Genevieve Lohr, Social Worker with the Petersburg Bureau of Police, joins United Way to talk about how their new program, EveryDay Strong, can make an impact on the lives of youth in the Petersburg community. The Petersburg Bureau of Police is one of the EveryDay Strong partners.
Audio Interview
Transcript
FRANK CARDELLA, HOST
Welcome to The 80Forum – Candid conversations with engaged individuals and organizations to raise awareness of inequities, share available resources and expand opportunities for families in our region. The 80Forum is convened by United Way of Greater Richmond & Petersburg. I’m your host, Frank Cardella. Let’s get connected.
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Hello everyone! Welcome to the broadcast. My name is Frank Cardella, and I’m the Director of Research and Evaluation for United Way of Greater Richmond & Petersburg. With me on the program is Genevieve Lohr, Social Worker with the Petersburg Bureau of Police.
GENEVIEVE LOHR, GUEST
Hello!
FRANK
Today we’re going to be talking about EveryDay Strong, United Way’s new research-based framework that equips caring adults with training and tools to support the mental health and wellness of children aged 8 to 18. United Way is partnering with Greater Richmond SCAN (Stop Child Abuse Now), Petersburg City Public Schools and the Petersburg Bureau of Police to deliver free EveryDay Strong resources and trainings to the community so that adults can learn simple guidelines and fun activities to build resilience with a child or teen. The program centers around helping kids to feel safe, connected and confident; just like food, sleep and shelter are critical to supporting kids’ physical health, these foundations of emotional health must be met for young people to thrive.
Genevieve, I want to start by giving our listeners a sense of what you do with Petersburg PD; I bet most people don’t even know that there are social workers at the Bureau.
GENEVIEVE
That’s correct, it’s something that is new to a lot of people.
FRANK
You’ve been there since 2021, is that right?
GENEVIEVE
That is right.
FRANK
And what kind of social-emotional needs have you seen among the population over the last couple of years?
GENEVIEVE
Well, I have met amazing people in Petersburg. We have a community that really cares about the children who live here and the families, and it’s really encouraging to watch them and to see how much they care about each other. However, there are a lot of people struggling. They’re struggling with safety and security for their kids, there are also a lot of housing concerns- and then these concerns are compounded by poverty and a high percentage of single parent households. And in single parent households, one parent can only do as much as one parent can do. There are still only 24 hours in a day. And all of this works together to negatively impact children. And we see a lack of executive functioning skills, dysregulation, limited connections to trusted adults, poor conflict resolution and strained personal relationships.
FRANK
So, why EveryDay Strong? How does that connect with what you do?
GENEVIEVE
The things that I just mentioned would all be positively impacted by an increase in safety, connection and confidence. Children who feel safe are able to focus on building connections. Adults connecting with youth in positive ways helps them to view good relationships and build the skills needed to impact a continuum from communication with a parent, teacher or peer to conflict resolution. Confidence elevates youth to a level where they can be sure to pursue their interests, engage with instructors and realize their dreams. Beyond the framework itself, I was most attracted to the fact that EveryDay Strong is a framework that would be effectively used to coach adults on how to build safety, connection and confidence.
FRANK
You gave an interview last August (08/17/2022, WTVR) in which you said, “Everything a police officer does, I don’t do any of that, but the things that I do, the majority of our officers don’t do.” What did you mean by that?
GENEVIEVE
So, by that I mean that there is no duplication of services. So, everything that a police officer does, or almost everything, I don’t do any of that. And the things that I do, they aren’t doing. And so, it really is a perfect marriage of these two fields. You’ve got criminal justice and law enforcement, and then social work. And together we’re able to really effectively impact the whole person.
FRANK
And do you see EveryDay Strong as potentially being something that fits in with your role exclusively, or is it something that all officers can get engaged with?
GENEVIEVE
I hope to see all officers getting engaged with it. Any officer would be able to attend a training and then they would be able to use EveryDay Strong professionally or personally. And I see that this would be most impactful with our School Resource Officers or SROs. It would also be great for the officers who are involved with the Police Athletic League Program, or PAL, and PAL will be starting up again actually this spring break is our first PAL activity of the year
FRANK
Oh, that’s great to hear.
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Police officers have a critical role in helping people feel physically safe in our community. Can you talk a little bit about how the police department can also help to build emotional safety for youth?
GENEVIEVE
Police are called to a variety of different scenes, but many involve youth – some because youth are there and others because the actions of the law enforcement personnel directly impact youth. Emotional safety can be impacted by sharing appropriate interventions and skills with parents and caregivers, using the same language that is being used in schools or extracurricular activities, and connecting with youth by being transparent and truthful.
FRANK
Can you give a specific example of the kind of language you are talking about?
GENEVIEVE
That’s a good question…so I think that for me, that’s part of what EveryDay Strong is going to do – is to give them that language that would be consistent. Because right now, we could see a police officer saying something that doesn’t line up with the social emotional learning they’re receiving in the schools, and that’s really frequent actually when you have the old school style of things and then social emotional learning the kids are getting in a public school system. So, I’m hoping that EveryDay Strong provides that language for them.
FRANK
According to a 2019 Virginia Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 32% of high school youth reported feeling sad or hopeless for two weeks or more, and 30% say that they don’t have a single caring adult that they feel comfortable talking about their problems with.
I’m sure you have seen lots of similar statistics on what happens when youth don’t feel connected, whether it’s to their school or their neighborhood, or even their own family. What are some of the big takeaways from those statistics?
GENEVIEVE
Well, children are not able to grow up alone—they need trusted adults to guide them and equip them with the skills and support they need to succeed. Despite the overwhelming body of evidence demonstrating that trusted adults are essential in the lives of youth, it remains a consistent and startling reality that many youth do not have that trusted adult in their life. Additionally, risk factors for gun violence and gang involvement include poverty, community disorganization, low levels of parental involvement and a lack of school connectedness. When we look at the two together, we see that there is substantial overlap and a need to work on connectedness and parental involvement or interest from a caring adult, at minimum.
FRANK
How does EveryDay Strong help with those feelings of connection and what are some benefits that you hope to see from the spread of this concept in the community?
GENEVIEVE
EveryDay Strong equips adults with easy-to-follow strategies that target key components to help children feel safe and connected. It is encouraging and uplifting; it translates everyday acts into methods of building a child up and allowing them to feel cared for and valued. When we look at risk factors and see things like ‘lack of parental involvement,’ the statistics are not checking to see if parents know how to engage with their kids. I have five kids—the lack of a manual for how to parent and how to nurture our children is overwhelming at times and information has to be sought out. Delivering easy-to-duplicate information in a framework that makes sense could positively impact parental involvement and engagement or provide the skills necessary to another trusted adult. These techniques can foster connectedness with teachers, coaches, clergy, mentors, aunts, uncles, grandparents and parents. Youth deserve this opportunity and the chance to build positive connections in healthy settings and with evidence-based practices.
FRANK
Safety and connection are kind of straightforward, right? But what about confidence? What are the benefits of increasing the confidence of young people?
GENEVIEVE
Confidence is definitely more nuanced. It cannot exist alone and is only possible for youth who have their primary needs met and don’t feel vulnerable about who they are or what they believe. Confidence allows youth to pursue their interests, speak their truths, be part of the solution and nurture their peers. It is what is needed for youth to be change agents and that is a necessity; youth who can positively impact their peers can do a lot to mitigate risk factors.
FRANK
What are some direct examples of that from your perspective?
GENEVIEVE
Confident young people will be going to the basketball tryouts, attending after-school clubs, applying for their first jobs, applying to college and so much more. They know how to manage the fear of failure and not to let that control them. Confidence is what allows them, and us, to step out and be vulnerable.
FRANK
About how many individuals do you interact with during any given month in your professional role?
GENEVIEVE
The numbers vary. On average, I interact with about 60 people, not all of them directly, and take about 30 referrals.
FRANK
And of those, roughly how many are young people?
GENEVIEVE
About a third of the folks I work with are young people, and this will increase drastically across the social work department over the course of this year because a second social worker will be added to the department. That person will work exclusively with juveniles.
FRANK
Would it be fair to say that there’s an opportunity here for both the adults and the young people to meet a need?
GENEVIEVE
Oh definitely, there’s definitely an opportunity for that.
FRANK
The Petersburg Bureau of Police is a United Way partner in this initiative, helping to train EveryDay Strong Ambassadors. Who do you identify as trusted, caring adults in the community that could benefit from the resources and trainings that Ambassadors provide?
GENEVIEVE
Anyone interacting with children in the professional or volunteer capacity; parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, caregivers, foster parents, school personnel, including coaches and other extracurricular activities, and those in supporting roles for those activities; the medical community; and the faith-based community. Really, it’s anyone who has any interaction with children, or parents or caregivers, would be a candidate for an EveryDay Strong training.
FRANK
Now Genevieve, you’ve already given a few of these trainings. What was that like? Can you give some highlights from the experience, maybe some moments where you sensed a different level of awareness in your participants or some insights that they shared with you?
GENEVIEVE
Something that I love about this training is the “aha” moment for the attendees. It’s a similar moment that happens when there is a trauma and resilience training…the folks attending connect the dots and it is so exciting! I remember when that was me, and I was connecting the dots to how trauma has a long-term impact. The same happened for me with EveryDay Strong because I realized that this could make a difference in my community. This can bridge the gap by increasing awareness and teaching people about the importance of safe, connected and confident kids. It can be duplicated everywhere a child is throughout our city and when attendees can see the vision and become excited about the material, it will always be the best moment for me as a trainer. It is made better because it is trained in 60 minutes! There are some people who have taken the training who don’t have a previous awareness about resilience and why it is important. They share that this training highlights the importance of safety, connection and confidence which builds resilience, but that it isn’t bogged down by the lengthy and complicated explanation of trauma and resilience. This is easy to apply steps and skills that they feel like they can do, and it’s exciting for them!
FRANK
What do you hope comes out of all of this?
GENEVIEVE
My goal is that EveryDay Strong is everywhere youth are in Petersburg. I would like to see our police officers be able to use terms that have already been shared with youth in school, at the YMCA, sports programming, the Boys and Girls Club, church and at home. This would also provide some unity across all of the different places youth are in Petersburg.
FRANK
Since we’re talking about building youth resilience, if you could go back and give your 18-year-old self one piece of advice, what would that be?
GENEVIEVE
To be confident. That requires believing in yourself, establishing positive connections and an ability to face difficulties without being defeated. That is what every 18-year-old needs.
FRANK
So the concept behind EveryDay Strong is really about community spread, right? Making sure that more adults feel capable of being that person that a kid can talk to. What does that look like in Petersburg from your perspective?
GENEVIEVE
Although there are some challenges in Petersburg, it is a city with people who genuinely care about the wellbeing of others and, especially, their youth. EveryDay Strong can unify the city around building resilient youth and it is my hope that it does that.
FRANK
There’s a saying that kids don’t care what you know until they know that you care. Do you agree with that?
GENEVIEVE
Absolutely!
FRANK
What do you want everybody listening to know about kids in Petersburg and what it really means for adults to show that they care?
GENEVIEVE
Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. For kids, that means that we want what is best for them, and we want to care for them so that they are safe, connected and confident. Yes, that happens to be exactly what EveryDay Strong does and that isn’t a coincidence. EveryDay Strong still treats kids as the experts in their lives, but it equips adults to engage in actions, conversations and activities that say “I care”, and I will keep showing up to show you that!
FRANK
I’ve been talking with Genevieve Lohr, a Social Worker with the Petersburg Bureau of Police, about EveryDay Strong, the new youth mental health initiative from United Way of Greater Richmond & Petersburg.
Genevieve, thank you so much for making time to talk with me today. If our listeners want to get in touch with you to talk about how they can support the work that you do or to take part in an EveryDay Strong training in the Petersburg area, what’s the best way for them to reach out?
GENEVIEVE
My email is a great way to reach me. And that is glohr@petersburg-va.org, and a great way to learn more about an EveryDay Strong training is to go to EveryDayStrongVA.org.
FRANK
Can they follow you or Petersburg PD on any social media channels?
GENEVIEVE
Yes! The Petersburg Bureau of Police is available on Twitter and Facebook.
FRANK
For everyone listening, if you want to learn more about EveryDay Strong in general or how you can get involved anywhere in the RVA region, you can go to our website, www.EveryDayStrongVA.org. There you can download materials, find out about upcoming trainings that we have scheduled or even request to host a training in your area.
Thanks again to my guest, Genevieve Lohr, and our partners at the Petersburg Bureau of Police, the production team at United Way led by Haley Hermann, United Healthcare who helped us bring EveryDay Strong to Virginia, our community impact partners at Greater Richmond SCAN and the City of Petersburg, United Way donors and volunteers, and every caring adult listening out there who wants to help young people in our region feel safe, connected and confident.
This has been The 80Forum, keeping the focus local. For United Way of Greater Richmond & Petersburg, I’m Frank Cardella. And remember that while our lives take us in many directions, we can always go a United Way.
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Special thanks to 80Forum team member, Elizabeth Penn, for helping to produce this episode.