Darlene’s Perspective Saint’s Mom When I first enrolled my son Saint at Escalera Head Start, I was concerned about his behavior. He would have tantrums and not really know how to communicate his feelings, so he would scream and cry. I wasn’t sure how he would do in a school environment. I worried that the teachers would judge me, and that they wouldn’t know how to handle his outbursts—as I had trouble doing myself. I also was concerned that his behavior might make it hard fo

Kendra during a field trip to the Bronx Zoo last summer When Kendra enrolled in The Child Center’s Oceanside Cornerstone Community Center afterschool program as a second grader, she was struggling with behavioral challenges. She was also curious, bright, outgoing, good at math, and bursting with potential. That’s what the afterschool program team saw in Kendra, and they were determined to work with Kendra’s mom to ensure Kendra had the tools, support, and confidence to reach

Penny is a participant in The Child Center of NY’s Cash+Community Works (C+C), a peer-based initiative that invests in under-resourced families, trusts them with power, and connects them with peers to uplift whole communities. Through C+C, Penny established a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization—For the Love of Dre—to bring attention to gun violence and advocate for safe neighborhoods. One especially meaningful goal of Penny’s was to name a street after her late son. She reflec