The Children’s Center Starts a Community Dialogue
Did you know that of the 487,000 children in Wayne County, more than half live in families with incomes below the poverty level? This was one of the many startling statistics addressed at a community discussion held on October 17th at The Children’s Center’s Head Start Academy.
Sharing Ideas, Developing Solutions
The event, entitled “How are the Children: A Dialogue for Families,” was a collaborative effort between The Children’s Center, Wayne County Great Start Collaborative, Michigan’s Children, and the Michigan League for Public Policy, and brought together families, community members, and public officials alike.
In addition to hearing from child policy experts, participants were encouraged to voice their opinions regarding childhood poverty, trauma and behavioral health challenges, and disparities in healthcare and education.
The Experts Weigh In
Throughout the discussion, our panel of professionals contributed their findings and collaborative solutions to fighting Detroit’s most pressing childhood wellbeing issues.
- Dr. Carolynn Rowland of the Institute for Population Health in the City of Detroit, drew the link between children who are born into poverty and low birth weight, inadequate healthcare, and barriers to academic success.
- Renell Weathers of the Michigan League for Public Policy and Mina Hong of Voices for Michigan’s Children touched on engaging in the legislative process to ensure children’s issues remain at the forefront of discussion.
- Nicole Wells Stallworth, Director of Community Engagement and Government Affairs at The Children’s Center, encouraged participants to interface with community leaders to give voice to the real-time needs of children and their families.
Continuing the Conversation
We are excited to advance this collaborative work with organizations that are vested in the best interests of children. We believe that working together, we can help every child reach his or her full potential.
For more highlights from the discussion, look for the hashtag #HowAreTheChildren on Twitter.
