Metropolitan Calumet Joins City-Wide Safe Start Week

WHO & WHAT:
To help celebrate the City of Chicago’s Safe Start Week, Metropolitan Family Services’ Calumet Center is presenting Master Storyteller Oba King who will bring stories, songs and poetry to life at a special program for children and their families.

The event, a collaboration between Metropolitan Calumet and the Chicago Safe Start Program, is part of an effort to provide positive activities and interactions for young children. Such programs work to reduce the negative impact of early exposure to violence.

Studies have shown an estimated one in every four elementary school students have witnessed a shooting, while three to five children in every elementary classroom have witnessed a woman being abused. Such exposure has been linked to increased aggression, increased withdrawal and regressed development.

WHEN:
Thursday, April 23, 2009
4 p.m. – 7 p.m.

WHERE:
Metropolitan Family Services Calumet Center
235 East 103rd Street, Chicago

WHY:
Metropolitan Calumet has been serving families throughout the Greater Roseland community for more than 50 years. Families struggling with poverty and violence turn to Metropolitan Calumet for vital and supportive services provided by professional and caring staff.