PBHA to honor duo at April 15 fundraiser

Anne Peretz, founder of Parenting Journey (formerly The Family Center, Inc.), and Chris Byner, interim executive director of Boston Centers for Youth and Families (BCYF), will be honored at this year’s Summer Urban Program Auction, an annual fundraiser held by Phillips Brooks House Association (PBHA). The auction, which will take place at Harvard University’s Knafel Center on April 15, raises money for PBHA’s award-winning summer camps for low-income families, while celebrating community members whose work enriches the lives of youth and families in Boston and Cambridge.

Peretz is the founder of The Family Center, Inc., a family therapy clinic and family support program geared to low income and immigrant families. The Family Center (now known as The Parenting Journey) has also developed powerful curriculum for new parents, as well as training social workers and teachers in how to support families more effectively. There are currently over 500 Parenting Journey sites in several cities and Peretz has recently developed a comparable program in Burundi.

Byner oversees BCYF’s network of 35 community centers, located in nearly every neighborhood in Boston. Byner is a former manager of the Streetworkers Program, a national model for effective youth violence prevention and intervention services. The success of the Boston Streetworkers Program has caused community and police groups to seek Byner’s help in setting up similar programs in other cities across the country.