Dear Kristyn,

A reflection for today: “Today, I am choosing to look for something beautiful that I've never noticed before."

-Morgan Harper Nichols

Please continue to keep us informed of what's happening with you in Bucks and Montgomery Counties. The information here comes from you, with links to our website for more complete information and resources. Send your events and updates to Kristyn: kristyn@bucksmontcollab.org. Thank you!

Warmly,

Kristyn DiDominick, Executive Director

Payal Mohan, Associate Director

Board of Directors

Trauma 107: Trauma-Informed Cultural Sensitivity

May 21, 9:00am-1:00pm, Zoom

Join us! During this training we will focus on enhancing cultural competence and building cultural humility to improve the standard of care for traumatized children, families, and communities.

Attendees will learn more about the forces that affect emotional health in individuals and systems, and will explore ways to apply these learnings to better address the needs of those who have experienced trauma.

April 23 is the Primary Election in Pennsylvania!

View the Committee of 70's nonpartisan Interactive Voter Guide! Voters across the state can type in their address and find bios and important information about candidates up and down their ballot, as well as local ballot questions. They also send candidates a questionnaire with questions on their policy priorities, formative experiences that have prepared them for public service, and how they work across the aisle. Candidates’ responses are posted publicly and updated regularly.

Where and when to vote: You can find your polling place here and drop-off locations for mail-in ballots here. Montgomery County’s Election Board chair announced extended hours at five satellite voting offices. The deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot is April 16; they must be returned by 8 pm on April 23—postmarks aren’t honored.

Take the Community Health Assessment and Share What You Need for Better Health!

Improving the lives of residents is their top priority! Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services Office of Public Health is conducting its first Community Health Assessment (CHA). The assessment will help them to better understand community health status, concerns, and priorities. The data collected will be used to develop a collaborative, community-wide, transparent, and long-term Community Health Improvement Plan that will be shared with the community.

How you can help: 

1. Take the survey: If you are a Montgomery County resident, they would love to hear from you! To take the confidential survey and for more information visit www.montgomerycountypa.gov/CHA.
2. Spread the word! If you have family or friends who live in Montgomery County, send them the link and encourage them to take the survey.

Questions? Please contact Kristi Goodwin, Community Health Program Manager, Kristi.Goodwin@montgomerycountypa.gov.

Community Needs Assessment

Every three years, BCOC surveys the residents of Bucks County to better understand the community’s needs. They are asking people who live or work in Bucks County to help them by responding to this survey, which should take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete.

Access the survey and share your needs!

Housing Not Handcuffs: Johnson v. Grants Pass Supreme Court Rally



The National Low Income Housing Coalition, the National Homelessness Law Center (NHLC), National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH), and National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH) invite advocates across the nation to participate in a National Week of Action starting on April 22! Together, oppose counterproductive and inhumane efforts to punish and arrest people experiencing homelessness and advocate for the only real solution to the homelessness crisis: safe, stable, affordable housing.

On April 22, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson, the most significant court case about the rights of people experiencing homelessness in decades. The court will decide whether communities that have failed to address the need for affordable housing and shelter can punish unhoused people for nothing more than sleeping outside with a pillow or blanket with tickets, fines, and arrests, even when there are no other safe or adequate housing or shelter options available. 

Join national leaders, people with lived experience, and allies in Washington, D.C., on April 22 on the steps of the Supreme Court for a national rally! RSVP here. In preparation for the National Week of Action, NLIHC, NHLC, NCH, and NAEH have released a new advocacy toolkit with all the resources you’ll need to participate, including:

• Background information on the court case.
• Advocacy tips and resources.
• Ideas for how advocates can take action.
• Key talking points.
• Sample social media messages, op-eds, and letters to the editor.

Support Paid Family Leave

A bipartisan group of 54 lawmakers in the House are promoting The Family Care Act (HB 181), which would offer up to 20 weeks of leave to care for a new baby or elderly family member, or a medical emergency. Similar bipartisan legislation, SB 580, has been introduced in the Senate. A statewide Paid Family Leave (PFL) program benefits both employers and employees and has wide bipartisan support among PA voters, as evidenced by Children First research and polling. But nearly ¾ of Pennsylvania’s employers, mostly small businesses, don't offer some level of paid family and medical leave benefits, often citing cost as the barrier. The Family Care Act would provide a cost-effective solution for them. 

And small businesses agree. More than 100 small business owners voiced their support for a statewide paid family leave program, signing a letter of support to Governor Shapiro and legislative leaders. "At a time when businesses across the country are struggling to recruit and retain employees, Pennsylvania's labor force participation rate is lagging behind the average rate across states with existing paid leave programs, as well as women labor force participation," the letter reads. "Access to paid leave would be a critical tool in helping to solve current and future workforce challenges."

A statewide PFL program is also cost-effective; research by Vanderbilt University concluded that HB181 "more than pays for itself with a [maximum] 1% payroll premium shared equally between employers and employees." Employers and employees would share this minimal cost that provides an enormous net benefit of $379 million to families, employers, and the Commonwealth.

3.5 million Pennsylvania workers go to work every day without any assurance that they’ll be okay if they have a new child, or an ailing parent, or a medical emergency. The Family Care Act can change that. Do your part by emailing your state legislators to support HB 181 and SB 580.

Virtual Standards for Excellence Implementation Series

Every Other Wednesday, April 10 - June 19 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Join this 6-Part Virtual Standards for Excellence Implementation Series! Starting April 10, each workshop will take a deep dive into the six Guiding Principles of the Standards for Excellence, sharing promising practices, legal requirements, and recommendations for meeting the highest standards of nonprofit governance, management, and operations.

PANO's Standards for Excellence Director, Heather Giampapa, and various Licensed Standards for Excellence Consultants will provide tools and resources to help you move from information to practical application, including:

• Sample Policy on Strategic Partnerships

• Sample Remote Work Policy

• Sample Employee Handbook

• Sample Code of Ethics

• Sample Social Networking Policy

• Form 990 Checklist

• Sample Advocacy Policy

• Checklist before Releasing Materials to the Public

• A whole lot more!

Learn more and sign up!

Managing People in a Changing Environment

In-Person Regional Gathering - South Central PA (Cleve J. Fredricksen Library, 100 N. 19th Street, Camp Hill, PA 17011)

Tuesday, April 16 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Making space for your team to grow and flourish is one of the most fulfilling aspects of nonprofit management. It can also lead to worry, frustration, and even heartbreak.

We know that “people managers” are not only those who have HR in their title or those who identify as “accidental HR professionals” (like many Executive Directors) - it's a term that can apply to many nonprofit staff. If you're one of them - that is, if you manage people in paid staff positions - this half-day, in-person program is for you!

Register

Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission Bicycle Cyclical Count Program Update

A new story map from DVRPC provides an overview of the Bicycle Cyclical Count Program and analyzes bicycle volumes from 2014 to 2022. Users can view the data by county and by individual count location. Similar to how planners use vehicular traffic counts to analyze roadway facilities, DVRPC’s bicycle counts allow planners to measure existing levels of bicycling, monitor travel trends, plan for new or improved facilities, and measure outcomes of bicycle-related projects. Learn more!

Thank you to TMA Bucks for sharing!

Montgomery County Planning Commission

2023 Median Prices for Housing Report 

The latest report on median prices (of any type, both new construction and existing units combined) in Montco indicates an increase of $25,000 from the 2022 analysis to a total of $425,000. The number of homes sold last year in market-rate transactions also went down to a total of 9,545 sales. People who bought homes at lower mortgage rates may be reluctant to sell a home in today’s market if the result is having to purchase a home at a higher mortgage rate. The decreased supply of homes on the market has put pressure on housing prices.

The State of Racial/Ethnic Equity in Children's Neighborhood Opportunity - First Findings from the Child Opportunity Index 3.0

“Neighborhoods matter. Children who live in neighborhoods with quality schools, safe housing, access to healthy food, parks, clean air, and economic opportunities air are more likely to grow into healthy, productive adults than children who do not have access to these resources. The Child Opportunity Index (COI) measures and maps the quality of resources and conditions like these that matter for children's healthy development in the neighborhoods where they live.

The COI is a composite index of children's neighborhood opportunity that contains data for every neighborhood (census tract) in the United States from every year from 2012 through 2021. It is comprised of 44 indicators in three domains (education, health and environment, and social and economic) and 14 subdomains.

Underlying all our work is a commitment to equity. We believe all children deserve an equal opportunity to grow and learn. Our core question asks whether all children—regardless of where they live or their race and ethnicity—have a fair chance of experiencing neighborhood conditions that help them thrive. We aim to expand the national discourse on inequality to encompass not only income and wealth but also the neighborhood environments where children grow up.”

Read the report and explore this key data!

Housing Alliance of PA



Their recent Statewide Eviction Report evaluated eviction filing trends in Pennsylvania from 2018 to 2023, analyzing shifts during pre-pandemic, pandemic, and post-pandemic periods. They can provide in-depth analysis of specific county-level data to help you understand eviction trends in your community.

Governor's Award for Safety Excellence Nominations due May 1st

The Governor's Award for Safety Excellence (GASE) Review Committee is accepting nominations! This award aims to recognize outstanding workplace health and safety programs and the superior efforts that make these programs so successful. Pennsylvania employers may nominate themselves or may be nominated by a third party. Learn more!

Nonprofit Repositioning Fund

Are you interested in learning how formal collaboration can amplify nonprofit impact? Join the Greater Philadelphia Nonprofit Repositioning Fund (NRF) for a three-part webinar series showcasing stories of successful, long-term collaborations that have strengthened missions. For any inquires, reach out to Steph Gilmour at sgilmour@seachangecap.org.

Register for: Webinar 1, Webinar 2, and Webinar 3.

Pennsylvania State Advocacy Day at the Pennsylvania State Capitol

May 6, 9:30am-4:00pm

Advocates will come together to turn our State Capitol purple as they share stories, speak with lawmakers, and urge support of critical priorities to address the growing public health crisis that is Alzheimer’s and other dementia. Register