On June 8, CSNDC Community Organizers Trudy Benoit and Vanessa Cine joined with leaders from other local organizations to host the Family Empowerment Forum. This program was an follow-up to the NeighborWorks America Community Leadership Institute (CLI) which both Benoit and Cine attended in San Francisco last October. Upon completion of that program, participants were charged with facilitating a community project based on the CLI theme, “Community in Solidarity.”
The Family Empowerment Forum featured educational workshops to empower families around issues such as Autism awareness and resources, domestic violence, abuse red flags and safety planning, fatherhood challenges and support, and grief from community violence.
25 people attended the Forum, which was held at the 2nd Church on Moultrie Street in Dorchester. One of them, Jerry Cooper, a community member from the Father’s Uplift men’s group, won a smart tablet (photo below).
