July 2022 Newsletter

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WHAT'S NEW AT FOCS FOCS Board of Directors approved a new Strategic Plan earlier this year! This plan enhances FOCS strategy to include policy and systems change alongside parent groups and family programs as a way to meet the organizational goal of becoming the go-to resource for parents of color in the Pacific Northwest.  Our first FOCS Park Day was a success! Thank you to all the parents and the little ones that came out! If you missed it, don't worry we have two more events happening soon! Thank you to our friends at Taking B(l)ack Pride for inviting FOCS to attend Seachella and helping us create space for QTBIOC families!  MEET THE FOCS! Beginning this month we will be spotlighting a FOCS member to get to know them as parents and community members. If you would like to be spotlighted or nominate someone, please email norma@focseattle.org  Meet FOCS Parent Group Manager, Bo Leong! How did you first get involved with FOCS? I first heard about FOCS through a flyer I saw at the Capitol Hill Library during the first trimester of our pregnancy (Bo is a first-time parent of twins!) I started following FOCS through the feeds and didn’t get a chance to participate in the groups, but I wanted to get involved. I really appreciated the mission and vision of who FOCS centers so when I saw the position open up, I thought “that’s the dream job for me!”   What do you look forward to in your job? I love watching the “glows and grows” and the intergenerational wisdom. Seeing how it spans through the different age ranges, and hearing about the different aspects that are challenging, phases like sleep training and sleep regression and then hearing about the amazing grows. We have a lot of repeat parents and so I’ll see parents in the newborn group and then waddlers and then affinity groups. It’s amazing to see how parents and kids grow through the curriculum. It’s an honor to provide coaching and work closely with parent educators being a parent myself seeing the barriers and challenges that BIPOC parents are facing- I’m facing those barriers as well so I enjoy being able to use my background to provide a foundational lens and framework to help support them with resources and set them up for success. I can bring that personal and professional piece coming from higher ed (Bo has a Masters in Education and Guidance Counseling) and I can help them understand and navigate oppressive frameworks and work to dismantle those ideas.   What’s your favorite memory as a parent?   Having multiples, it’s a journey, but the chest-to-chest bonding between me and my boys is my favorite memory. All that oxytocin and understanding that you have to be the student and just surrender to the feeling so they can share with me what they need- key things like they were tired, hungry or needed a diaper change- even as toddlers now, it is the same now just more complex emotions. I love being able to watch them grow. Every night my partner and I look at pictures of them to see how they are growing and to keep remembering – it goes by quick.   What’s your best advice to a new birth parent or partner of a birth parent? I think the best advice I could provide is to learn to slow things down to the best of your ability and not sweat anything. Try to embrace the new self you are going to become.   What challenges did you face that brought you to where you are today? One thing I’m focusing on a lot is disrupting intergenerational trauma as a person of color. We didn’t have the tools and accessibility to identify it before, but now we can start to ask how our generation deals with raising kids. What does toxic masculinity look like and how do we raise and guide future generations without passing it on? FOCS FAMILY EVENTS! Join us for a LIVE Facebook and Youtube event to get information about COVID vaccines for children. Our guest panelists, Dr. Walker-Harding and Dr. Chu will be answering common questions and concerns.  Wednesday, July 6th 12-1:30pm LIVE from FOCS Youtube page or  FOCS Community Facebook page   We hope to see you there!  Celebrate Summer 2022 with FOCS Park Days! Meet other parents of color and learn about FOCS Programming Games, Snacks and Masks will be provided SUMMER PARENT GROUPS Our Summer Groups are filling up fast this year! We still have space in the following groups:  Single Moms of Color Tuesdays 5:30- 7:30pm June 28 - Aug 23 South Seattle Waddlers Wednesdays 10 AM- 12 PM July 20 - Sept 14 Thank you to the FOCS community and partners for helping get the word out. If you missed the sign-up dates, please check back in a few weeks when our Fall Parent Group Schedule is announced!    Sign up HERE to attend a Parent Group Today! SEEKING FOCS PARENT EDUCATORS! Have you attended a FOCS group in the past? Are you a natural leader/speaker/motivator? 🧐Come learn about the process of becoming a paid Parent Educator with FOCS! This info session will answer all of your questions and ease any doubts you might have about facilitating groups for parents 🧐 Join us! Thursday, July 22nd 11am-12pm for a virtual information session All FOCS parent groups are PEER-LED which means we rely on YOU to come back and support new parents on their journey. If you have lived experience as a parent of color, you ARE who we have been looking for! Sign up HERE! Thank you to all our Donors! Your generous donation allows us to continue to offer free programming to bring families of color together!   Jennifer Bright Jinna Haggerty Derke Huang Emily Pittenger Jules Feibelmann Julianna Hillard Katherine Rice Kynna Shilling Latima Charbonneau Lenell Nussbaum Mariko Smithashima Michael Keller Marlo Straub Samuel Yang Michele Domingo Renee MacLeod Rebecca Edmonds Rhonda Carter Robin Chin Roemer Antionette Williams Cynthia Bolton Caroline Kangas Emily Lobsenz Natasha Dillinger Emily Min Donald Billen Sarah Akhtar Diana M Johns PRIYA Raghav Roxana Arama Anonymous Donors (We see you too!)  To become a monthly donor sign up here! COMMUNITY RESOURCES FOR FOCS COVID Information & Resources Current COVID Guidance in King County Resources for Families Impacted by COVID Eviction Assistance  City, County, State & Federal Resources Small Business Support Free Internet Access and Hotspots  Free and low cost internet access for low-income families Community Resources Alternatives to calling 911 UTOPIA WA - basic needs, support groups and advocacy for LGBTQIA+ community Support Black businesses with Seattle Green Book Seattle Green Book is Seattle’s Black business directory. Free and open to Black-owned and co-owned businesses and people holding space for the Black community around the Puget Sound. Seattle BIPOC Therapist Referral List & Mental Health Resources   Summer Community Events  Young Women Empowered Summer Programs Mentorship-based empowerment programs serving diverse young women ages 13-26 Refuge Festival- August 12- 14, 2022 RefugeFest is a camping experience geared toward BIPOC community centered on building community through outdoor recreation, conversations, music, and art.  African American Writers’ Alliance (AAWA)Virtual Writers Read Second Sundays Monthly — 2 p.m. On The Block — By Local Artists for Local Artists Second Saturdays, from May to October — 1–9 p.m. 11th Avenue between East Pike and Pine Beacon Arts Street Fairs Second Saturdays, April 9–Sept. 10, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. South Roberto Maestas Festival Street, Seattle, WA 98144  More ways to stay connected to our work Join our Facebook Group Host a Race & Equity Workshop Become a Monthly Donor

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