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Crittenton Services is Supporting Underserved Black and Brown Girls and Their Families During the COVID-19 Crisis

America’s education system has been disrupted by the COVID-19 crisis. As a result of the new normal, underserved students and their families are heavily relying on educators, family support specialists, and agencies for educational support and access to basic essentials.

Crittenton Services of Greater Washington is a 132-year-old organization that supports 600 girls in the Washington metropolitan area. The organization’s mission is to empower teens to overcome obstacles, make positive choices, and achieve their goals through strategic programming and resources. The organization houses a team of researchers that focuses on equity for young women of color within the education system. In their latest study, The Declare Equity Report, the organization highlighted the disparities that young women living in vulnerable communities face like safety concerns within the household, and being distracted at school because of the need to assume adult responsibilities, and push out.

Amid the current health crisis, we spoke with Siobhan Davenport, president and executive director of Crittenton Services of Greater Washington, about how she and her team are finding ways to engage program participants, creating digital communities/safe spaces during social distancing, and partnering with parents to help their children continue their education during this time of uncertainty.

Siobhan Davenport, President and Executive Director of Crittenton Services of Greater Washington

Showing up for the community 

How are school closures impacting the young women that Crittenton serves?

During this COVID-19 pandemic shut down, we are specifically concerned about the young ladies that we serve and keeping them engaged in school. March 13th is when our schools were closed suddenly. And one of our funders reached out to us and we had a conversation about what role we can play just besides delivering our programs. We talked about some of the factors that we knew our teen girls face in their family, so they gifted us a $5,000 grant called The Emergency COVID-19 Funds.  And immediately on that Friday, our girls were reaching out to us.

They wanted to ensure that we were still going to have programs because in some cases our program leaders are their trusted adult. They meet with them weekly throughout the entire school year in groups of about 15 to 18 teen girls. So, there’s a lot of trust in built up in those groups. And of course, it’s a safe space for our teen girls.

We immediately said, Yes, we will continue to deliver programs, we’re just going to have to do it a little bit differently and be creative in that way.

The COVID-19 crisis adds another layer of trauma and anxiety for many underserved communities. How is your team responding to the young women and their families who are facing new insecurities because of the school closures?

The girls were reaching out and were concerned about food insecurity. We had three girls who lost their jobs. Restaurants were closed and a lot of our girls work in entry-level jobs. And for our girls, those part-time jobs actually contribute to the well-being of their household. So, this is a major blow to the family.

Parents have reported to us job loss as well and reached out to say, ‘can we get emergency food and essential supplies,’ which we were able to do and thus far we’ve helped 40 families and 181 parents, children, and babies.   

Our young ladies have reported inadequate Wi-Fi access or just simply not having a device computer in the home. Both of our school districts are looking at ways in which to distribute tablets, but we had to kind of fill in the gap and we let one of our families borrow a Chromebook because the dad needed to apply for unemployment benefits and didn’t have access to that.

Creating safe spaces 

Crittenton Services of Greater Washington students (Image: Crittenton Services of Greater Washington)

School is a safe haven for many students and a reliable resource for parents as they work. What are some of the ways that the organization is helping students and their families adapt to being home together?

We have a very structured curriculum, and it just so happened that part of the curriculum currently is on what is a healthy relationship, and that means your family, your friends, and of course significant others. Our program leaders are putting a heavy emphasis on that.

We’re really focusing on healthy relationships and communication. The program is steeped in social-emotional learning core competencies. We talk about identifying emotions. We’re all at high emotion at this point in time. We’re intentionally starting each session with self-awareness check-ins.

Our program leaders are helping our students with self-meditation, deep breathing exercises, and challenging them to continue to practice that throughout the week and then report in through the group chat or when they’re on a Zoom call to talk about how they’re managing their stress in a positive, productive way.

Family support is critical during this time as parents and guardians adjust their lives to become substitute teachers, providers, and everything in between. How can organizations like Crittenton support families during these times?

A big concern for parents is that the school structure is being lost. Parents are depending upon teachers to be the source of help for their children. And now all of a sudden, they’re thrust in that role.

We have parents who have English as a second language. They’ve actually come to our program leaders to have them translate how to access information for their children. There’s a lot of responsibilities that parents are taking on. We’ve taken it upon ourselves to go in learning what the schools are doing, what our school systems are asking for, and be able to help parents and guide them as they try to navigate the website and access the work that their daughters are doing. We’ve been on multiple fronts trying to anticipate and be a source of trusted information. For our families and our teen girls.

Staying connected during isolation

At Crittenton, young women are able to build community. How is the organization maintaining that sense of connectedness during social distancing?

Part of positive youth development principles is letting the youth lead. When we initially started conversations with our girls, we talked to them about how they want groups to meet. We were experiential and just tried different methodologies of reaching the girls.

Some program leaders said, ‘I’m just going to switch my platform to Zoom whereas other program leaders have said, the girls said they don’t want to download anything else taking up more memory on their phone and they’re already on Instagram Live and we’ve had a great response reaching them there.

As it relates to social-emotional learning, how is Crittenton helping the young woman understand this national moment of crisis, with all of the different layers of trauma that are experienced? 

Our program leaders have been having conversations with our girls so that they get a sense that this [the pandemic] is bigger than their community. That part of social awareness of social-emotional learning is key in building empathy.

It is our obligation to follow those social distancing rules. I know it’s inconvenient and it’s not how they want to communicate. They actually want to be in school. They are reporting that they are bored, want structure, and want to be able to see their friends face to face.

We’re trying to help them understand that we are actually doing each other a great service by maintaining the social distance.

If you are interested in learning more about the resources offered by Crittenton Services of Greater Washington, visit its website for free tools and resources.

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Venmo and CashApp Propose Delivering Government Stimulus Payments

With the ability to pay and receive payments from the comforts of your mobile phone, online payment services Venmo and CashApp want to help stimulate the quickness of receiving the stimulus checks the government has just authorized, according to CNN.

The services want to be considered for use in getting the payments to the people just as quick or even quicker than direct deposit. To gain support, they’ve taken their campaign public in trying to convince the U.S. Treasury Department to help deliver the stimulus payments directly to Americans. The $2 trillion stimulus package is designated to assist in alleviating economic hardships that the coronavirus pandemic has placed on millions of U.S. citizens. The plan is to help workers, businesses, and hospitals that have been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.

Jack Dorsey, the founder and CEO of Square, which owns CashApp, tweeted to the general public while appealing to the government last week.

People need help immediately. The technology exists to get money to most people today (even to those without bank accounts). Square and many of our peers can get it done. US government: let us help. https://t.co/mVrpOpbp0b

— jack (@jack) March 26, 2020

The IRS has already stated that there is no sign-up needed to get the stimulus money. They will rely on information from people’s 2019 and 2018 tax returns. They also intend to use the Social Security benefit statements as a backstop and will use whatever bank account or address is in their files.

Private talks with staff from Square and PayPal, which owns Venmo, have taken place with the Treasury Department over the past several weeks, two sources from the electronic payment industry who are familiar with the discussions, told CNN Business.

“They [the US government] know they need to get this money out the door quickly so I think they are open to quicker methods,” one of the sources told CNN Business on Friday. “Last time they were doing this was 2008 and 2009 and the technology didn’t exist as it does today,” they added.

The source said the talks were still at the beginning stages. “We are at the point now of looking into the technical challenges and what data the government could share with a third party. I think Treasury is very open to it,” they added.

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Tiffany Haddish says ‘Girls Trip’ cast talked sequel on video chat

Tiffany Haddish recently revealed that while being quarantined at home, she found a little time to chat on Zoom with her Girls Trip castmates. The ladies discussed not only their off-screen lives but the possibility of continuing the storyline of their on-screen characters.

READ MORE: Tina Knowles possibly confirms Tiffany Haddish and Common relationship

During a recent interview with HuffPost, Haddish dished on how she’s staying sane during the coronavirus pandemic, including a two-hour video chat with her Girls Trip costars Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett-Smith, and Regina Hall, where the ladies brainstormed ideas for a sequel.

In Girls Trip, the ‘Flossy Posse’ captured the audience with their dramatic, yet humorous trip to New Orleans. The 2017 blockbuster took the girl-gang to a fictional ESSENCE Festival and provided an on-screen representation of Black-womanhood in an unprecedented manner. The film was also Haddish’s breakout role, introducing her to a new class of fame and celebrity.

READ MORE: ‘Girls Trip’ surpasses $100M mark at the box office

While an official sequel has not been cemented by Universal Studios, the cast is on-board for reviving their roles and has hinted at the possibility of a sequel since 2018.

During an interview with HuffPost, Haddish shared that Kenya Barris, who co-wrote the original with Tracy Oliver has a treatment ready, however, no script has been submitted and things such as cost are playing a factor. Overall, the four women hope to bring their idea to life, one way or another.

READ MORE: Regina Hall: ‘Girls Trip 2’ a strong possibility

“We might decide not to even make it ‘Girls Trip,’” Haddish said. “Maybe we’ll do a different story just in case no one wants to make ‘Girls Trip 2,'” says Haddish.

The post Tiffany Haddish says ‘Girls Trip’ cast talked sequel on video chat appeared first on TheGrio.

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Chris Cuomo hosts first show while quarantined in his basement

CNN’s Chris Cuomo, who tested positive for the novel coronavirus, broadcast his show Tuesday night from his basement.

Cuomo, 49, who is the brother of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, tried to assuage concerns by assuring viewers he is alright and will continue with the self-isolated broadcasts in his home. He also warned them: “You don’t want to get this.”

READ MORE: CNN’s Chris Cuomo diagnosed with coronavirus, will broadcast from home

“I tested positive. Scary, yes, as you might imagine. But better me than you,” Cuomo said Monday night, according to The New York Post.

Cuomo also said when he first learned he tested positive for COVID-19, his concern immediately jumped to his family and whether he had infected them. That thought would have hurt him “way more than anything the virus can do,” Cuomo told viewers through an emotional voice.

9am: Test positive for #coronavirus

9pm: Anchor a 1-hour show.

Quite the day for Chris Cuomo.

pic.twitter.com/I0Uj1sL9i6

— Austin Kellerman (@AustinKellerman) April 1, 2020

“So let’s focus, let’s use this example of me having it as proof that you can get it too, god forbid, we have to do everything we can to avoid being sick,” Cuomo said. “We have to do it for ourselves, our families, and for those on the front lines who are saving the lives of people like me and many of you. Together as ever as one. That is our remedy.”

READ MORE: CNN’s Don Lemon gives colleague Chris Cuomo the side-eye for a way too long interview with Kellyanne Conway

Cuomo also told viewers not to get “caught up in the numbers,” which are growing rapidly. He told them not to fear, but to focus on the fact that more people are getting tested and treated.

“This is a fight, it’s going to get worse, and we’re going to suffer,” Cuomo warned. “And you have to accept that not with fear, but with almost a fanatical sense of passion to fight, because that’s the only way you’ve ever made it through anything hard in your life, and this will be no different.”

Our thoughts and prayers are with you, Cuomo.

 

The post Chris Cuomo hosts first show while quarantined in his basement appeared first on TheGrio.

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