IMPACT Boston blog

CALL YOUR MASSACHUSETTS REPRESENTATIVE: Help Keep IMPACT in Homeless Parents' Lives

HELP SAVE PROJECT SAFE!

For the last five years IMPACT has collaborated with HarborCOV and Homes for Families on an innovative program that gives homeless parents the tools to advocate for themselves in situations critical to their safety and stability.

  

Project SAFE trainers go into family homeless shelters and teach residents how to de-escalate conflicts, protect their physical safety, increase their economic literacy and tell their stories to elected officials. Project SAFE graduates are eligible for paid internships, and even in these difficult economic times, 80% of internship graduates are either employed or in school full time.

  

In the current financial climate, the Legislature is proposing budget cuts that could result in the elimination of these vital services.

 

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Representative Aaron Michelwitz sponsored Amendment #317 that would restore funding for Project SAFE.

  

Call his office at 617-722-2400 to thank him for his support.

  

Call or Email Your State Representative and ask him or her to support Amendment #317.

  

Click here to find contact information if you know your Representative.

  

Don't know your representative? Click here.

  

Guest Blog from Alena Schaim, IMPACT New Mexico

Self-Sufficiency

 

The advice I got growing up about safety was to stay in groups and if anything happens, go to the nearest store for help.

 

This spring has brought out the hiker in me – and that hiker is at odds with the advice I received growing up.  I love to hike alone, and there clearly are no convenience stores nearby.  Since numerous students in our classes ask to prepare for the “hiking alone” scenario, it seems that many feel that hiking is taking a great risk.

 

But as I pass pleasant, quiet men and women walking alone with their happy-go-lucky dogs, I’ve been wondering why we were told to take precautions instead of go enjoy our alone time. 

 

Somehow, we have been taught that the unknown attendant in the gas station is better prepared to deal with the situation we’re facing than we ourselves are.  In truth, he probably has nothing more going for him than having access to a phone to call the police.

 

Who -really- is better able to defend me, than me? After all, others may not have any skills we do not have or cannot get.  Certainly, receiving help is wonderful and speaks well of the community around us – but there is no good reason to not become experts about our own safety.  There is no reason to not feel self-sufficient. 

 

Experts are available for two important reasons: things we cannot handle on our own, or to teach us how to handle things better for ourselves.  The more we use experts to teach us to be self-reliant, the fewer situations we will experience where we need an expert’s help for things we cannot handle.  Good safety experts don’t tell you what precautions to take; they empower you to be in charge of your own safety.