One Common Unity

The Summer Strong Social Justice Institute is a continuation of One Common Unity’s year-round out-of-school time and enrichment programming which centers on arts empowerment, environmental stewardship, social-emotional learning, health and wellness, and social justice programming.

This summer program aims to cultivate creativity, build confidence, and foster a love for the arts among participants.

Whether your passion lies in theater, acting, painting, singing, writing, dancing, or behind-the-scenes production, this program promises something extraordinary for everyone.

Each week, we will engage in a variety of arts-based workshops centered on the themes of self-exploration, self-care and empowerment, social justice, and community-building. These workshops will culminate in a student-led performance in the final week of summer camp.

IMPORTANT DETAILS:
📆 Dates: July 1st, 2024, to August 2nd, 2024.
📍 Location: Perry Street Preparatory Public Charter School (1800 Perry St. NE, Washington, D.C. 20018).
👋 Ages: 5th grade through 8th grade.
📋 Registration: Please contact [email protected] or [email protected] to register.
🆓 Cost: FREE.

We are ecstatic to be back in the community, providing necessary services to youth this summer. Don’t miss this incredible opportunity to ignite your passion for theater and make lasting memories. ✨

Join us at the Summer Strong Social Justice Institute and let your creativity shine!

We're proud to announce our new Director of OST and Enrichment, Johneé Wilson!!

Johneé started working with OCU in 2019 as a Program Facilitator on the Fly By Light team. Since that time she has had multiple roles with OCU including organizing the Fly By Light National Training, working as a Senior Facilitator with the Peace Together team, and most recently supporting as our Director of Training.

Johneé is now helping the OST and Enrichment team close out for the school year and prepare for an action-packed Summer Strong program at Perry Street!!

Last week for National Gun Violence Prevention Day, our Peace Together program provided a 4 Spaces Intervention at Anacostia High School in collaboration with the ONSE Leadership Academy program.

The 4 Spaces is an engaging intervention that allows youth to learn and practice different types of coping strategies.

One form of coping is through building community, which is a big part of One Common Unity.

Students engaged in responding to a prompt related to how gun violence impacts their community and then learned how to make origami hearts to add to an installation piece to be held in their community.

Did you know it's World Environment Day? 🌍

At One Common Unity, we believe in the power of Environmental Leadership to create a sustainable future. Join us in celebrating and protecting our planet today and every day. Together, we can make a difference! 🌱✨

Did you know we celebrate Pride Month in June because of the Stonewall Uprising that happened on June 28th, 1969?

The Stonewall Uprising, also known as the Stonewall Riots, was a series of spontaneous demonstrations by members of the LGBTQ+ community in response to a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City.

The riots are widely considered to constitute one of the most important events leading to the gay liberation movement and the modern fight for LGBTQ+ rights in the United States.

The community's response to the raid, which was characterized by violent resistance rather than the more usual passive deference, marked a significant change in the LGBTQ+ rights movement.

This event brought the community together in a fight for equality, leading to the creation of activism groups and the first gay pride parades.

Happy Pride Month from the OCU team. ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

Happy Pride Month! 🏳‍🌈

OCU actively celebrates our LGBTQ+ students, staff, and community members, not just in June but every day of the year!

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

It's the last day of Mental Health Awareness Month!

Let's give a huge shoutout to our School-Based Mental Health Team for all their amazing work this month in raising mental health awareness with the students in their schools. 👏👏👏

Some examples of the work that was done included:

⭐ Every day at Mary McLeod Bethune Day Academy this month, a student, class, or staff could take a picture and write an affirming word that represents them.

⭐We hosted mental health awareness workshops for students on topics like anxiety and depression with ways to reduce the physical symptoms in their bodies by using Emotional Freedom (also known as tapping). The students with the best mastery of the material earned a small prize.

⭐ We created a puppet show for pre-k students. The goal of the puppet show was to enhance students' understanding of emotional recognition and ways to reduce uncomfortable feelings such as sadness, madness, anxiety, etc.

⭐ On May 28th, we hosted a student tabling event for Mental Health Awareness Month at Takoma Elementary School.

Earlier this week, our Peace Together team partnered with NAARC's Cure the Streets team for a training on "The Cost of Caring and Vicarious Trauma."

The Cure the Streets team works tirelessly to mitigate gun violence risks in vulnerable communities and NAARC aims to create a safe environment while offering wellness opportunities for their team.

Our goal as an organization is to provide viable, feasible, and desirable training modules that empower these trusted adults, who work with our DC community members, to understand how they may be interfacing with secondary trauma, offer self-care strategies to restore their confidence in caring for themselves, and to help navigate the challenges of the work they do so they may continue showing up as their healthiest and most authentic selves.

We're so full of gratitude that the NAARC staff interacted fully with our curriculum and key facilitators.

How do YOU want to be able to define yourself?

OCU's School-Based Mental Health clinicians at Stuart Hobson Middle School have been doing some amazing work for Mental Health Awareness Month! ⭐💚

Our School-Based Mental Health clinicians at Richard Wright are doing some great activities for Mental Health Awareness Month!

We've enjoyed being a part of Eastern's mental health awareness month activities this month.

We loved being included in Dunbar High School's Mental Health Awareness Expo today! 💚

Recently one of our School Based Mental Health therapists, Amber Collazo was featured in the Department of Behavioral Health's Expansion Express newsletter for her attentive listening, willingness to lean in, and overall genuine love and care she infuses into everything she does as a social worker.

We're honored to have Amber as part of the OCU team!

Learn more about Amber and the other members of the OCU staff here: https://onecommonunity.org/about/team/

Whether it's painting, drawing, sculpting, or any other creative pursuit, art provides a unique way to process and release our emotions.

When words fail, creativity provides an expressive outlet for confronting struggles and celebrating triumphs.

Did you know it's ? 💚

Mental health is just as important as physical health. Let's break the stigma and prioritize our mental wellness throughout May and beyond. 🧠

Our Director of Programming met up with the Alliance of Concerned Men to connect with their OG Staff members.

OCU partnered with the Alliance of Concerned Men back in 2020 for the Cure The Streets programming and will be working alongside them once again to provide training.

Ever notice how trees roll with the punches? 🌳 Through scorching summers and brutal winters, they bend but never break. That's the kind of resilience we want our students to cultivate!

At , our social-emotional learning programs are like tree rings – building layer upon layer of adaptability and emotional intelligence. We nurture those inner growth rings so our students can brave any storm life throws their way.

And just like mighty oaks, we want them to be champions for our forests – protecting the green lungs that keep our planet breathing.

So let's get our hands dirty this Arbor Day! Plant a tree, hug a trunk, or simply bask in the wisdom of these ancient beings. Let their strength inspire you to put down roots, branch out, and leave a lasting legacy for the next generation.

Who's ready to become an with us?