Josiah H. Brown

I’m reflecting on our Harvard Kennedy School experience, and how it belies Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s characterization as “woke.”

Today’s school and social media environment can put enormous pressure on adolescents in particular. What can parents do?

Federal funding is essential, and reflects the partnership that makes nonprofit services a valuable complement to public agencies, in Connecticut.

While many social problems are interconnected year-round, October is a time to confront several of the most serious — from preventing bullying and substance abuse, to raising awareness about domestic or intimate partner violence.  It’s also the month designated for action around youth justice: endeavoring to keep young people on positive paths, out of the […]

A report on “Connecticut’s Unspoken Crisis,”  regarding “at-risk” or already “disconnected” youth and young adults, has illuminated problems centered on one-fifth of those ages 14-26.  Dalio Education and its consultants spanned sectors to gather data, engage advisors, and convene a series of discussions around this significant report. November —Adoption Awareness Month— is an occasion to focus […]

April is a time to focus on ways families —along with professionals from realms including law, education, and social services— can prevent harm to children year-round.

January is Mentoring Month, January 17 International Mentoring Day — with the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday a day of service. 

In 2010, we were recovering from the Great Recession; now there’s a pandemic. 

The “Sound of Hope” is a New Haven-area tradition, to remember those lost to domestic violence and reaffirm a commitment to a better future.  This year, the Sound of Hope is online, October 7.

Ahmaud Arbery’s and George Floyd’s filmed killings, and Breonna Taylor’s in her home, exposed immense, enduring injustices.  Institutional and personal biases perpetuate racism in politics, law, the economy, housing, health, schools.  Individuals own their actions.  Yet systems fuel problems from inequality to mass incarceration. The Long Civil Rights Movement has chapters still to be written.  Not just matters of race but the rights of immigrants, the indigenous, women, LGBTQ, and persons with disabilities have only partially advanced.

May is Foster Care Month, May 15 the International Day of Families.  June is National Reunification Month, a complement in that the hope is for foster care to be temporary before children are reunited with their families.  These occasions evoke the enormous challenges facing children and families —challenges heightened during a pandemic— and how to help.

While April is officially “Volunteer Month,” it’s always timely to recognize those who give their hours, skills, and thoughts to serve others.  Whether mentors or tutors, helping in hospitals or disaster relief, volunteers assist those of all ages and bring us together.

November is National Adoption Month.  Amid the opioid epidemic, with the number of Connecticut children in foster care increasing past 4,300 (after having earlier dropped below 4,000)— and with the total number of children under the juvenile court’s jurisdiction due to abuse or neglect exceeding 10,000 per year— let’s consider ways to help these young people secure safe, permanent homes.

“Emergency need for blood,” the ads proclaim. They have appeared widely on websites and social media recently, including across Connecticut.  The normal five-day supply is reportedly down to a couple of days. If your health and other circumstances allow, please consider helping to meet this need for volunteer blood donors.  Only three of 100 Americans currently give blood, indicating a great opportunity to increase the numbers—and the blood supply—accordingly.