Mission Statement

The Healthy Roslindale Coalition is a resident–driven neighborhood organization that seeks to improve the quality of life in Roslindale through community organizing and advocacy. The Coalition identifies neighborhood needs regarding youth services and public safety and engages the citizenry to work for improvement. The Coalition forms partnerships and collaborations with community organizations, crime watches, schools, health agencies, law enforcement, local government and merchants to achieve its goals.
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Our History

Healthy Roslindale Coalition is a 13 year old community coalition that mobilizes neighborhood residents to solve problems and build a strong community.  The Coalition was launched in 1992 as part of the Healthy Boston Initiative and we are one of just a few original neighborhood coalitions still in existence.  There is one paid staff person and a sixteen member Board of Directors of Roslindale residents. We work with many local organizations and government and social service agencies along with individual residents to achieve our goals through neighborhood activism.

Over the years, we have developed and continue to provide technical assistance to crime watch groups throughout Roslindale.  We organize community-wide Public Safety meetings with law enforcement, elected officials, government and social service agencies, probation officers, residents and merchants to discuss problems and determine solutions.  This has led to numerous partnership programs that have had a dramatic, positive effect on our community.

For almost five years, we have led community efforts in a very diverse, low-income neighborhood that has a reputation for being unsafe.  The area is home to many immigrants and people in public and privately subsidized housing. We organize Public Safety meetings in the immediate area and biannual neighborhood clean ups to build community and instill civic pride.  Our work has garnered attention from city officials and greater access to basic city services. This work is performed under Neighbors Together, a partnership with five other groups and involvement by merchants, residents and elected officials.  Healthy Roslindale provides the leadership of the group.

Throughout the community, our most widely recognized program is the award-winning Rossie Reps Youth Council, a peer leadership program for middle school students.  Started in 1998 to engage youth in planning and conducting their own recreational activities, the program quickly evolved into a community service and peer leadership program.  The Reps visit with the elderly and volunteer at every promotional event sponsored by Roslindale Village Main Street, running all types of children’s activities.  For Healthy Roslindale, they

participate in neighborhood clean ups and help with promotion by leafleting and posting flyers in stores.  They attend Public Safety meetings, candlelight vigils, National Night Out and other meetings and events of Healthy Roslindale.  They

 are learning a lot about issues facing the community and how they can be part of the solution. Many of these young people make public presentations and are beginning to feel quite comfortable voicing their ideas and opinions in groups with adults.

Every year, the Reps participate in professional peer leadership training on a different topic, and conduct community projects relating to that topic.  The areas of learning have included tobacco, alcohol and drug abuse, conflict resolution, and environmental issues.  Their projects have included community mapping, PowerPoint presentations, focus groups, interviews, art contests and workshops.

Since July 2003, the Coalition has been working in direct partnership with The Medical Foundation to reduce underage drinking Roslindale through community mobilization.  A youth/adult collaborative approach defines this initiative and four youth serve on the Steering Committee.  With additional resources, the Coalition has been able to expand the Rossie Reps Youth Council to high school students who are trained to work specifically on this initiative, which is called Roslindale Mobilizing for Change on Alcohol (RMCA).  To date, the Reps have proven to be the driving force of RMCA.  They have played prominent roles in all the activities and their input has been invaluable to the RMCA Steering Committee.
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Board of Directors

Resident Members:

Sr. Nancy Braceland, co-chair
Rev. Karen Peters, co-chair

Terry Curran, co-secretary
Karen Payne, co-secretary

Kim O'Connell

Luke Moran, Honorary Business Member

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