Proyecto HÉROES – a partnership focused on improving the lives of Latino youth, preventing risk and adversities, and promoting health and success – is organizing “Walking Together as One: United in Our Community,” on Saturday, May 30 from 10 am to 1 pm. Other cities, like Boston, Salinas, and Sacramento, have held regular ‘night walks’ in their communities to promote peace and safety. This event will not only celebrate and create community, but also feature resource tables from organizations such as CALM, Promotores de Salud, and Noah’s Anchorage. Participants who get there early will receive a t-shirt. Ismael Huerta will lead the group in T’ai Chi. After the walk, participants can also enjoy food, music with DJ Orbs, and dance performances from Everybody Dance Now, Team Inspire, the Spirit of Fiesta, Housing Authority of the City of SB, UCSBreaking and more.
“Jessica and I are so fortunate to be working with a team that is so dedicated to the community’s health and well-being,” says Maryam Kia-Keating, Associate Professor in the Department of Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology at UC Santa Barbara, who is one of the co-leaders of Proyecto HÉROES, along with Jessica Adams of CALM. “We have the South Coast Service Providers Network, represented by Saul Serrano from the Community Action Commission and Mark Alvarado from Santa Barbara Parks and Recreation, and Marcus Lopez from the Housing Authority, all guiding this event. They each deeply care about improving the lives of children and families, and are attune to the big challenges that many face including poverty, immigration stressors, violence, and discrimination. Our meetings led to a plan for a walk 'Caminando Unidos,' to bring the community together for a celebration of its strengths, as well as to provide a forum to talk about these challenges, so that we can work together towards solutions. We’re making a statement about peace and safety, but our deeper message is one about balancing physical, emotional, spiritual, and communal health for youth and their families.” The walk will begin at the Lower Westside Community Center, 629 Coronel St. and end at the Family Opportunity Center, 516 W. Montecito St.
Proyecto HÉROES was formed as a community collaborative in January 2014 through a three-year grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). Principal Investigators are Drs. Maryam Kia-Keating (UCSB) and Jessica Adams (CALM). HÉROES stands for Honor, Educación, Respeto, Oportunidad, Esperanza, Soluciones (Honor, Education, Respect, Opportunity, Hope, and Solutions). The Collaborative includes: Community Action Commission, Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, CALM, Domestic Violence Solutions, Isla Vista Youth Projects, Just Communities, La Casa De La Raza, Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, The Promotores Network, Santa Barbara City Council, Santa Barbara Police Department, Santa Barbara Response Network, Santa Barbara Unified School District, South Coast Youth Gang Task Force, University of California, Santa Barbara, Youth and Family Services YMCA.
Funding for this event was made possible (in part) by Grant 1 R13 HD075495-01A1 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). The views expressed at the event do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention by trade names, commercial practices or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
For more information about Proyecto HÉROES, see:
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