and what her organization is doing to confront it during the coronavirus pandemic. Chéry is a civic leader, founder of the Louis D. Brown Peace institute, and soon to be the Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence’s 2020 Peace MVP.
Listen to the Full Podcast in GBH
As gun deaths ravage the United States—38,000 Americans die from gun violence every year—the Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence is fighting back. Founded in 2013 after Sandy Hook, the organization unites organizations across the state to address the gun violence epidemic: defending existing laws, supporting prevention work and advocating for tougher legislation.
Read the Full Article in Jewish Boston
FOXBORO — The New England Patriots Foundation has donated $100,000 to the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute.
The grant will help maintain the organization and help its public policy advocacy efforts.
“I’d like to express my profound gratitude to the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation for your generous support of our efforts,“ Tina Chéry, founder of the institute, said in a news release.
Read the Full Article in the Sun Chronicle
The COVID-19 pandemic creates a special set of challenges for nonprofits, Gov. Charlie Baker said at a virtual conference that he said should inspire participants.
In video message during Monday’s Massachusetts Nonprofit Network’s annual conference, Baker said he hoped the event would provide “a little bit of optimism about the go-forward, because let’s face it, the look-back has been pretty rough, and I think we’re all hoping that with what we’ve learned and what we’ve been able to do together, the go-forward will be a little better.”
Nonprofits have faced funding strains and increased demand for services during the public health and economic crisis, and have had to adapt for social distancing.
Read the Full Article in WHDH
BOSTON — This summer, the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute (LDBPI) was instrumental in helping the community heal from the impact of homicide during the COVID-19 pandemic by providing 50, free Peace Play in Urban Setting Kits to families, youth groups, religious institutions, and community-based organizations that were impacted by murder, trauma, grief and loss. COVID-19 has laid bare the need for increased community outreach, as the rate of homicides continue to rise.
“Since the pandemic started, we’ve heard the negative impact social distancing and grief have had on our community,” said Heather Dabreu, advocate at the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute. “And so, we’ve developed a plan that safely and effectively meets the needs of the community.”
Peace Play in Urban Settings is a healing modality that the LDBPI has used for 11 years to help families and individuals impacted by murder, trauma, grief and loss become the architect of their healing journey. Recognizing the positive impact it can have on the community, as a whole, the LDBPI has expanded the Program’s reach to include additional groups and organizations as well as future plans to sell the Kits. As expressed by Peace Play participants Marisa and Cagen Luse, “It’s important to play. It is also important to bring this healing tool to any space you need to process, practice, and find peace.”
Adopted from Sandtray Worldplay as taught by Gisela Schubach DeDomenico, Ph.D, Peace Play in Urban Settings is a healing technique for individuals, families, and communities. This technique invites participants to create a world that represents the feelings and emotions they may not have language for, by creating scenes using miniature figures in a tray of sand. To get started, participants were provided with sand, trays, miniature figures and a self-guided workbook. The Peace Play in Urban Settings project was made possible by funding from the MGH Violence Intervention Advocacy Program (VIAP), the MGH Center for Gun Violence Prevention Mother’s Day Walk for Peace team led by Cindy Diggs and (partially) supported by the Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance (MOVA) through a Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (VOCA) grant from the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, and U.S. Department of Justice.
“Social distancing is difficult, in general, then add in processing the ongoing grief, trauma and institutional racism,” said Cindy Diggs, peace commissioner and founder of Peace Boston. These Kits will serve as another way to empower members of our community to heal in the comfort and the safety of their space.”
“I feel that everyone grieves in different directions. I thought that after more than 26 years of loving my nephew, I was at a place where I had finally begun the process of getting to a place of peace and acceptance. I am now free. I am starting a new path of how do I learn to grieve again,” said Julia Thompson, Peace Play participant.
For more information about Peace Play in Urban Settings, please visit https://www.LDBpeaceinstitute.org/peace-play-in-urban-settings/ or call (617) 825-1917.
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About The Louis D. Brown Peace Institute
The Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, founded in 1994, is a center of healing, teaching, and learning for families and communities impacted by murder, trauma, grief and loss. The vision of the Peace Institute is to create and sustain communities where all people are valued and all families can live in peace. The Louis D. Brown Peace Institute’s programs and services are grounded in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) social-ecological framework that interventions are needed at multiple levels to interrupt cycles of violence. The heart of their work is with families impacted by murder on both sides. Their impact extends to community and society through services, advocacy and training.
BOSTON — The Louis D. Brown Peace Institute (LDBPI) is proud to announce it is the recipient of a $100,000 grant from the charitable organization founded by New England Patriots team owner Robert Kraft. The grant will fund the LDBPI’s sustainability and its public policy advocacy efforts.
“In today’s world, there are unfortunately hundreds of people, very vulnerable people, people in need. And we’re in a position to help those people,” said Kraft, whose team is among the National Football League’s most successful and philanthropic.
“I’d like to express my profound gratitude to the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation for your generous support of our efforts,“ said Tina Chéry, founder of the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute. “An investment in a survivor-led organization that informs, influences and impacts policies that create a more equitable society for families impacted by murder, trauma, grief and loss is vital, if we are to bring about real and lasting change in our communities.”
The LDBPI provides services and outreach, advocacy and awareness, and training and education that transform society’s response to homicide.
In recent months, there’s been an increase in homicides in some of the nation’s largest cities including Boston that has seen a nearly 40% increase in murders. In response, the LDBPI is increasing its efforts to partner with cities across the country to share its resources and knowledge, such as its new collaboration with the Anti-Violence Partnership of Philadelphia.
“I don’t know if I could be as understanding and merciful as you are,” Kraft told Chéry, when announcing the grant, remarking on her years of activism since her 15-year-old son Louis was caught in a fatal crossfire near his home in Dorchester in December of 1993. “You’re an amazing lady. For you to have the depth to be able to do what you are doing. We need more of that in America today.”
To view the emotional video announcement of the award featuring Robert Kraft and Tina Chéry, visit: https://vimeo.com/457862629/a30ada1ccb
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About the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute:
The Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, founded in 1994, is a center of healing, teaching and learning for families and communities impacted by murder, trauma, grief and loss. The vision of the LDBPI is to create and sustain communities where all people are valued and all families can live in peace. The Louis D. Brown Peace Institute’s programs and services are grounded in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) social-ecological framework that interventions are needed at multiple levels to interrupt cycles of violence. The heart of their work is with families impacted by murder on both sides. Their impact extends to community and society through services, advocacy and training.
About the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation :
The New England Patriots Charitable Foundation is the nonprofit organization established by Robert Kraft in 1994 to support charitable and philanthropic agencies.
Robert and Myra Kraft each came from families that taught and practiced the principles of philanthropy. Fifty years ago, they began their own mission of philanthropy and taught their children the importance and value of giving back. Today, with more than $400 million in donations from the Kraft family and their foundations, the power of philanthropy has been felt by youth and families around the world by assisting programs that foster cultural diversity, education, family and health.
The Louis D. Brown Peace Institute has received a $100,000 grant from the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation to help the Fields Corner-based organization’s sustainability and its public policy advocacy efforts in a time of unprecedented need.
“In today’s world, there are unfortunately hundreds of people, very vulnerable people, people in need. And we’re in a position to help those people,” said Patriots owner Robert Kraft in a press release.
Tina Chéry founded the organization in 1994 in honor of her son, Louis, an innocent bystander and nonviolence activist who was shot and killed near his home in Dorchester at the age of 15.
Read the Full Article in the Dorchester Reporter
