Environmental Health News
Mary White, Parent Asthma Leader, Honored for Excellence in Community Leadership
(Left to right): Parent Asthma Leaders Acheson Bennett, Bridget Hickson, and Mary White; Massachusetts Department of Public Health Commissioner John Auerbach; Strengthening Voices Director Neal-Dra Osgood; and Pearl Hines, Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
February 13, 2009 - The Massachusetts Department of Public Health recognized Ms. Mary White of Dorchester with an "Award for Excellence in Community Leadership" for her outstanding record of public service with the Boston Urban Asthma Coalition’s (BUAC) Strengthening Voices program.
White was one of six individuals honored by Commissioner John Auerbach at the department’s African American History Month program, "Celebrate the Journey." The award ceremony followed speeches and a stirring solo by honoree Anita Murrell of the Longy School of Music. Murrell sang "Lift Every Voice and Sing" by James Weldon Johnson, whose lyrics evoke White’s own path into the advocacy work for which she was recognized.
White went to her first Strengthening Voices meeting in 1999 to learn how to manage her children’s persistent asthma. Expecting an asthma support group, she was surprised by what she found. She says, "I never thought that this organization would empower parents to be able to make a difference." But for White, Strengthening Voices did just that.
White became part of the first group of Parent Asthma Leaders to graduate from the program’s 30-hour intensive leadership and environmental training program. According to White, "They trained me in public speaking and other skills that were so badly needed. They trained me that it's okay to talk to the mayor about what concerns me. It's okay to go and do a hearing at the state house. People want to hear your story, what you have to say."
Now, White helps to run Strengthening Voices, which reaches hundreds of community members each year through outreach dinners that provide education and resources about asthma and other environmental health issues. She serves as a co-chair for BUAC’s Health Committee, and she has testified at the State House numerous times to support policy changes around asthma and environmental health.
In addition, White constantly educates other parents in her community, teaching them about much more than managing asthma. She teaches them the importance of advocating for their families, for healthy housing, and for proper asthma management. She tells them, "You may feel powerless, but you do have the ability to make change."
For more information about BUAC's Strengthening Voices, contact Neal-Dra Osgood at 617-451-0049 ext. 511. The Boston Urban Asthma Coalition and Strengthening Voices are programs of Health Resources in Action.
White was one of six individuals honored by Commissioner John Auerbach at the department’s African American History Month program, "Celebrate the Journey." The award ceremony followed speeches and a stirring solo by honoree Anita Murrell of the Longy School of Music. Murrell sang "Lift Every Voice and Sing" by James Weldon Johnson, whose lyrics evoke White’s own path into the advocacy work for which she was recognized.
White went to her first Strengthening Voices meeting in 1999 to learn how to manage her children’s persistent asthma. Expecting an asthma support group, she was surprised by what she found. She says, "I never thought that this organization would empower parents to be able to make a difference." But for White, Strengthening Voices did just that.
White became part of the first group of Parent Asthma Leaders to graduate from the program’s 30-hour intensive leadership and environmental training program. According to White, "They trained me in public speaking and other skills that were so badly needed. They trained me that it's okay to talk to the mayor about what concerns me. It's okay to go and do a hearing at the state house. People want to hear your story, what you have to say."
Now, White helps to run Strengthening Voices, which reaches hundreds of community members each year through outreach dinners that provide education and resources about asthma and other environmental health issues. She serves as a co-chair for BUAC’s Health Committee, and she has testified at the State House numerous times to support policy changes around asthma and environmental health.
In addition, White constantly educates other parents in her community, teaching them about much more than managing asthma. She teaches them the importance of advocating for their families, for healthy housing, and for proper asthma management. She tells them, "You may feel powerless, but you do have the ability to make change."
For more information about BUAC's Strengthening Voices, contact Neal-Dra Osgood at 617-451-0049 ext. 511. The Boston Urban Asthma Coalition and Strengthening Voices are programs of Health Resources in Action.
« Return
Stacey Chacker
