by Olivia Young<\/p>\n
Staff estimated more than 250 people gathered outside of Kingsbridge Heights Community Center June 12 for the nonprofit\u2019s 13th annual Neighborhood Festival \u2014 an afternoon of melting snowcones, kids waving balloon animals and ensuring neighbors know there are vital resources available to them. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s been a lot of trauma as a community that we\u2019ve been experiencing,\u201d said Kiani Oro, director of the community center\u2019s family enrichment program, Our Casa. \u201cIt\u2019s really nice to just be in a space where we can not only get resources \u2026 but also just have some fun and some joy in our lives, despite all the chaos that\u2019s happening.\u201d<\/p>\n
At 3101 Kingsbridge Terrace, booths lined the sidewalk, featuring a mix of social services and hands-on activities. The New York Fire Department offered tips on fire safety, the organization Vital Pillars provided support for parents of kids with special needs and nonprofit Public Health Solutions gave information on healthy living \u2014 particularly anti-smoking resources. <\/p>\n
While parents browsed, kids were drawn to the activity offerings. Some put on plastic gloves and tie-dyed white t-shirts, others colored face masks and decorated them with stickers, and a few took to the blocked-off street to whirl hula hoops or stack wooden blocks. But the attraction that drew the largest and most age-diverse crowd was the bounce house. <\/p>\n
While they may have been drawn to the allure of crafts and play, walking the path from the entry, kids did need to pass the resource booths before reaching some of the more interactive activities. Center staffer Greyxmarlyn Rosario said this was by design. <\/p>\n
Rosario is a Restorative Justice supervisor, which is a practice integrated into several programs that helps prevent violence and heal trauma related to violence, abuse and immigration. She is also a College Directions coordinator, which helps highschoolers navigate the college application process. <\/p>\n
\u201cBefore they go there,\u201d Rosario said, gesturing toward the bounce house, \u201cThey have to go through each table. So they learn, they get aware of all the things going on.\u201d <\/p>\n
Still, for most little ones, activities remained front-of-mind, even worth cross-borough travel. Maria Hernandez, a former intern at the center, and her 3-year-old daughter, Gabrielle, came from Pelham Bay Park to enjoy the festival. Hernandez said Gabrielle was especially fond of the arts and crafts, such as the balloon animals and making a bookmark. <\/p>\n
Ora said the festival is hosted each year in between when school ends and summer starts so that families who rely on schools for resources are able to have access to what they may need before the break. She emphasized it is a crucial time to be that presence in the neighborhood. <\/p>\n
\u201cGiven some of the political tension that is going on, there\u2019s a lot of fear in our community,\u201d Oro said. \u201cFolks who might need resources are wary to seek them \u2026 This gives folks an opportunity to kind of have a lackadaisical environment where they can engage with not only the resource tables but other community members.\u201d <\/p>\n
That sentiment was shared across other community center programs, too. <\/p>\n
Brittany Chambers is a coordinator for the Enough is Enough program, which focuses on sexual abuse on college campuses, and is also a rape crisis advocate and Restorative Justice coordinator. <\/p>\n
\u201cJust considering everything that we\u2019re going through as a country today,\u201d Chambers said, \u201cAnd also just living in New York \u2014 the daily wear-and-tear that we have \u2014 it\u2019s very nice that we can show there\u2019s a safe place to come that you can talk to somebody.\u201d <\/p>\n
Enough is Enough is a part of the community center\u2019s Changing Futures program. Changing Futures offers free, long-term treatment and support services for survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and child sexual abuse. <\/p>\n
Chambers added the center also aims to foster a sense of family for community members. One resident, Roz Rodriguez, was a former staffer at the center, and her kids are still involved in the center\u2019s childcare network. She still shows up to show support at events like the festival. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just a sense of community,\u201d Rodriguez said. \u201cEveryone feels like family.\u201d <\/p>\n
\n\t\tKeywords<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\tKingsbridge Heights Community Center,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t neighborhood festival,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Bronx community events,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Kingsbridge Heights,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Bronx families,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t community resources,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t family support services,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Our Casa,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Kiani Oro,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Restorative Justice,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Changing Futures,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Enough is Enough program,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Public Health Solutions,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Vital Pillars,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t New York community organizations\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"by Olivia Young Staff estimated more than 250 people gathered outside of Kingsbridge Heights Community Center June 12…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":271961,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[128,12900,104792,104796,10755,6323,104793,104795,10270,6321,97923,9,24,104799,63,104794,104797,51452,129,131,130,104798],"class_list":["post-271960","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-bronx","tag-bronx","tag-bronx-community-events","tag-bronx-families","tag-changing-futures","tag-community-resources","tag-enough-is-enough-program","tag-family-support-services","tag-kiani-oro","tag-kingsbridge-heights","tag-kingsbridge-heights-community-center","tag-neighborhood-festival","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-community-organizations","tag-nyc","tag-our-casa","tag-public-health-solutions","tag-restorative-justice","tag-the-bronx","tag-the-bronx-headlines","tag-the-bronx-news","tag-vital-pillars"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271960","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=271960"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271960\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/271961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=271960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=271960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=271960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}