Our organization strengthens the Medford, MA community through the recognition and celebration of Medford Housing Authority residents with programs inspired by the MHA members; and, a special focus on youth education and afterschool experiences. We strive to emphasize the agency of all individuals to explore their skills and highlight the assets in their lives as part of the Medford community to their fullest capacity. We believe our endeavors will create more connection and unity that celebrates each of our unique individual selves as we come together as a community. We have 3 ongoing projects that began in 2019, 2021, and 2023. We are expanding on these projects and our organizational goals. Project 1 (2019-present): Moments in Medford Calendars; created in collaboration with MHA residents and artists to produce calendars published for the years 2020, 2022, and 2023; our 2023 project edition was funded by a Mass Arts Council grant. Project 2 (2021-present): Artepreneurs Junior; an after-school program that focuses on using art to repurpose materials for entrepreneurial endeavors. Project 3 (2023): JustFlix Medford - a collaboration with JustFlix to produce social justice films by adolescent residents of the MHA; this last project is currently funded with a Mass Humanities grant.
Moments in Medford Calendar Project:
The calendar project is an artistic initiative that highlights the skills, talents, and experiences of Medford Housing Authority (MHA) residents; where as coordinators and contributors they lead community building within and beyond the MHA locations. We collaborate with MHA residents to feature their culinary and artistic expressions in the calendars printed and bound by a local printing company. The calendars bring together MHA residents from different races, financial backgrounds, age groups, genders, abilities, cultures and neighborhoods. The success of this project is based on its flexibility that allows residents (who are often working multiple jobs) to contribute their stories/experiences in ways most comfortable to them. It also shines light on these relatively “unseen” and “unheard” individuals at the MHA to the rest of Medford as valued members of our community. The calendars are used for fundraising and distributed throughout Medford.
Artepreneurs Junior Program:
The first iteration of this program was run over the course of 2021-22. Divya Anand and Lisa Tonello created and led the Artepreuners Junior youth program using proceeds from our past 2019 fundraising campaign. Fifteen MHA elementary- and middle-school-aged residents were recruited by Lisa Tonello to participate. During this weekly afterschool program, youth turned discarded materials into treasures and learned about entrepreneurship while harnessing their artistic skills. The 2021-22 program culminated with a Mother’s Day gift sale showcasing the participants’ creations and hosted by the Charlotte and William Bloomberg Medford Public Library. The sale was an incredible success raising $250 and a source of pride for our young participants who were involved at every stage from creation to sale.
JustFlix Medford:
In 2022 we were also awarded funding through Mass Humanities in a partnership that aligns Justflix with the MHA, the Medford Public Library, and the Royall House and Slave Quarters. The project will train and support high-school-aged MHA residents, in making short films on their cell phones about social justice in their communities. Student films serve as a catalyst to engage in active, forward-thinking dialogue around prominent themes of community justice: education, safety and healing, housing, infrastructure, transportation, employment and job creation, public health, etc. We are excited to be part of this project and are planning for continued growth of the program in Medford and beyond.
Justflix is the creative product of David Harris and Bob Glover. It was conceived by David Harris as a critical element of the Houston/Marshall Plan for Community Justice at the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice at Harvard Law School. It is designed as a means for engaging young people where they live, both literally in the housing authority, as well as on their cell phones. It provides an opportunity for the youth to explore the various assets in their lives, whether organizations or individuals, who contribute to the strength of their communities. Bob Glover, an Emmy award winning producer, has facilitated and expanded Justflix through his practice of storytelling and his commitment to Smartphone Video Storytelling as a key to youth engagement and social justice. The JustFlix movies will be screened at three locations later summer to early fall in 2023: the Medford Housing Authority, the Medford Public Library, and the Royal House and Slave Quarters.
