Page 4 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, August 30, 2019 Portal To Hope, Melrose-Wakefield Healthcare Diversity Committee host diversity & inclusion forum P ortal To Hope (PTH) and the MelroseWakefield Healthcare Diversity Committee hosted a diversity and inclusion forum at the Lawrence Memorial Hospital School of Nursing. The speakers included Suffolk University Center for Student Diversity & Inclusion Assistant Director Cameron Breither, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan, Medford Mayor Stephanie Burke, MelroseWakefield Healthcare Director of Community Services Eileen Dern and PTH Founder Deborah FalWe Carry... * Lifetime Waterproof Warranty * Ceramic, Porcelain & Stone Tile * Hardwood Prefinished and Unfinished, Do-it-Yourselfer Products! Phil Russo Owner Drop by our Showroom and check out our 250 styles of area rugs and other products! 31 Osprey Rd., Saugus * 781-289-9676 Contact@Russoflooring.com Portal To Hope and the Melrose-Wakefield Diversity Committee recently hosted a forum on diversity and inclusion at the Lawrence Memorial Hospital School of Nursing. lon. Working in collaboration, each speaker discussed new program initiatives that promote equity and access to justice systems – criminal and social justice. A survivor of violent crime, Fallon founded PTH in Malden in 1996 to provide community-based services to people whose lives have been impacted by domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking crimes. This October, PTH will be celebrating 23 years of service in Malden, and those services have been driven by the voices of survivors. “We could not have carried-out our work without the help of MelroseWakefield Healthcare (formerly Hallmark Health) over the years,” said Fallon. “MelroseWakefield Healthcare is a medical community – a family, really – that has re(Courtesy Photo) mained dedicated to ensuring that some of our most vulnerable community members have access to not only healthcare but basic needs. We appreciate their partnership, especially in helping us to promote equality and educating our neighborhoods about domestic violence prevention.” For more information or to get involved at PTH, please call (781) 338-7678 or visit www.portaltohope.org. Vacation Memories By Virginia Ruane I am back writing again! I did not go anyplace special, but took off June, July and August. Just what I needed! Now, it is over, and I’m revived. The time just flew by. I did not take my usual summer vacation to Squam Lake in New Hampshire. Do you remember the movie “On Golden Pond”? Squam Lake is where this movie was filmed. That’s where my family spent two weeks every year. We rented a cottage right on the lake. We shared it with my brother and his wife and six children. Along with the five of us, it seems like a lot of people in one cottage, but it was fine. Our families shared this vacation time together for over 40 years. Sixty years ago, when we first rented, we paid $42 a week. This year my nephew rented the same cottage, and the rent was $1,800 for one week. The water and the peacefulness are just as I remembered it. Of course there were some changes made – like a new second bathroom with a shower, running well water and a modern kitchen. All these things made a big difference. Even without the improvements, we had a wonderful time with great memories. Do you ever have a memory of a trip you wanted to take some time in your life and you never went there? Something in your life always came up, and you just could not get there. Well I did. I always wanted to go Hawaii and never got there, and now it is too late. I’m too old (94). During World War II, my husband was in the Navy and stationed in Maui, Hawaii. It was right after Pearl Harbor. Thank the good Lord I did not know him then as I would have been worried sick. He loved Hawaii: the weather, the music, everything. He talked about it to me all the time. But I never got to see these wonders. After we were married, our life was too busy to think of trips. The children always needed something or the house needed work. Other than Squam Lake we did get to take some vacations together. We went to Jamaica, Ireland, Bermuda and Barbados, but we never quite made that trip to Hawaii. My advice to you is: Don’t wait! Find the time to take that trip you have always dreamed about. I do remember the days of Squam Lake, and the happy times we all had. I am grateful for those memories. But I still never made that trip to Hawaii. Well, my vacation is over and I am back at the computer. I am glad to share my experiences with you. Please enjoy the remainder of the summer and look forward to the fall, cool, crisp days and colorful leaves. Virginia Ruane is a lifelong Malden resident. Please send suggestions and comments to virginiaruane@aol.com.
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