Boston Neighborhood Network News

0:00Hello Boston, welcome back to Be In A News where we bring you community stories you can only find here. I'm your host Adele Cheng, thanks for joining us. It's back to class across Boston, students, teachers and families kicked off a new school yard with plenty of first day excitement. The day has arrived, and 45,000 Boston public school students, including those at the Howell Elementary School in Dorchester, we're getting ready to embark on the first day of the new school year. And now is when all the details around planning for bus pickup and drop off and all of the classrooms and school lunches, everything goes into making sure that we're welcoming our students back. We know that all of the opportunities and dreams of our communities are reflected in the classroom and also all of the challenges that families are going through are reflected in the classrooms too. Watching over the educational journey of these young people does not just begin as they

1:01enter school for the first time. Educators are checking and working on learning gaps during the child's preschool years. When they come to us as early as three years old in that K-0 or K-1-4, it's imperative that we make sure there are no gaps. If there are any at that point, it's up to us to close them and identify them. But most importantly, giving them a strong first beginning is what's going to actually yield higher proficiencies later on. Every child in the BPS schools can be successful and if that attitude is consistent throughout the system, administrators feel that every student will be successful. Each and every one of these children is important. Each and every one of these children can be successful and if we take that attitude in each and every classroom and every school, every single one of our kids will be successful because they have the potential, but they need all of us to believe in all of them.

2:02Students must feel safe and secure in the educational environment and have the materials and assists they need to achieve success. I think my biggest hope for this school year definitely is that schools continue to be safe, welcoming environments for all students. I think particularly in this climate, that's really important. And of course, always, as always, all of our students should have the opportunities they need and the academic supports that they need to be successful both in school and beyond. From the Holland School and Dorchester on the first day of school, this is Rich Rosenthal for BNN News. The Why OUR or Your Music Awards short for your own unique repertoire celebrates artists using their music to inspire. Your own musical voice, your own unique repertoire, celebrates artists who use their music to inspire

3:03and form and uplift by honoring originality and meaningful creative expression. The awards provide a platform where powerful performances and authentic voices can be seen and heard. Through this celebration of artistry, we seek to raise the level of thought, word, and action, and music, encouraging artists and audiences alike to contribute to a cultural legacy that is creative, positive, and worthy of being passed forward to the next generation.

6:37Bringing healthcare directly into the community, a mobile clinic is making it easier for Boston residents to get the care and resources they need, right in their own neighborhoods. On Wednesday, Codman Square Health Center celebrated the launch of their new mobile health clinic, bringing all kinds of health services directly into Dorchester, Randolph, and the surrounding Boston communities. A year ago, when we started this process to purchase a mobile unit, I said that we needed to focus our efforts on why some people are not showing up to get the healthcare that they need. And when they do not show up, we need to show up for them. We know that many people have barriers like transportation, like anxiety.

7:43According to a recent KFF study, nearly half of undocumented immigrants say they experience negative health impacts due to immigration policy-related fears and worry. One in two are avoiding care. That's not okay, Boston. It is not okay. And we're doing something about that. If you're afraid to come to us, we will come to you. So what we're going to be delivering in the two exam rooms here is exactly the same kind of care that we deliver inside the building. It's going to be the same great doctors, it's going to be the same great nurse practitioners, it's going to be the same connections to behavioral health services, food resources, all the things that we do inside here and a Randolph. Now when those barriers fall hard, it's a low-income communities and communities of color,

8:43again they become health disparities. And that is why this mobile health clinic matters. If transportation is a barrier, we bring care closer. If distance is a barrier, we bring care closer. If navigating a complicated health care system is a barrier, we bring care closer. Our people deserve better. From Randolph to Dorchester, Coddman continues to show us what it means to build a responsive health care system that is sentient around people and works actively to dismantle barriers and stand in the way of serving them. For VNN News, I'm Lulie Harding. And before we go, a few things to put on your calendar, the Boston Arts Festival kicks things off this September with live music, dance, and local art along the waterfront. The following weekend you can shop local, dance, and connect with the community at line-in-up

9:47in Roxbury or take a look inside the city's creative scene during Dorchester's open studios. To close out the month, the Austin Village Street Fair takes over Harbor Ave with music, art, performers, and local vendors. All four events are open to the public. Well that's all we have for you tonight, Boston. For more VNN News, visit bnnmedia.org to watch your previous broadcast and full length event coverage. Thanks for watching. For VNN News, I'm Adeltinge.