JUNTA NEWSLETTER
JUNTA Newsletter Summer 2016
OUR BIG TURTLE VILLAGE CAMPERS STARTING YOGA IN THE MIDDLE OF THEIR WEEK-LONG PROGRAM AT DEVIL’S HOPYARD STATE PARK, 7/20/2016
Dear Friends, Summer is a time for kids. We adults continue to go to work every day, secretly envying these young people as they ride their bikes past our office windows and enjoy their freedom to the fullest. School is out, the weather is nice, and there is every reason for children to be out having fun, playing at parks, and going to summer camp. Not every kid has financial access to summer camp, though. As we learn in our older age, the magic of these summer days does not just happen spontaneously, but requires the diligent, active efforts of parents, educators, and community members. This task is especially difficult for families when financial resources are limited or when families are new to the community or even the country. That is why Junta works hard to provide opportunities for children and families to participate in free summer and also schooltime programs where kids can learn and grow. “It takes a village,” as the saying goes. We know this work is important because while the kids may not fully realize it, often when they’re having fun at camp, they are also learning at the same time. Studies show again and again that children who are engaged with formal summer activities do better academically when they return to school in the fall, having learned and picked
up some social and behavioral skills along the way. Junta strives to defeat the “summer slump” that takes place when at-risk, lowincome kids with barriers to educational summer spaces fall behind in reading and math skills. We also see this risk during the school year, so we offer after-school programming then, too. In the following pages, we hope you get a sense of the important work Junta is doing for children in New Haven. In July, we ran our annual Big Turtle Village Summer Camp for 60 students ages 8-12. The children, who are from low-income, urban backgrounds, got to spend a week at Devil’s Hopyard State Park, learning about the natural world and exploring the area. We hosted another summer camp in early August through our Youth in Action program, where we got to spend a week with a handful of local high school students who wanted to learn about social issues and the tools they can use to lead themselves and their communities to a better future. Lastly, The Neighborhood Place continues to be a critical program for dozens of families in our community. During the month of August, kids in the program spend the week at Junta, engaging in gardening, the arts, physical fitness, and exciting field trips all over the area. The Neighborhood Place will enter its 16th year as an after-school
program in the fall, too, if we can find new resources in light of drastic state budget cuts. We know there is lots of meaningful work that can be done to improve the well-being of people in our community, but helping children, and helping them to learn, is always our priority. This is because kids will not get these years back. Time is of the essence when it comes to a child’s learning; the habits, skills, and attitudes formed during childhood determine so many aspects of one’s future, and so we must be acutely attentive to how we can support our young people, so they can support themselves and their communities. These kids’ futures are in our hands, and with your support, we hope we can give them the attention they need and deserve. As always, thank you for your continued support,
Sandra Treviño Executive Director
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Big Turtle Village
of New Haven, and we are always excited to provide such a critical service to families and youth.
concrete skills they can use to create actual change for their future, including how to register people to vote and how to think critically about the media. We look forward to seeing many of these students again at our after-school program this fall!
Meet one of our graduates!
BTV campers listen as Dave and Ivette from Yale’s Peabody Museum introduce hands-on activities like fossil identification and owl calls.
For the 15th year in a row, Big Turtle Village (BTV) has inspired another cohort of New Haven kids to engage with the great outdoors. In mid-July, # students, under the guidance of Junta board member and BTV Camp Director Rafael Ramos, spent five days camping at Devil’s Hopyard State Park in East Haddam, CT. They spent their days practicing yoga, learning about how local owl species hunt, visiting an aquarium and a beach, putting on a talent show, and, of course, visiting the watering hole to cool off in the afternoons. Local teenagers, many who attended camp themselves growing up, also gained leadership skills as counselors for the program. It was a fun, educational experience for all, instilling knowledge and creating memories which will last a lifetime.
We are proud that our Executive Director, Sandra Treviño, was recognized as an important Latina Leader in our community!
The Neighborhood Place Despite state budget cuts this Spring, the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven and the United Way of Greater New Haven stepped in to allow the Neighborhood Place (TNP) to offer its annual summer programming for children and families. The Neighborhood Place is the only free, non-clinical, bilingual, therapeutic setting for children with emotional and behavioral issues in the city
The Neighborhood Place starts an art project on the first day of our summer session.
Youth in Action Leadership Camp: Young Giants!
The first week of August held in store yet another summer camp, but this time, it was for high school students who were there to learn about how to create change in their communities. In this difficult and troubling election cycle, it is important to empower young people to think critically about their political system and understand how to become involved with progressive issues. This year’s Youth in Action boot-camp was called “Young Giants,” and the local teenagers in attendance acquired the knowledge they need to become leaders in their schools, in New Haven, and beyond. Students got to hear from representatives from CT Students for a Dream, Community Organizing for Racial Equity, Planned Parenthood, and more. Not only did we discuss the important social, economic, and political issues facing the young generation, but the students gained
Steven Carlos Phalma was a part of Junta’s after school programs, and this fall, he is college-bound! At age 17, he is headed to the UConn as a Promise Scholar in the fall to study philosophy and history with the hopes of becoming a lawyer. One reason his parents encourage his law school dream is so “when you’re old enough, you can ask for us to be citizens.” Steven says that a major factor in his career aspirations is so he “can help them, and a lot of other people.” Steven is Mexican-American, and his parents both came to this country when they were young. He describes their experience as a “struggle” both in the past and present, given their undocumented status. It continues to affect him today: “I worry about my parents being deported.” When he was old enough to be in Youth in Action, Steven was able to find both his own voice and also listen to the voices of other students in his situation. “They understood what was on the line,” he says. He especially looks back fondly on their trip to the Keeping Families Together summit in Washington, D.C. as a “great learning experience.” With his drive and his commitment to his community, we know Steven is going to go far, and we wish him the best of luck in college! Junta was heartbroken to hear that our longtime ally and friend Carroll Lucht passed away early this July. Professor Lucht was a staunch advocate for the rights of oppressed people in the United States, and for over a decade he offered free legal services at Junta to those who might not have otherwise afforded the attention of an accomplished lawyer.