Center for Policing Equity (CPE) POD

The Center for Policing Equity (CPE), a racial justice non-profit that uses data science to identify and reduce racial disparities in policing, has partnered with the City of St. Louis to reimagine public safety and improve equity for vulnerable communities most impacted by racially disparate policing. In Spring 2022, CPE produced a report for the Mayor’s office outlining recommendations to improve public safety systems in the city. As a part of this process, CPE engaged closely with the community to both inform its recommendations and garner feedback from individuals and groups to ensure that the process reflected community needs and concerns at every stage. Throughout this process, CPE also conducted qualitative data collection, including after the report was released, to help inform how best to implement the recommendations and ensure that the St. Louis community has an active voice in this work.

This pod will be an opportunity to share more about CPE’s work, answer questions, and collect any feedback that participants at the conference may have.

Community Violence Intervention Project POD

A discussion of community center approaches preventing and disrupting cycles of violence and retaliation.

Cure Violence Global POD

During this session Cure Violence Global™ staff will present information on why violence is a health issue that is a manifestation of systemic racism and intersectionality, and review evidence that proves the model works. In addition, the presentation will include a brief overview of current work Cure Violence Global is doing in communities across the world, including the City of St. Louis.

Dr. Fredrick L. Echols, the Chief Executive Officer for Cure Violence Global, is an accomplished physician and public health professional. He has experience in the public and private health sectors. Prior to starting is tenure with Cure Violence Global, he served as the Director of Health and Health Commissioner for the City of St. Louis. In these roles, Dr. Echols oversaw all public health regulations and departmental operations and led the City of St. Louis’ COVID-19 pandemic response. Prior to serving as the director, Dr. Echols served as director of Communicable Disease, Emergency Preparedness, Vector and Veterinary Programs for the St. Louis County Department of Public Health, where he was responsible for overseeing daily operations, staff development and training, establishment of public-private partnerships, strategic planning, fiscal management of a multi-million-dollar budget and program development and implementation.

Prior to starting his position with St. Louis County, Dr. Echols served as Chief of Communicable Diseases for the Illinois Department of Public Health and as a physician in the U.S. Navy, where he managed a staff of medical and ancillary personnel. Furthermore, Dr. Echols has served as the principal investigator for local and federally funded public health research initiatives and provides guidance to national and international health workgroups.

Gang Nexus POD

How today’s gang’s affects the Black community; gang’s use of Social Media to impress and influence our youth, and how the absence of Father’s affects the entire Family; with the question: how do we as Black Men try to reach our youth, and sway or impress them to be Different?

Movement Not Moment (MNM) POD

Movement Not Moment was founded October 19,2021 after the killing of graduate Isis Mahr, a 2020 graduate. Isis was struck by several bullets at a traffic light while taking a friend home from work. This hugely impacted many of Cardinal Ritter’s scholars who knew of and or had a relationship with Isis. Movement Not Moment is a youth lead movement that has impacted Ted many citizens in our neighborhood. Many have said “I have hope in the youth again” after seeing the mission MVM has set, which is stopping the violence. Movement Not Moment has hosted several events such as peaceful marches; bringing over 700 students out from different schools around the urban area, block parties, job fairs and counseling sessions to help better their community. This is only the beginning of legacy, and certainly isn’t the end.

Stop, Lock & Drop It POD

The St. Louis Area Violence Prevention Commission (VPC) will premiere its videos and PSAs for the Stop, Lock & Drop It gun safety campaign. The session will also include information on their Gun Violence Response Network, which is expanding this year, and Handle With Care, a system for first responders to notify schools when kids have experienced trauma. The presenters are Jessica Meyers (Director of VPC), Zenique Gardner Perry (Project Director of VPC), and Lisa Potts (Director of Prevention Partnerships, St. Louis MHB)

Reentry from the Inside Out POD

This presentation will discuss reentry services offered to criminal justice-involved individuals pre and post-release. It will focus on specific options offer by the Missouri Department of Corrections as well as the role of the probation & parole officer in the reentry process. We will discuss how individuals are assessed to determine their risk of reoffending and how the Department of Corrections partners with community resources to assist individuals returning to our communities.

About Jason Watson

Jason Watson serves as the Sr. V.P. Of Engagement at Mission: St. Louis. Prior to his current position he lead a team that was laser-focused on workforce development. A native St. Louisan he has dedicated his life to building relationships and opportunity. Jason has helped to craft a successful program that teaches job training, financial empowerment, & manhood to lead men ages 22-35 toward long-term sustainability. His leadership has garnered notable recognition including being honored by Saint Louis Americans Salute to Young Leaders award for his advocacy, mentoring, and community support, as well as being a Focus St. Louis’s What’s Right With The Region award recipient.

About Alex Earls   

Alex Earls is the Reentry Programs Administrator for the Missouri Department of Corrections. In this role he assists in ensuring re-entry services are provided throughout the state to individuals who are currently incarcerated, as well as, those under Probation and Parole supervision. He has a passion to help our returning citizens and looks for new and innovative ways to better serve our population.

About Tamara Johnson

Tamara Johnson is a Unit Supervisor with the Missouri Department of Corrections Division of Probation and Parole. Her role as a supervisor is to manage Probation & Parole Officers supervising a variety caseloads. As a Probation & Parole Officer, she gained experience supervising a gender-specific (female) caseload, sex offenders, and primary supervision. She has worked at the MERS and Schirmer Residential Facilities and the Transition Center of St. Louis (TCSTL) which specialized in offering reentry services. Tamara was a co-presenter at the 2018 Missouri Reentry Conference on “Women, Their Children, and Barriers to Reentry.”

Trauma Informed Care POD

About Felicia Spratt

Felicia Spratt is the 911 Diversion Clinical Director of Behavioral Health Response, a premier crisis and mental health service provider serving the St. Louis metropolitan area and Midwestern region.

As a leader and champion for social services for nearly 15 years, Felicia has devoted her career to highly vulnerable populations and communities. Her broad experiences range from working with youth and families as a Licensed Professional Counselor and Social Worker at Employment Connections in Durham, NC, Assistant Clinical Director of behavioral health at TrueCore Behavioral Solutions in Tampa, FL, Residential Program Manager with Places for People in St. Louis, MO, to becoming a catalyst for mental health equity which she proudly facilitates in her current role today.

Felicia is most recognized for building community coalitions, establishing strategic interagency partnerships and leading community-wide change.  Her expertise in implementing region-wide initiatives and managing crisis and trauma-care teams, facilities and organizations has enabled her to form cohesive relationships with local behavioral health providers, police departments, emergency medical responders, hospitals and state and local government officials.

In February 2021, Felicia’s most recent accomplishments consisted of St. Louis’ first of its kind, Crisis Response Street & Triage Unit, the 911 Call Diversion, where calls are transferred from the St. Louis cities 911 Dispatch Communication Center to BHR, an external entity and St. Louis CARES initiative funded through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). She celebrates the work of her clinical team who are breaking down knowledge gaps and communication barriers through information and training when addressing mental, behavioral, trauma, and substance crises. Her initiatives have significantly reduced incarceration and hospitalization rates due to improved awareness, interactions and proper diagnoses when serving individuals and communities suffering from mental crisis.

Felicia is a Licensed Professional Counselor, earned a Master of Science in Family and Children Counseling, and is a December 2022 Ed.D. doctorate candidate in Community Care & Counseling from Liberty University.

About Kinya Johnson

Kinya Johnson is the Community Engagement Liaison for Behavioral Health Response (BHR). She also worked in the call center for BHR for 11 years as a Crisis Intervention Clinician and 15 years total as a clinician at Behavioral Health Response. Kinya is a graduate of University of Missouri-St. Louis and has a Masters in counselor education. She is known for her transparent, practical style of communicating and presenting, with experience in Suicide Prevention and Awareness, Emotional Regulation, Trauma Informed Care, Historical Trauma, and other presentations as requested. Kinya is a Cultural Diversity Equity and Inclusion Advocate, and her research focus is diversity and inclusion for marginalized populations. Kinya loves working in the Black Community, emphasizing the barriers and stigma that keeps African-Americans from getting the mental health treatment they need. Kinya is a 40-hour Domestic Violence Counselor, certified for Illinois. She has served in various capacities in the community including hospital intake and case management, community support, psychosocial rehabilitation and other services for clients who are living with mental illness, including individuals with a forensic status living in the St. Louis metropolitan area. She is a former adjunct faculty in Human Services for St. Louis Community College.

About Dr. Lekesha Davis

Dr. Lekesha Davis is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Assistant Professor who has worked in Community Mental Health for more than 20 years. She is passionate about providing Trauma Informed Care to under resourced populations.

UnGUN Disarming Trauma POD

You Talk WE LISTEN POD

Community Policing

Today’s strained relationship between the Community and Police in urban areas has reached a breaking point. Many citizens in our black and brown communities are skeptical of Law Enforcement officers which often make it challenging for law enforcement to protect and serve because they are seen as the enemy, we believe our communities must get back to neighborhood-oriented policing. “Neighborhood Oriented Policing” or “Community Policing” is a philosophy that encourages increased communication between officers on the street and citizens. Increased communication facilitates officer awareness of problems and the needs of residents in the communities they serve. This communication also becomes a foundation for improved police-resident cooperation in efforts to reduce crime and the fear of crime in the neighborhood.

Conversation Topics:

• How can Law Enforcement establish better relationships with communities?
• What are some barriers that exist between Law Enforcement and Communities?
• How would you like policing to operate in your community?

How do we better combat crime in our communities?