Dancing Toward Healthier Lifestyles

The Dorchester Youth Council, in collaboration with Social Capital Inc. (SCI), hosted the seventh annual Safe Love Dance this past Friday, February 19th at the Dorchester House gymnasium. The Safe Love Dance combined a safe place to dance and party with an informative health fair featuring 19 local health organizations, among them Close to Home, Start Strong Boston, MAP for Health, and La Alianza Hispana.

In order to enter the dance, teens were required to interact with at least four of the attending organizations and receive information on healthy teen relationships, safe sex, abstinence, STD/HIV/AIDS awareness, self confidence, nutritional health and violence prevention. By the end of the dance, over 160 Dorchester teens engaged with the attending organizations and improved their relationship skills through role playing skits.

DJ Rolling Rick provided the tunes and beats, while volunteers from SCI and the Dorchester community welcomed and engaged the teens. Eddie Brimage and the Powerhouse Krumpers from the Dorchester Youth Collaborative captivated with a spectacular krumping performance, getting the crowd hyped up for the dance.

DotWell is a community-based organization, specifically a formalized collaborative effort of its two founding organizations: the Codman Square Health Center (CSHC) and the Dorchester House Multi-Service Center (DHMSC). DotWell generates trust and respect by providing the highest quality comprehensive clinical and community-based services; a well-maintained physical plant that meets the needs of the community; a team of staff that are both entrepreneurial and practical; state-of-the-art technology available for use by the staff and the community; and unparalleled involvement by a diverse group of stakeholders including staff, clients, board members, elected and appointed officials, and collaborators.

Founded in 2002, the mission of SCI is to strengthen communities by connecting diverse individuals and organizations through civic engagement initiatives. We envision a nation where individuals are strongly connected to their neighbors and play an active role in shaping the destiny of their communities. This increase in ‘social capital’ will result in communities that are safer, healthier and more vital. For more information about SCI please visit http://mydorchester.org/about_us/scidorchester.