Welcome to the March 2021 edition of the NOW Innovation Forum Newsletter. In this edition you will find links to join virtual community events including tomorrow’s NOW Webinar - Redefining Justice for Children and Families and April 13th’s NOW Coffee Hour. In addition, you are invited to participate in the NOW Network Survey which will be making its way to your inbox soon. The NOW team would like to uplift a list of Vital Village Network-curated Anti-Racism and Resilience Resources. This list was created last year after the murder of George Floyd and midst the rise of a public resurgence against racism, and it has been adapted to include resources for learning, solidarity and action in the wake of violence against the Asian American and Pacific Islander community.

Bienvenidos a Marzo 2021 edicion de nuestro boletin para el Foro de Innovacion NOW. En esta edición, encontrará la inscripción para unirse a los eventos de la comunidad virtual, incluido el seminario web NOW de mañana: Redefiniendo la justicia para niños y familias y la hora del café NOW del 13 de abril. Además, está invitado a participar en la Encuesta de la red NOW, que pronto llegará a su correo electrónico. Al equipo de NOW le gustaría actualizar una lista de recursos contra el racismo y la resiliencia seleccionados por Vital Village Network. Esta lista fue creada el año pasado después del asesinato de George Floyd y en medio del auge de un resurgimiento público contra el racismo, y ha sido adaptada para incluir recursos para el aprendizaje, la solidaridad y la acción a raíz de la violencia contra la comunidad de Asian Americans y Pacific Islanders.

In The Arena with NOW Podcast:

• Episode 13: Essex County Council for Young Children: Centering Parent Leadership to Foster a Trauma Informed Newark: Tune in to learn about the innovative work that the Essex County Council for Young Children (ECCYC) is leading to foster meaningful cross-sector partnerships between agencies and parents to create healthy, thriving, and resilient communities. Listen here > >

• Episode 12: Brazelton Touchpoints Center: Honoring the Strengths and Expertise of Children and Caregivers: This podcast episode brings us back home to Boston, Massachusetts, where the Brazelton Touchpoints Center is committed to shifting mindsets and mental models to honor the dignity of children and their caregivers as a key strategy for creating a sustainable world where children grow up to be thriving adults in their local community. Listen here >>

NOW Webinars: Learn more about our new 2021 series, Nurturing Family Leadership: Community-Centered Equity Practices.

• Register Today! March 25 at 1-2pm ET- NOW Webinar: Redefining Justice for Children and Families. As communities across the country confront the twin pandemics of COVID-19 and structural racism, what does justice mean moving forward? Learn from local leaders who are leading transformative work to achieve justice and dignity for children and families across multiple arenas, from health and climate justice, to immigration and housing justice. Register today at http://bit.ly/NOWWebinar-March2021.

NOW Blog Highlights:

• Social Justice Transformation - All Minds, All Hearts, All Hands on Deck, by Camila Beiner, Boston University Graduate Journalism Intern & Language Justice Community Champion. This blog series profiles the work of community leaders across the country working to address the twin pandemics of COVID-19 and racial injustice in their local communities. Learn more about leadership of VVN network member, Latoya Gayle, in this piece.

• Growing Our Collective Data Sharing Efforts: Introducing the NOW Child Wellbeing Tracker Phase 2, by Soojin Conover, Senior Research Analyst at Vital Village Networks. Check out our ongoing parent and family engagement data sharing efforts co-designed by the participant coalitions. Read this blog post to learn more about phase 2 of the Child Wellbeing Tracker.

• The Importance of Technology Justice, by Jenna Novy, Community Mobilization Coordinator at Vital Village Networks. Learn more about Vital Village Network’s journey with implementing Technology Justice during the 2020 National Community Leadership Summit. 

• Submit a resource or tool to the NOW Innovation Forum Resource Library. The resource library is a space created for you to lift up the work of yourself, action steps for advocacy and content curated by your coalitions and your community. Share data tools, infographics, reports and other tools centered on advancing community equity. Submit here >>

• We’ve changed our name to PACEs Connection!, by PACEs Connection. Learn about the addition of positive childhood experiences to the conversation on ACEs and trauma-informed care. Explore here >>

• Mindset Shifts, by Frameworks Institute. This report explores the best practices and most effective strategies for moving mindsets by asking the questions: What are mindset shifts? Why do they matter? How do they happen? Read here >>

• Race in America: History Matters with Erika Lee & Helen Zia, by Washington Post Live. Hear about the history of Anti-Asian racism in America and how the past can inform understanding of what is happening today. Learn more >>

• Engaging and Supporting Young Children and their Families in Early Childhood Mental Health Services by Community Mental Health Journal. Research documenting the role that family partners play in children’s mental and behavioral health needs. Read here >>
   

#VillageinMind

The NOW community hopes to stay connected and lift up the work and stories of all of our members. Follow and tag us on Twitter, @NOW_WellChild & @Vital_Village, so that we can virtually highlight the community led transformation you are leading.