Page 28 - BusinessWest September 14 2020

REINTRODUCING THE 2020
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Johnson
Continued from page 22
that need extracurricular support and don’t want to have to choose between their kids and making a living. “Work
is important to them, but their child’s education is also important. We’re one of the resources in the community trying to be responsive to the needs of children.”
The center has also expanded its emergency-food program, serving up
to 400 people weekly. Even so, pantry volunteers weren’t seeing some of the faces they expected to see — mainly older people — and learned these regulars were staying at home because of fears for their health.
So Johnson talked to community partners, in particular Baystate Health, which helped procure a cargo van to deliver food to homes. The volunteer- driven delivery program began with about 10 recipients and now visits some 65 elderly, sick, and shut-in individuals every week.
Johnson’s work with MLK Family Services — the latest stop in a career dedicated to his community — is one reason he was chosen as a Difference Maker, along with his work with the
Brianna Fund, named for his daughter, which has raised more than $750,000 over 22 years and helped 50 children with physical limitations access tools to improve their lives.
But he stresses that he can’t do his job alone. To serve 750 different people
“
We’ve had to restructure ourselves from being an a”fter-
It was a tremendous challenge to pivot on a dime.
school resource to being a remote-learning center.
each week with after-school programs, college courses, family support, public- health outreach, sports programs, cultural activities, and more — with only about $1.6 million in annual funding — he relies not only on his team, but more than 100 volunteers.
They worked together to open summer camp this year, he noted.
“That was well-thought-out; we assured we had all the safe distancing and
PPE, and we made it work, with no incidents of the virus spreading. It was a real benefit to both children and their
funds to distribute items like coloring books, flash cards, notebooks, crayons, and markers so kids could occupy themselves when holing up at home became the new normal.
Johnson also credited the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts for its financial support of the center,
as well as donations that came in after Common Wealth Murals and Art for
the Soul Gallery drew attention to the center in June with a mural, called “Say Their Names,” honoring individuals killed by police violence.
parents, to provide meaningful activities for them eight hours a day.”
Community members stepped
up this spring and summer in other ways as well. For example, a woman came by in late March to donate a new laptop to the center, along with
He’s equally gratified that people are talking.
“It’s been heartwarming and affirming that our white neighbors
and other community members have extended their support to us, not only financially, but they’re looking to be engaged in conversations,” he said. “So many families from the suburbs and the hilltowns came to Mason Square to show their children this mural.”
It’s a conversation being held back on the national level by leaders who refuse to engage in these issues and create positive momentum, he added. Yet, he’s encouraged by young people of all races who are energized by fighting for social justice.
“That is very encouraging,” he said. “We need to build bridges to understanding and have it happen in a more global way than just these pockets of support.”
In the meantime, he’ll keep building bridges locally, and making a difference for families whose needs go much deeper than lotion.
But a little pampering never hurt. n —Joseph Bednar
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Rick’s Place
Continued from page 25
who died in the South Tower of the World Trade Center on 9/11. He left behind his wife, Linda, and newborn daughter, Alexis. Searching for ways to memorialize Rick, friends and family members eventually turned to Alexis for inspiration and created a bereavement center in her honor.
In 2020, the work of this agency goes on, but obviously many things have changed, and in the meantime, new and different needs have emerged, said Murray, noting, as just one example, the restrictions placed on funeral services for the first several months of the pandemic.
“Deaths during the COVID era are so
much more complicated for kids,” she explained. “Losing a grandparent or parent — and not being able to have the usual services you would have and seeing a large number of family and friends — has impacted the grief and made it more complicated. Also, in many cases, they didn’t get a chance
to say goodbye, and that makes the process so much more difficult. We’re focusing on these COVID-era issues with families and giving them information on how to start that grief journey.”
Overall, though, a movement to virtual services has been the biggest change brought about by COVID-19, Murray noted, adding that, in addition to virtual peer sessions, the agency is
also conducting virtual training sessions with local school systems on the impact of grief on students. Meanwhile, she and others at the agency are talking with area schools about taking the popular eight-week ‘grief groups’ it had been offering to a virtual format now that school has started up again.
“The schools are where we see our most diverse population and students with the greatest economic need,” she explained. “Finding a way to continue those virtually is very important to
us. We’re talking to some school counselors who are very invested in getting our programs into the schools virtually.”
Since 2007, Rick’s Place and its loyal
supporters — and there are many
of them — have been invested in providing much-needed support to those who are grieving. In the COVID-19 era, the word ‘place’ has taken on new meeting. Now, in many cases, it’s not an actual, physical place, but rather ... well, a computer screen where people can still gather. And where they can share, cope, and learn together.
As Murray said, the agency has had to pivot and in some cases reinvent. But its vital mission, one that has made it a Difference Maker, remains unchanged. n
—George O’Brien
28 SEPTEMBER 14, 2020
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