By: Kenesha K. Reed Shepherd Alliance Summer Program 2010

Breath of Life Dorchester TEENS

Mission B.O.L.D. stands for Breath of Life Dorchester Teens. They are a youth-led organization that focuses on environmental and social justice by addressing the health, and safety concerns of the community. The youth are between the ages working to improve the quality of life in their community through education, advocacy and activism. The teens serve their community through civic engagement and partnerships to effectively improve the health and safety in their neighborhoods.

Codman Square

My Role within B.O.L.D Teens College Coordinator Responsible for 8 of 24 young teens. As a college coordinator I was responsible for teaching the teens necessary tools for the workplace, as well as, strategizing ways to complete innovative community initiatives created by the teens.

Initiatives Codman Square Farmer’s Market Codman Square Walk Group Healthy Codman Square Green Initiative Friday Night Movie Nights

Codman Square Farmers Market

The Codman Square Farmers Market was an initiative created by the B.O.L.D Teens to alleviate the health disparities within their community and increase health equity. The teens created this farmer’s market to provide healthier options vs. the fast food that occupies the majority of the Codman Square area. The Farmer’s Market is organic in its entirety and consists of Silverbrook Farms of Dartmouth, MA, Lush Cosmetics, Tropical Foods, and When Pigs Fly Breads.

Codman Square Walk Group The Codman Square Walk Group was an initiative created to get the community physically active since obesity is another health issue of Dorchester due to the lack of healthier options.. The group took place during the farmers market for one hour, and the route in total was 2.5 miles. During the walk the teens advertised for upcoming community events, as well as, the farmers market. The walk group also had incentive for its participants. Upon completion of the one hour walk group participants were eligible to enter into a free raffle for free foods from the market.

Healthy Codman Square Green Initiative The Healthy Codman Square Green Initiative was created to educate the community on the importance of being energy efficient in their everyday lives. Two of the procedures within the initiative consisted of surveying the Codman Square Community with a Green (Healthier) Homes Survey, and signing the home owners up for free energy audits provided by Next Step Living Organization through the Mass Save Program. Mass Save is a year round energy solutions program in Boston to help residents save money and become more energy efficient.

Healthy Codman Square Green Initiative Within this initiative we were responsible for completing 350 healthier homes energy surveys before the end of the program. We also had to keep in touch with the residents that we signed up for the free energy audit to document their progress in making their home more energy efficient.

Friday Night Movie Nights

The Friday Night Movie Night initiative was created to get the community together to enjoy fun family movies in the comfort of the great outdoors. The Friday Night Movie Nights consisted of 5 consecutive movie nights. The teens surveyed the community merchants and residents to see what movies they would like to watch for the movie nights. The teens also evaluated the community after the movie night to see how they responded to the event and make necessary improvements for future events.

Overall Impression The health disparities in Codman Square were by far the only major form of poverty that I witnessed during my stay in Boston. Sustaining that health disparities are by far greater than food options; it’s a continuum that touches many social determinants such as housing, transportation, education, and health. Before I worked with B.O.L.D Teens I was unaware of health disparities, and unaware of the fact that I have been living in a community with health disparities for the majority of my life. It never dawned on me the accurate reasons of why certain things are and were the way they are in my community until I worked for this program. Overall I am extremely grateful to have worked with a program such as B.O.L.D Teens because never before have I seen a group of young people so passionate for change in their community. I intend on taking all of the knowledge passed down to me in this program to the city of Memphis where I currently reside so that I can get the youth in my community educated about issues and prepped to advocate for them. There may just be a B.O.L.D Teens Memphis in the future!

Thank You Tom & Nancy ShepherdRev. Bill Loesch & B.O.L.D Teens Washington & Lee University partners and staff of the Shepherd Alliance Program