Voices for a Healthy SouthCoast, a group that developed from an ACHIEVE  (Action Communities for Health, Innovation, and EnVironmental changE) grant to strengthen community leadership, build capacity, and activate change awarded to YMCA Southcoast and Southcoast Hospitals, invited Matthew Wall from the Massachusetts Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program to speak to representatives of area schools on December 17, 2009, at St. Luke's Hospital. YMCA Southcoast VP of operations Nancy Bonell and other members of the CHART Team listened as representative of local school systems and the New Bedford Chief of Police responded to Mr. Wall's presentation and shared ideas for potential ways to increase the number of children walking or bicycling to school. Additional presentations on ways of improving the health status of Southcoast residents will be forthcoming in future months. Click here for photos of an earlier organizational meeting and here for photos of a training in Alexandria, VA. For further information about the project, contact Nancy Bonell at 508-996-9622 X 25.
 

(Top row) Matthew Wall of MassRIDES Safe Routes to School program outlines the various aspects of the statewide program before Rick Paling of the Wareham Schools and Andrew O'Leary of the New Bedford Schools respond. (Middle row, left) Ms. Bonell solicits questions from member of the CHART Team. (Middle row, center) Mr. Wall displays a sample crossing guard vest that MassRIDES provides to schools that participate in the Safe Routes program as Nancy and New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park superintendent Jennifer Nersesian look on. (Middle row, right) Rick Porter of the Dartmouth Schools listens as Amanda Szot of the Southcoast Hospital Group Cardiovascular Prevention Program shares her thoughts about the value of increasing exercise among students. (Bottom row, left) New Bedford Police Chief Ronald Teachman describes a program that operates out of the Gifts to Give program to repair bicycles for New Bedford children. (Bottom row, center) CHART Team co-chair Donna Querim and team members Ray Khalife, Senior Planner for the City of New Bedford and Helena Marques of the Immigrants Assistance Center participate in the discussion. (Bottom row, right) Nancy Juvinall or Old Rochester Regional Schools listens as New Bedford Mass In Motion coordinator Pauline Hamel suggest some ways of getting the Safe Routes program going in the City.