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06/01/2022 08:30 AMAs interim executive director of non-profit DreamKit, Alexandria “Alex” Bode has collaborated with non-profit Community Dining Room (CDR) to deliver an exciting, informative, and potentially life-changing opportunity for unstably housed New Haven area youth under age 25.
Beginning Thursday, June 30, and continuing each Thursday through Aug. 4, Alex is offering DreamKit’s free, fun Learn & Earn Speaker Series in collaboration with CDR. Each event will take place from 1 to 3 p.m. at CDR, 30 Harrison Avenue in Branford. The topic-based series is not only geared to provide area young adults who may be homeless or facing homelessness with skill-building support, but offers a reward for participation. During the series, gift cards will be given to those who participate in a follow-up survey at each session.
“Our plan is to host multiple in-person events where youth can gather with their peers in a safe space to enjoy a free meal while learning about topics that can benefit them going forward,” Alex notes in document she wrote on the series. “Some topics included are mindfulness, housing stability, job search/employment, life strategies, positive mental health, maintaining happiness through hardships, and many more.”
Registration is open now for the series kick-off on Thursday, June 30, from 1 to 3 p.m. at CDR, when Tabitha Brown, shoreline diversion specialist for Beth-El Center, will discuss housing. Advance registration is requested for this free event by emailing info@communitydiningroom.org or calling 203-488-9750 ext. 1 (provide name and call back number).
Alex is available to provide additional information and is also prepared to assist those with transportation barriers so that they can attend; contact her at alex.dreamkit@gmail.com.
Non-profit DreamKit was founded in 2019 by Marina Marmolejo while she was earning her master of public health degree from Yale School of Public Health.
At the DreamKit website, Marmolejo notes, “I’ve had the privilege of learning from hundreds of unstably housed youth through my research at the Yale School of Public Health and advocacy work with other homeless youth organizations. Although their stories are different, a common theme is that they are all the byproduct of systemic inequities and prejudices. The current homeless management system is broken, and lacks opportunities for youth to track their progress, learn new skills, and connect with others in their local community. Youth also admit that their biggest priority is survival, and cannot fully engage in other beneficial programming until their basic needs are met. Taking these lessons learned over the past six years, I created my solution to youth homelessness: DreamKit.”
Currently accessible at www.dreamkitapp.com and launching soon as a mobile app, DreamKit teaches life skills in a form that’s second nature to the device/screen generation: through gaming and watching videos. For each different skill users select and complete, DreamKit pays the “player” in points, which are redeemed for gift cards good for food or other basic needs. In addition, DreamKit compiles a growing résumé of each individual’s newly accomplished skills and makes it accessible to area employers, landlords, and other organizations partnering with the program.
Alex earned both her bachelor in social work (cum laude) and masters in social work at Southern Connecticut State University, where she had lived on campus with the assistance of her service dog, Rochelle. Working with Rochelle, Alex also became certified as a dog therapy provider.
A North Branford High School Class of 2008 alumnae, Alex is known to many in town and the shoreline through her decades of advocacy for Friedrichs Ataxia Research Alliance (FARA). Like her brother, Sam, Alex was in elementary school when diagnosed with Friedrichs ataxia (FA). FA is a progressive, degenerative neuro-muscular disorder that impacts movement, speech, and other physical abilities over time. Through the years, Sam and Alex, together with their mom, Mary Caruso, have done much to advocate for FARA, FA and for the rights of those experiencing discrimination due to limitations.
Having personally experienced such discrimination in many forms, including one instance that led Alex to move through the procedure of filing a federal discrimination complaint against a professor, Alex would one day love to work in human rights advocacy assisting those living with disabilities.
“I love the idea of helping people, and I would love to create a job out of that,” says Alex.
A little over two years ago, on the way to seeking a role where she could put her education, experience, and advocacy to work, Alex connected with Marmolejo. As Caruso explains, during the pandemic, Alex was working virtually through American Job Center, and part of the process included participating in monthly Zoom meetings.
At the end of each meeting, job postings were shared with participants. One day, a posting for a social worker appeared, and Alex immediately reached out to learn more. It took about three weeks to get a call back. The woman on the other end of the line said she was calling Alex about a position as a door greeter at WalMart.
“Alex said, ‘I don’t want seem ungrateful, but the job I saw posted was for a social worker. I have a masters in social work,’” Caruso recalls. “[S]o they chatted for another minute and then parted ways. Ten minutes goes by, and the phone rings again. It’s the same woman. She said, ‘Alex, I have to tell you, I’m so impressed with you—I think I have a job for you.’ And it was DreamKit. Ten minutes after that, Marina calls her.”
“She is so cool. She’s a dynamo,” says Alex of Marmolejo.
“She sees Alex for everything she is,” adds Alex’s mom. “Marina is a visionary.”
Initially, Marmolejo brought Alex in to assist DreamKit as a grant writer. With assistance from Marmolejo and another project principal, Alex secured a grant that helped support the program and also allowed DreamKit to provide a salary for Alex. Next, Alex began developing social work-centric learning activities offered through the DreamKit platform.
Nearly a year ago, when Marmolejo was tapped to become Program manager for UniteCT, the state’s emergency rental assistance program, she asked Alex to take on the position of DreamKit interim executive director.
"Over these last two years I have seen Alex lead cohorts of youth through workforce development trainings, and the tenderness she brings to ensure each young adult feels heard and valued is extraordinary," Marmolejo says. "Alex's leadership style is both gentle and strong, which is exactly the type of complexity DreamKit requires to expand. Seeing Alex execute her vision for our future is exciting because I know we're in such capable hands!"
In her latest role, Alex has been developing new ways DreamKit can continue to assist with the public health issue of youth homelessness. As she began to formulate a plan for the speaker series, Alex put together an online survey for DreamKit participants, to help gauge which topics would interest and best assist them.
She also began searching to find “a safe space for youth to gather, learn and earn.”
A few months ago, Alex connected with CDR Executive Director Judith Barron, who immediately offered to partner with DreamKit for the series. While CDR’s physical dining room is based in Branford, the non-profit serves residents in need from East Haven to Old Saybrook, providing nutritious meals combined with fellowship, while also offering services ranging from referrals to educational programs.
“CDR is proud to partner with DreamKit to assist in getting resources and information to the population of youth that are homeless so they can gain permanent housing,” says Barron. “Alex is a fantastic advocate for them with the work she is doing at DreamKit.”
DreamKit presents Learn & Earn: Speaker Series, a fun and educational summer speaker series at Community Dining Room, 30 Harrison Avenue, Branford. Events are from 1 to 3 p.m. on Thursdays, June 30; July 7, 14, 21, and 28; and Aug 4. To register, email info@communitydiningroom.org or call 203-488-9750 ext. 1; provide name and call back number. For more information or if transportation is a barrier, email alex.dreamkit@gmail.com. Follow @DreamKitApp on Facebook and Instagram.