Patch
Program / Family Fun Events
What is Patch?
Dorchester Patch started in the Grove Hall and Bowdoin Street-Geneva
Avenue neighborhoods of North Dorchester. The idea came from
England where Patch is a term for neighborhood. It is a way
for public agencies to join in partnership with community residents
and organizations to protect children and support families.
In any given neighborhood, there are many people, groups, and
agencies that have resources to help families in crisis. Patch
works with a variety of families in a strength-based way to
determine what the stresses in the family are and help the family
decide how to address those stresses.
The Patch Team works directly with families and is made up of
the expertise and talent of: neighborhood residents and parents,
Dorchester CARES staff and community agency partners, and Family
Caseworkers and managers from the Department of Social Services
(DSS) and the Department of Youth Services (DYS).
The Team is working with families to specifically:
- connect people to each other
- offer social support
- build self esteem
- increase parenting skills
- meet specific family needs
The Patch Council is also made up of residents and parents,
as well as Directors and Managers of community agencies and
DSS and DYS. The Council's role is to take the lessons learned
by the Team about what's working for families and what isn't
and turn those into policy changes that support healthy, stable
families.
Why have Patch? Through Patch, we
are working to accomplish the following goals:
- Bringing the community together with public agencies
to promote the safety and well being of children in the
neighborhood
- Working with families to build on strengths and solve
problems that threaten children's safety and well being
- Improving our teamwork so that we are more effective in
responding to family and community needs
- Changing public policies and agency practices that are
not supportive to children and families
Are you interested in helping Patch? Call Elise Block,
Patch Coordinator, to learn how you can get involved!
Dorchester
Patch
200 Bowdoin Street
Dorchester, MA 02122
(617) 474-1256 x222 Fax 740-8748
e-mail:eblock@dCARES.org
Links:
- Department of Social Services
- Department of Youth Services
- Community Connections
- Patch national and international online resources
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