right? You can sleep late, play on electronics all day. But that gets boring and lonely and leads to stress. I like to see Aaron happy and to see that he is social and can make friends easily. Doing these things together brings us closer and helps us relax and have fun.
