Honoring the Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King
On a speaker from the first stereo I ever purchased, in a small room in my house, sits a small black and white photo. The frame—once transparent—has lost some of its clarity; the color has yellowed with time. Within the frame is a small picture of Dr. Martin Luther King, the words, “I Have A Dream…” atop his image.
My husband rescued the photo from the fury of hands and people that would arrive to pick through my grandmother’s belongings after her death. At the time, I hadn’t given any thought to the picture or why he chose to salvage it from the rummage of her apartment. Now, I’m grateful for his nostalgia for historical things.
One day, curiosity prompted me to examine the photo. I wondered where my grandmother got the image. At first glance, it appeared mass-produced, sold as memorabilia. Upon further inspection, I discovered it was from a newspaper article my grandmother had cut out and placed in the frame.
I wondered what motivated her to frame the image in what was originally a souvenir with a scenic picture backing. I realized she framed it because it was important to her. She deemed that little photo from the article as something worth saving. Because his dream was her dream.
On Monday, January 17, we celebrated Dr. King’s birthday. That leads us into February’s Black History Month celebrations and events. We will post engagement opportunities throughout February.
If you want to include any events in our newsletter, submit your ideas to Taleema Love.
Let’s live Dr. King’s dream together.
Black History Month celebrations
- Join Puyallup’s first-ever community-wide Black History Celebration:
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Feb. 25, 6-9 p.m.—Pre-Event Seminars
- A light meal.
- Fellowship.
- A COVID-19 update from Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
- A conversation about mental health in the Black Community.
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Feb. 26, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.—The Celebration Event
- African drumming and storytelling.
- Student Photography.
- Black Community Mapping.
- Black Merchants Fair.
- Community Conversations.
- Fun music.
- New Orleans Cajun and Creole Cuisine from Velvet's Big Easy.
- And much more!
Health Ministers Meeting
Join us Wednesday, Feb. 2, 10-11 a.m. for our Health Ministers/Black Infant Health meeting.
We’ll begin planning for our first 2022 Celebration of Life.
Join us on Zoom from your computer, tablet or smartphone. You can also dial in using your phone: tel:+12532158782,,94132471470#,,,,*108595#
Meeting ID: 941 3247 1470 Passcode: 108595
Contact Taleema Love if you have agenda items to add, questions about the agenda or would like to present your agency at an upcoming meeting.
Family Resources
Learning programs
- Puget Sound Educational Service District (PSESD) Early Head Start accepts referrals all year. Learn more and apply. If you want to refer expectant moms and families with children birth to 3, get their permission, then email their contact info to abeckvold@psesd.org. She will help them complete the application over the phone. Or you can fill out an application with them and email it to abeckvold@psesd.org or fax or text it to (253) 778.7820.
- Early Head Start offers a free childcare program for families who qualify. Child Care Resources (CCR) care for children birth to 3 years of age and works with:
- Families Experience homelessness.
- Pregnant women of color.
- Foster care families.
- Children with a disability.
- Low-income families.
- Undocumented families.
CCR provides connection and growth through quality childcare services throughout King and 14 locations throughout Pierce County. Share a flyer: English | Spanish | Somali | Vietnamese | Chinese.
Family activities
Food
- WithinReach is hosting Food Access is Community Care, a free virtual event series, Feb. 7-11. Hear from community organizers who will cover the future of food, food justice, why culturally appropriate food is key to liberation, food sovereignty, and so much more! Learn more and register.
- Are you a child or adult care center? Join the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and get reimbursed for some costs associated with serving nutritious meals to children and qualified adults. Learn more.
- Food tasting is back! Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) offers online nutrition classes for families and children. Learn more and register.
Healthcare
Pregnancy support
- Are you a woman of color who has experienced the loss of a child through miscarriage, stillbirth, TFMR, or infant death? Join a Return to Zero Hope virtual support group! It is important for women of color to feel a connection to others who have experienced a similar loss, and to talk about their loss in a safe space. Learn more and register.
- Do you know your basic rights as a Black birthing individual? The National Association to Advance Black Birth recognizes those rights through the development of the Black Birthing Bill of Rights. Knowledge is power—empower yourself!
- Pregnant? Nursing a child? Find out what you should know about COVID-19 vaccine. English | Spanish.
Parenting
- Dad’s Connect is a great opportunity to meet other dads, form relationships, and make connections. Have a conversation with fathers and father figures. Learn more and register for a session:
- Feb. 16, 6:30-8 p.m.
- April 20, 6:30-8 p.m.
- June 15, 6:30-8 p.m.
- Aug. 17, 6:30-8 p.m.
COVID-19 safe practices
- COVID-19 testing helps protect you, your family, your friends, and your community. It's also more available than ever before. Find a testing location.
- Masks remain an important tool to keep us safe from infection. If you’re 5 or older, you must wear a face covering indoors in public spaces and outdoors in crowds of 500 or more people. Gov. Jay Inslee extended the state’s mask order to require masks be worn indoors in public spaces regardless of vaccination status. Read more.
- The COVID-19 vaccines are the most effective tools to limit the spread of COVID-19. Everyone 5 and older is eligible to get vaccinated. Find your free dose today at tpchd.org/vaxtothefuture.
Behavioral Health
Employment
Get involved
- The 21-Day Equity Challenge is a powerful opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of how inequity and racism affect our lives and our community.
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Read articles and blog posts and get book suggestions.
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Listen to podcasts and the Spotify "Soundtrack 4 Justice" playlist.
- Watch
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Challenge your awareness.
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Follow activists, educators, organizations and movements on social media.
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Get tips to help guide you.
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Act to challenge the status quo.
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Reflect on what you learn and how you feel.
- If you've had any experience with daycare or early learning, Step by Step needs your advice, wisdom, and ideas to help design a 200-child Early Learning Center in 2024. Tuesday, Feb. 8, 6:30-8 p.m., join the Early Learning Town Hall at the Farm 12 event hall. RSVP to laramiller@stepbystepfamily.org.
- The new year brings a time for reflection and positive change. Share your thoughts about National Institute for Children’s Health Quality (NICHQ)! Your feedback in this brief survey will help drive improvements across this organization.
- Give a little, help a lot! Multicultural Child and Family Hope Center (MCFHC) hosts Giving Tuesday, a fundraising campaign to purchase a refrigerator box truck. Watch MCFHC Giving Tuesday 2021 and learn how you can support families in our community. Want to help? Donate now!
Professional Resources
Training opportunities
- Join the Black Mamas Matter Alliance Feb. 2 at 5 p.m. for the 2022 National Call. We’ll discuss the purpose and goals of Black Maternal Health Week (BMHW22) and learn about major online activities across the nation in celebration of Black Mamas. We will record and upload the National Call to YouTube. Register here.
- Department of Health (DOH) is reaching out to people who have experienced health inequities or racism in the health care system. They also invite advocacy groups and health care professional associations to attend. Each session has space for 250 attendees. If a session fills up, consider attending another one. We want to hear from you!
- Tuesday, Feb. 1, 5-6 p.m.
- Thursday, Feb. 10, 10-11 a.m.
- Tuesday, Feb. 15, 5-6 p.m.
- Thursday, Feb. 24, 10-11 a.m.
Join the meeting on your computer or mobile app or call in (audio only) +1 564-999-2000,,114577531# Phone Conference ID: 114 577 531#
- Do you have FAN (Facilitating Attuned Interactions) questions? Bring them to the upcoming FAN Booster Training, Feb. 7, 2-3 p.m. Bring a story about a family you work with and we’ll provide FAN guidance. The training is free and led by Diane Lostrangio, MSW, LICSW, IMH-E®(IV), FAN Trainer and Infant Mental Health Therapist. We give priority to home visitors and other direct service staff. Questions? Contact Lisa Foss at lfoss@cooperhouse.org.
- Join Washington Family Engagement’s Parent Leadership Training Institute (PLTI), beginning Feb. 19, 9 a.m.-noon. It is a free, 12-week online course for teaches parents, community members and professionals working with families. Learn about systems and develop civic, leadership, and public speaking skills. Register: English | Spanish
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BUILD hosts many conferences, meetings, and webinars throughout the year–including the annual QRIS conference. See what's coming up at BUILD and from our partners.
- Save the date: March 17, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.—Tacoma-Pierce County Opioid Task Force Virtual Summit.
- Learn how a health equity task force in Kansas helped mobilize services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sign up for Preventive Medicine Grand Rounds. Earn free CEs through Oct. 5, 2023.
- Cooper House invites BIPOC home visitors and other direct service staff to join a monthly FAN Community of Practice, which includes 4 monthly sessions. Each session is 90-minutes and has space for up to 8 FAN practitioners. You must identify as a person of color to participate in this Community of Practice. Each session is 10-11:30 a.m. the fourth Thursday of Jan.-April. Register here.
- Perinatal Support Washington is hosting Group Peer Support (GPS) consultation groups for those who have taken GPS training through Perinatal Support Washington. Attend these FREE virtual groups the second Tuesday monthly or the third Wednesday monthly, through June 2022.
- Join Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence (WSCADV) April 7, 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. for a FREE home visitors training. Learn concrete strategies for supporting survivors and families. This training is only for people who have already attended WSCADV’s Domestic Violence Training.
- ECHO Intellectual and/or Developmental Disabilities (IDD) Wraparound connects community healthcare providers with children and young adults with IDD behavioral health specialists. To join, you must commit to 90-minute learning sessions on the second and fourth Wednesday monthly, 8:30-10 a.m. Learn more. Questions? Contact echoiddd@uw.edu.
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Listen to Talking to Change, a Motivational Interviewing podcast. Explore Motivational Interviewing (MI) and its influence on supporting individuals and groups as they make positive health and lifestyle changes. Guests from across the world discuss the research, practice and learning of MI and its place across health, social care, education and criminal justice.
Funding opportunities
- The Foundation for Tacoma Students invites a call for proposals for the second annual Charting Our Future Learning Conference, scheduled April 4-6. The conference is an annual gathering of educators, system leaders, and community members to disrupt historical oppression and create a socially just future for Tacoma’s youth and young adults. The deadline for proposals is Feb. 18.
- Are you an artist or cultural producer who lives in unincorporated King County? Apply for 4Culture’s recovery fund! Look for grant guidelines and application at 4culture.org/covid-19. 4Culture offers opportunities for other kinds of cultural funding and support in King County throughout the year.
- Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) will release 2 new funding opportunities to support training to expand the public health workforce. HRSA tentatively scheduled funding opportunities for February 2022. Get HRSA notifications to learn about funding opportunity updates.
- Search grants for Community Health Workers or the Public Health Scholarship Program (PHSP).
- The Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) announced licensed and certified childcare providers can apply for the Child Care Stabilization Grant. Apply in the Compass Provider Portal by June 30 at 11:59 p.m. If you’re a license-exempt Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) provider, apply on the DCYF FFN Stabilization Grant website. Questions? Email dcyf.stabilizationgrant@dcyf.wa.gov.
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