Pictured from left, Lt. Marie Hanlon, Deputy Kevin Coppinger,
Marilyn Anderson Chase, executive assistant to
Health and Human Services, Pamela Freeman, Jack
Doyle, Commissioner Angelo McClain, Gabriel Taylor,
Associate Minister of ZionBaptistChurch, Steve Walsh
and NSCC President Wayne Burton.
Group takes pride intaking
care of children
BY ROBIN CONNOLLYTHE DAILY ITEM
It's the real estate of Lynn —
where homes outnumber houses
— and the values are rising.
They're values, Pamela Freeman,
director of Lynn Community
Connections Coalition
(LCCC) says at the agency's 5th
Annual Child Abuse Prevention
Breakfast where issues are
discussed, children are
watched and parents find community
in the effort.
"When (LPD, Deputy Chief)
Kevin Coppinger made that
statement about the difference
between a house and a home,"
the founder of the community
pilot that soared to its 10-year
anniversary this year adds,
well, it hit home. "It's the place
where you and I grew up," she
says, "where things were discussed
in the living room, not
on the street and your parents
knew where you were, what
you were doing."
They're parents, Freeman
and a collection of family-oriented
city and state leaders at
the breakfast want to empower.
One, a mother who seeks
anonymity, tells the story of
the system that took her child
and her anger with them. / Candid about drug abuse,
about the child's living conditions,
she is equally honest
about her choices. She chooses
to be grateful to those who
returned her child when she
was ready.
"I want to thank them all,"
she says of the Department of
Social Services (DSS), the Lynn
Police Department, LCCC, Project
COPE and others who
brought her home. "I am so
grateful," she adds, "and it
wouldn't have been without all
of them."
It is, Freeman notes, a "success
story". It is also, the veteran
family advocate acknowledges,
within a system often
plagued by criticism, not the
usual one to be highlighted.
"When we all take responsibility,"
she says, "then we can
begin."
LCCC offers parenting,
neighborhood and city leadership
committees at its 298
Union St. location on Wednesdays,
6:30-7:30 p.m. Parents are
also welcomed to LynnPro
(Parents Reaching Out) on the
first Wednesday of the month.
All activities are geared toward
empowering parents/families.
Call LCCC at 781-477-2902 for
information.