Safe Hopeful Healthy BR Featured on The Clay Young Show
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The Clay Young Show featured The Safe Hopeful Healthy Team and our work within the community. The dialogue centered on our strategic approach to enhancing public safety through community investment and neighborhood response. Clay Young introduced the conversation by spotlighting the necessity of channeling resources into areas susceptible to violent crime, stating, “We talk a lot about police officers and cameras and making arrests. But we rarely discuss investment in areas where circumstances create violent crime.”Representatives from our team, including Jazzika Matthews (Director of Programs and Operations), Dana Winbush (Peace Broker Lead), Sateria Tate (Executive Director, A.G.I.L.E. Solutions), and Darius Crockett (Community Navigator Lead, BRCST), joined the conversation and offered insights into how we act as a “convener, partner, and funder of community” to implement violence intervention efforts.
Watch the full segment starting at 10:50.
A focal point of the discussion was the collaboration with Sateria from A.G.I.L.E. Planning Solutions, which formed theBaton Rouge Community Street Team, which activates on the ground as needed. Dana shared the team’s critical involvement and how the team responds to crises with support and resources. “So when they are responding to, say, a homicide scene, they are providing support to families, to community members, to people that have been affected by gun violence,” said DanaThe conversation also confirmed the needfor theInspiration Center in Howell Park, which would create a specific space for the youth to thrive. Young elaborated on this vision, emphasizing the holistic development of young individuals through “academics, athletics, and the arts.” We continue to champion this investment in youth because we’ve seen the positive impact through programs like the Mayor’s Youth Workforce Initiative.
Darius shared his personal transformation story, underscoring the potential of such programs to change lives. “I’m a dropout, high school dropout... I used my mind to invest myself and to go and do something greater with myself,” he said, advocating for the two-pronged programs that support G.E.D. attainment and vocational training.
Addressing the broader community’s needs, Dana said, “We have a lot of wraparound services that connect people to parenting classes, and they also have job training.” This approach emphasizes supporting not just the youth but their families as well.
Collectively, everyone acknowledged a significant challenge: raising awareness about available resources. The need for a “multi-pronged approach” to community engagement and resource dissemination was stressed, aiming to break down silos and foster collaboration.
Clay Young concluded, iterating the power of collective effort in making tangible changes, “People being able to break down silos...if you’re willing to just at some point get in the room, and not make it about me and make it about the issue. We can get so much done.”
This episode of The Clay Young Show is a good start to understanding our work, but we encourage you to click through the homepage to see how you can get involved. To learn more about our work or to support this cause, join our newsletter and follow our social media channels.
