SSYP: Not Just for Youth Anymore! Stories of Parent Engagement
/By Rafaela Polanco, Manager of Parent Organizing and Engagement
Over the past five years, SSYP has invested even more into relationships with parents, by talking and meeting with them one-on-one and in groups at homes, at schools, in our parish hall at 419 Shawmut Avenue. Previously, when we talked with parents it was to discover ways we could support their children. Now, we ask parents what they want and need for themselves and what they dream about and want to make happen in their neighborhoods.
And, now that we know the answers to these questions, SSYP has been doing so much more to help create opportunities for parents to build relationships with each other and to make things happen! From these conversations, our team determines new avenues to support our community. This year, there are opportunities for parents to connect and learn and have fun nearly every day of the week!
Parents in our community getting their dance on in a Zumba class
Right now, SSYP parent engagement activities include English conversation classes, US citizenship classes, orientation for families who need to get housing, and Zumba classes.
Every other Tuesday, SSYP offers Zumba classes. Zumba is a group exercise class that focuses on aerobic cardio workouts using the rhythm of Latin music (merengue, samba, reggaeton, cumbia, and salsa) and adapted dance moves, with the purpose of losing weight in a fun way. "The best call I receive is when Rafa tells me, we have Zumba classes. I have five grandchildren, and between my children and my grandchildren, I spend my only free time cooking and going to church on Sundays. With Zumba classes, I found a time to have fun, connect with other people, and above all a community that accepts me as I am” said Dania Gonzalez, a regular participant in the Zumba classes and resident of the South End.
Ann Barry leading a class in the SSYP Library
Community members at SSYP have shown marked growth in their English language skills thanks to the Wednesday English conversation classes. We have a group of 8 to 10 people who learn how to construct sentences and hold conversations in English. The impact of having a high-quality teacher, the amazing Ann Barry, has allowed for experiences that have a real impact. For Santa Heredia, one of the participants in the English language classes, this has been a life-changing opportunity. “I arrived two years ago from the Dominican Republic and I was very afraid to speak English. Thanks to the classes I am receiving at SSYP, I was able to have a job interview and now I am working full time with a good salary.” English conversation classes have definitely been a great help to the Latinx community.
Arelis Restrepo and Rafaela Polanco share a moment of joy
Thanks to a partnership with Roxbury-Dorchester Power in Action, SSYP parents have access to US Citizenship classes every Thursday. As a result of these classes, the Latinx community has experienced many benefits. Arelis Restrepo said, "When I learned that SSYP offered American citizenship classes, I thought it could be one of those foundations that offer those free classes to become a citizen and they only give the brochures and they send you to your home to study. But, participating in these citizenship classes every Thursday, I realized that these classes are different because they have personalized attention.” She continued, “The teaching is all according to your needs. You have a person who has all the patience and dedication to make you understand, in a personalized way, all the questions and forms that you would ever see in the process. I had already taken the exam three times and did not pass; this would be my fourth time taking the exam. I was frustrated and very discouraged, I had no confidence in myself that I could pass that exam, I did not want to try again. Through those wonderful classes of citizenship, I was able to pass it!” She concluded, “Today I feel confident, more sure of myself; I am an American Citizen! I am very happy!” We are so proud of Arelis and all the other parents who have become citizens!
And SSYP still does community organizing, every other Tuesday, when SSYP parents meet to discuss common concerns, such as improvements for Boston Public Schools, immigration, and housing, among other situations.
At least 80 families have come to one of our parent meetings or engagement events. We always provide interpretation services, childcare, and dinner. As an organizer, my heart feels a great emotion when the children of the program tell me "Rafa, today there is a meeting and my mother is coming,” showing that these parent engagement programs are as important to the youth as they are to their parents!
Rafaela Polanco joined SSYP in 2015, starting as a parent leader and then as a staff person. She now leads SSYP's Parent Mentor Program at the Blackstone Elementary School, a program based on a model from Logan Square Neighborhood Association in Chicago and the only one like it in the Northeast. Rafa has a bachelor's degree in legal studies from the Universidad Tecnologica de Santiago and a master's degree in business law and economic development from the Pontifica Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra. She came to the United States from the Dominican Republic, first to Puerto Rico in 2009 and then to Boston in 2014. Rafa loves talking with people and celebrating all the different cultures we have in SSYP. She is the parent of a fourth grader at the Blackstone; he is the greatest gift God has ever given to her.