Community In-Site
Community In-site is about the family well-being movement. Hosts Tecoria Jones and Elliott Hinkle bring their lived expertise with the child welfare system as well as their professional insights to each episode. We'll be talking to leaders, advocates, and community members who are working from the grassroots to the grasstops on strategies to invest in the well-being of families and communities in order to prevent child welfare involvement. The show will feature stories and lessons from community sites (featuring Thriving Families, Safer Children sites) that make the family well-being movement real and personal. Each episode will unpack a specific topic (e.g. racial equity or community partnerships) and what can be learned from the challenges and successes. The hosts hope to leave listeners with something they can take into their own work to help grow the movement in their community.
For more information about the family well-being movement and Thriving Families, Safer Children initiative you can visit, Thriving Families
Community In-Site
How Investing in Parents as Business Owners Improves Family Well-being with Zenayda Bonilla
In this episode, hosts Tecoria and Elliott connect with Zenayda Bonilla, a mother who overcame the challenge of feeling silenced by the child welfare system. Zenayda shares her journey of navigating motherhood in a new country and culture, and how she found support through the Center for Family Life in Brooklyn. The Center for Family Life is one of the recipients of the Youth, Family, and Community Partnership Grants, awarded to nonprofits engaging Black, Latino, and Indigenous communities within the Thriving Families, Safer Children initiative.
The Center has a unique approach to investing in people like Zenayda through community-driven models that harness the skills they already have and help their families thrive. Zenayda shares how their model of starting and supporting cooperative businesses helped her gain the skills, confidence, and support to become an employee, owner, and leader with Gold Steps Elder Care Cooperative. Listeners will learn how cooperatives are an innovative approach to meeting families' need for stable income, meaningful employment, and quality time with their children — things that traditional child protective services often fail to provide.
Community In-Site has a dedicated website where you can listen to episodes, access information and resources, and subscribe to the email newsletter. Podcasts Archive - Thriving Families
Here are some additional resources that Zenayda would like to share with you.
- Please visit the Center for Family Life website - Center for Family Life
- Golden Steps
- United Community Consulting LLC
We appreciate you spreading awareness by sharing this episode with your friends, family, and colleagues who care about family well-being.
Please email us if you want to connect with the creative team or find out how to engage with the family well-being movement. comminsite@gmail.com