Symposium at HSPH Honors Recipients of Mayor's Award for Children's Health, December 7, 2007, Harvard Public Health NOW

Mayor Thomas Menino

From wealthy suburbs to impoverished urban communities, "too many [children] are gradually succumbing to risky behaviors because too many of our children are literally and figuratively home alone,'' asserted Rev. Gloria White-Hammond at an event at the Harvard School of Public Health. She added, "Life is killing them softly.''

White-Hammond was the keynote speaker at a special symposium in Snyder Auditorium on November 16.

Each year HSPH, Children's Hospital Boston, and the Mayor's Office of the City of Boston confer the Mayor's Award for Excellence in Children's Health to a community-oriented program that works to improve the health and well-being of local children and adolescents. To mark the award's 10-year anniversary, HSPH and its partners hosted a symposium called "Building a Foundation for a Healthy Tomorrow." The event was in lieu of an award.

The representatives of these organizations, said Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, are "passionate advocates who work to empower children and their families on a daily basis, dealing with all the issues that affect their lives.''

He added, "They help children manage depression, help women and children who are victims of domestic violence, help children who are homeless, and help young parents become good role models and caregivers. They recognize where help is needed, and they answer the call. The work is not easy but is absolutely essential.''

Gloria White-Hammond

In her address White-Hammond, a pediatrician at the South End Community Health Center, said that too many children are being left to fend for themselves these days, particularly after school, and, as a result, are getting into trouble.

She decried the fact that America ranks first in the world for its number of millionaires and billionaires and 11th for its number of children living in poverty.

White-Hammond said that more after-school programs are needed sorely, as are more programs to teach young parents the tools they need to raise healthy, well-adjusted children. And all parents, including those who work in the caregiving and advocacy community, must "examine ourselves on a personal level," or they may find their own children being sacrificed "on the altar of service," she said.

Representatives of three previous winners of the Mayor's Award participated in the symposium. They spoke about why they believe the programs have been successful. The representatives included: Matt LiPuma, executive director, Allston-Brighton Family Network of the Family Nurturing Center; Shiela Moore, executive director, Bridge Over Troubled Waters; and Milena Gostanian, director of child and family services, Crittenton Women's Union.

Allston-Brighton Family Network provides parent education programs. Bridge Over Troubled Waters works with runaways. Crittenton Women's Union helps teenage parents and their children.

All three program directors agreed that a key to success in these programs is treating clients with respect and compassion. "There is no magic pill, but it comes down to liking and respecting our participants,'' Gostanian said.

The award winners over the years are:

1998: Bridge Over Troubled Waters
1999: Casa Myrna Vasquez
2000: Crittenton Women's Union
2001: Bowdoin St. Health Center
2002: Horizons for Homeless Children
2003: Gardner School Extended Program
2004: Conference on Childhood Obesity (in lieu of an award)
2005: The Food Project
2006: Allston-Brighton Family Network of the Family Nurturing Center

Other participants in this year's symposium included James Mandell, President and CEO, Children's Hospital Boston; Barry Bloom, Dean, HSPH; Beth Molnar, Assistant Professor of Society, Human Development, and Health, HSPH; Barbara Ferrer, Boston Public Health Commissioner; Glorian Sorensen, Professor of Society, Human Development, and Health, HSPH, and Director of Dana-Farber's Center for Community-Based Research. The event was organized by the Harvard Center for Society and Health at HSPH.

—ML