Latest / Rick Outzen: (we don’t) color on the dog / Right-Sizing Teen Safety
Transcript
- Rick Outzen: Welcome back to We Don't Color on the Dog. We got with us Mayor DC Reeves. Mayor, thank you for joining us. D.C. Reeves: Yeah, absolutely. Thanks for having me. Rick Outzen: Yeah, th last month in September we had a and really since the July fourth weekend, we've had a lot of conversations about teenagers at risk teens, the the takeovers that are taking in some places. I know that you just have come back from a US Mayor's conference of mayors meeting with police chiefs and mayors and talked about responding and preventing and responding to to youth crime. What were some of the takeaways that you got? D.C. Reeves: Yeah, it was great. It was a mayor and police chief summit that means mayors come with their police chief from all over the country. There's probably it's the leadership meeting. So there's probably thirty-five-ish mayors and thirty-five police chiefs. And it's that great opportunity that you don't think you have it all figured out in your own town. You gotta go listen to what other people are are doing and having success with and be like, man, you know, we can take that idea and and trust me, we have done that many times in Pensacola. Going to these meetings and being like, man, how how how do we figure out how to do that? Big and small things. obviously th there's been a whole the conversation around the the curfew and and and listen, the the topic, as we know, of of team violence and of prevention i is not new. We have nonprofits that certainly work on that. so it's not that the the topic is new, it's just I think, excuse me, come to the forefront because we always w we want to provide opportunity for every kid that lives here, period. And Rick Outzen: Mm-hmm. D.C. Reeves: and I know you were at the Doug Baldwin thing. I think he put it better than I can. That you know, every you're not gonna find a Pitzcola resident, that Republican or Democrat, black or white, rich or poor, that's gonna say, you know, I don't think every kid in the city of Pensacola should have hope or should have opportunity. No no one will say that. That might be one thing that all fifty-five thousand of us can agree on. so if that's the case. Then yeah, absolutely. The do our police department need a curfew not to to be detrimental to kids, but to to keep them safer, actually. Yes, they need they need a tool like that. But can we do something more? Can can the city and the county partner together and do something more and use the the the the power of the governments to ask our partners to be able to step up a little bit, those types of things. I think so. And I I and if we're gonna take opportunity, if we're gonna take pot something positive out of something negative that happened on Fourth of July, you know, sometimes that that's where the best ideas come and that's where the the most progress is made in a community is saying, hey, what did we learn from this and and what can grow from that? And so our my friends in Columbia, South Carolina have several programs. They actually had them funded by the DOJ and got significant grant money partnering with their school district. They had they they actually partnered with the court system with some of the most at-risk youth and basically sat them down and said, this is what a gunshot looks like a victim and what how you treat them. This is a grieving mother, you know, those types of things that kind of you know bring some reality as a community about the impact Rick Outzen: Mm-hmm. D.C. Reeves: that you may have. so so they have about three different programs. just just that's just one city that that talked about it. but But I think really the next step is what's great, all of our the mayors that were there, they're gonna take those best practices from all over the country and those programs and the and our conference is putting them all together and sending them out. and so it feels to me the next step I would love to get with Commissioner May and say, Hey, what what what's right size for us? What would which of these things make sense? And then literally get in a car or get on a plane and go figure out how to do it. I I think that that's really our next step. So Columbia's got some great ideas, but but there were other ones that were talked about and I think that that needs to be a community decision as well as, you know, w which of these tactics do we think make the most sense? Rick Outzen: Yeah, well I and I I think that bringing the school system in is critical. We don't think of that enough sometimes. You know, when we look we get in our silos of our government entities. D.C. Reeves: Mm-hmm. That's right. Rick Outzen: But you know, the schools have this property that is busy for you know, for you know, eight hours, ten hours of the day that could possibly be available for other type of programs. you know, of course it's safety and there's wear and tear and all that comes into it, but it it they should definitely be a player in the mix. D.C. Reeves: Yeah, and that's a perfect example. We we talk about having to build community centers and maintain them. and and that that for example, if we wanted to use school district facilities at some point, just using that as an example, but that still takes that coordination. I mean, who's gonna lock it up, who's gonna ensure it? Who's gonna and and that's a perfect microcosm of exactly what we have in front of us, which is The ideas are there. I mean, there there are best practices, but it's it takes some intentionality amongst the governments, it takes amongst the school district, amongst potentially nonprofit partners to say, we're gonna grow in this direction and and try to do it intensely and try to do it really well. there are there's already an early win. I mean, our our Chief Windstrom's talking to our city attorney's office w the second we got back about when there's some type of serious crime that takes place. at a home of a child in the school district, that we do notification. that that that our police notate that so we can notify the school the next day. So they're just aware that, you Rick Outzen: Right. D.C. Reeves: know, you have you might have a six or seven year old student came in that saw something that was that was disturbing. And so so literally I we're working on that right now as a quick thing. I believe the sheriff's office does it, did it or does it. I'm not I'm not a hundred percent sure, but But that that's a perfect example of being able to go out to something like this and say, hey, let's just quick strike. That that this is a no brainer. If this is not something that we are intentional about right now, why can't we be? And so that that would probably be the quickest shift pivot from the this trip would be, hey, let's let's do let's make sure that these ki these teachers and these schools know when something potentially serious may have happened in front of a one of our children Rick Outzen: Mm-hmm. D.C. Reeves: and and if there's something we could do to care for them and And so our our police department is an integral part of that. We've we've got to be the ones that would notify and so that's something more to come, but that's something we're already there's you know, phone calls and meetings are that have already taken place in the last three days, four days, to make that a reality for the schools inside the city. Rick Outzen: You know, we we've we we lost Myra Williams, unbelievable heart and soul of the Cobb Center for decades. you know, died of of an illness. y we did we had the opening of the Rafferty Center or the ribbon cutting for it this week and it it really I think and I like your thoughts on it, is is it really points to what's really going on in these community centers and how critical it is to the development of people. I think Doug did a great job, started at five years old and talked about and could point out all his coaches. Yeah, it was it's amazing what's going on in our community center. D.C. Reeves: Yeah. And I think the the way Doug highlighted the the I think the simple and accurate way to look at the value of community centers is saying, hey, it's a very positive distraction. Instead of finding trouble, you're in a community center. That's the simple way to look at it. I think the probably Rick Outzen: Okay. D.C. Reeves: the more robust and even more accurate way to look at it is to what Doug said. It gives kids hope that they may not have it home. It gives them opportunity. And feels like, hey, I can accomplish something. I I have these coaches as mentors. all of a sudden I see some sunlight beaming through the window that I can become something I can be that you may not necessarily be feeling at home. So that I think is the magic of those centers, is it's not just the distraction of saying you're off the street and you're you're in an after school program or or it it's truly the mentorship. the fellowship, the the building of confidence to to take a situation where someone maybe in a household w that that ha is dealing with a lot of dysfunction and they're able to go to football practice or basketball practice and and see some of that sunlight, you know, that that maybe I you know, I I can be successful in my life and I can have these mentors in my life. So that's the I think the not so secret sauce of of of youth sports of of these community centers themselves Rick Outzen: Mm-hmm. D.C. Reeves: existing. and and we just need more of it and just more intentionality. So certainly inspired by Doug's story and what Commissioner May and Troy have done again, stepping up and building a community center, not waiting on the city to do it and and figuring out how to get it done, is such a testament to their passion for the for the community. And and Rick Outzen: Right. D.C. Reeves: man, I wish we had more of that. And and it's up it's my job and our job to to foster as much of of these programs, of these things, you know, what can we do to to give hope to the teenagers of the city. Rick Outzen: Well great. Mayor, thank you so much for coming on this morning. All right. See you next week. D.C. Reeves: Absolutely. Thanks for having me. All right.