2024 Gala Honoree: Erin Westerman

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We are excited about our four “Cape & Gown Gala” honorees, who will be celebrated at our upcoming fundraising gala on Sunday, December 8 at the Skirball Cultural Center. As advocates and supporters of underserved children, families and communities, our honorees were selected for their humanitarianism and impact to society.

Today, we will be sitting down to meet Erin Westerman, Co-President of the Motion Picture Group at Lionsgate to better understand her desire to give back. Hello Erin and welcome to Children’s Institute! Thank you for making time to meet with us. Can you start off by sharing a little about yourself?

I am a mother of two – I have a seven-year-old daughter and a two-year-old son. As the Co-President of the Motion Picture Group at Lionsgate, I oversee a team, and our job is to build and manufacture the movies that get put into theaters with the Lionsgate logo on it. That includes Hunger Games, John Wick, Saw and more. Plus, there’s a lot of other smaller, original movies that we make throughout the year.

My proudest accomplishment to date, outside of having my children, is how I impacted Lionsgate’s maternity leave policy. While I was negotiating my contract, I found out that our maternity leave policy was the state minimum. While this is not uncommon for corporations given that that’s what the government suggests as a starting place, having just had a child, I was super aware that it wasn’t enough time off.

I decided to put into my contract that the company change their policy to allow for longer maternity leave if I was going to accept the offer. What’s amazing about Lionsgate is that, when faced with the data that supports all the good that a longer maternity leave can have and how little it actually costs the company, they changed their policy to give birth mothers five months of full pay plus four months of pay for the non-birth parent.

I will always feel so good that I found myself in a position to hold up a mirror and see that I helped create real change for the people that work at Lionsgate. I would say this is both the reason that I work at Lionsgate and have worked there for almost a decade.

Our North Star consists of four pillars which include educational success, emotional well-being, economic mobility and lifelong health. What part of our North Star resonates with you?

I grew up in the south side of Chicago and I’m very aware that many of the kids that I grew up with didn’t have what I had, which were parents who had the capacity to provide opportunities for me – not just financially but also emotionally and with their time. My parents put a lot of effort into creating opportunities for me to feel whole, to be challenged and to see opportunities.

That may look different for others but the possibilities that exist for people to succeed are impacted by whether or not they have someone in their life who’s capable of doing that for them. Because of my childhood and because of where I grew up in Chicago, I’m hyper-aware that the biggest indicator of my success has been having parents who believed in me. I can now look back on a lot of the kids I grew up with who were no less smart, no less deserving but who have not found themselves to be as lucky as me. One person who believes in you can change their life.

What’s amazing about Children’s Institute is that they look at the whole child, the whole family and can create capacity for parents to create those opportunities by filling in the holes or pointing people in directions to provide resources that that child or family need.

If you had a message to share with those who are better off and have more resources, what would it be?

I think that, especially if you have children, you become very aware of how important it is to provide for your children. It’s something I feel all the time. Whenever my children need something, nothing will stop me from helping them. No amount of money, resources, or time would stop me from doing what I can for them. Unfortunately, a lot of mothers, fathers and caregivers are not able to do that.

Now, for a more lighthearted question. If you were granted one wish, for the people we serve, what would that be? And why?

That’s a hard question! Well, I wish that we were more child friendly. I think that there are countries in Europe where everybody lifts up families and children. And I think in a lot of places, children are seen as being a burden. Even as somebody with resources, I feel like it’s still hard to raise children.

So, my wish would be that we had a community that did more of that.

One last question! When we were looking at the dresses we collect and hand out for our annual Prom2Go event, I noticed you had a reaction to them. Can you share what you were feeling in the moment?

Oh yeah! I love that you have an event focused on prom, because often, things like prom are deemed as extra and unnecessary. But when I look back on my own high school experience, I remember prom being one of the most joyous experiences I had.

The idea that Children’s Institute would take seriously something in a high schooler’s life like prom and provide resources for that while knowing that a new dress matters gets me very emotional.

 

If you would like to give back to the community while enjoying an evening celebrating our honorees at our 6th Annual “Cape & Gown Gala”, you can purchase corporate sponsorships or individual & group tickets here. Our “Cape & Gown Gala” will take place on Sunday, December 8 from 5-8pm at the Skirball Cultural Center.

Proceeds to the gala will go towards the services and programs helping the underserved children and families in our community.

2024 Gala Honoree: Tim Disney

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We are excited to announce our four “Cape & Gown Gala” honorees who will be celebrated at our upcoming fundraising gala on Sunday, December 8 at the Skirball Cultural Center. As advocates and supporters of underserved children, families and communities, our honorees were selected for their humanitarianism and impact to society. Today, we have the privilege of speaking with Tim Disney, Entrepreneur & Philanthropist, to get to know him better and to hear about why he believes in giving back.

Thank you, Tim, for making time to meet with us. We are so grateful for you and all you do to champion the rights of the children and families we serve. Could you please start off by sharing about your illustrative career as a creative, filmmaker and also as a philanthropist? Please tell us about yourself.

I’ve been lucky enough to have a varied career or a variety of different careers – some in creative fields and I’ve been able to go devote a fair amount of time and attention to nonprofit work which has been extremely gratifying. Through that, I’ve met some truly incredible people like the folks here at Children’s Institute and that’s a part of my life that I’ve devoted more energy to as the years have gone by.

As for my involvement in philanthropy – well, I’d say I have an ambivalent relationship with the philanthropy idea. It’s something that’s, deeply part of our social structures in this country. I wish it wasn’t the case. I wish that we structured our government and society to take care of these core needs, families and children, rather than relying on the private sector to give or not give to support them but that’s not the way it’s structured right now.

So, I feel like, I am hesitant to use the word obligation, but it does feel imperative that folks who have the means support organizations such as Children’s Institute because otherwise these children and families would go without the help they need. At the same time, I think I have to keep in my mind, and we should all keep in our minds that it doesn’t have to be like this, and we ought to work for a more sustainable solution to these problems while also doing what needs to be done in the moment.

There’s something problematic about the implied hierarchy of donor and patron and the recipients of that and I don’t feel comfortable with that. I would call myself an enthusiastic and simultaneously, a reluctant philanthropist in that sense.

You’ve talked about kindness as a way out of a dark place. Could you expand on that and share what it means for you to be that source of light or kindness in dark places?

The ultimate human characteristic is others-directedness that exists along with the urge to look out for ourselves. We’re all battling in this middle ground – between both instincts that we all have. I find that, especially as the years have gone by, I try to be of service to other people and that my life is better when I serve others. It’s a counterintuitive idea that if I follow that principle, my life gets better but of course, that’s not my first instinct.

When I wake up in the morning, my first thought is, “how do I get what I need today?” That’s my first thought and probably everybody else’s first thought. Especially when things are challenging or scary, that’s the place that we go and so those are the moments where I really have to make an intentional, mental shift and be others-directed.

Now, for a more lighthearted question. Could you tell us about yourself and your contributions to California Institute of the Arts and SCI-Arc?

California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) was created by Walt Disney – it came from an idea that he had towards the end of his life to create a college, that brought all the arts together in one place. This didn’t really exist at the time and he died before he was able to realize that dream. My grandfather who really was not an arts guy but because of his loyalty to his brother, Walt, he followed through on that idea to create CalArts in the early 70s. There’s a family connection to it – my father served on the board for many years and when I was about 30 years old, he said, I’m tired of doing this so why don’t you do it and that’s how I first got connected to it.

I was always aware of CalArts and I was an art history major myself, so I felt a strong connection. But it wasn’t until that moment that I became directly connected to it. I served on the board for 29 years and that was one of my most enriching experiences. I also served on the board of another college called the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) which reflects my connections to education and college.

Could you highlight a certain involvement you’ve had in education that you’re proud of?

I’d say that it would involve making it possible for folks without a lot of money to attend school. Art school is maybe the most expensive form of education. You can’t have large thousand student lectures – art requires small classrooms consisting of a highly qualified mentor teacher or artist and that classroom format is very expensive to deliver.

Additionally, art school requires all sorts of specialized equipment. As we field applications, we go based on portfolios rather than grades and scores as grades and scores are strongly correlated with socioeconomic status. By looking at portfolios or assessing people’s talent, you can kind of get away from the socioeconomic correlations that most colleges are looking for.

We think that we identify the kids as the most talented who also represent the general demographics. It’s evidence to me that when at birth, in the delivery room, when God is handing out gifts, he’s doing that equally. That, and all of the stuff that happens between then and the 11th grade where the kids are applying for college – that’s where the differentiation takes place for lack of opportunity, proper nutrition, resources, etc.

That’s why I’m very interested in Children’s Institute because they’re addressing those needs from the earliest phases where the pathways get set for kids and families and at the same time, the time when most help is needed. By the time students are in 11th grade and applying to college, lots of things happen. On one end, there are extraordinary kids who managed to do extremely well despite challenging circumstances early on but those are the exceptions.

If you can get involved in a family’s lives very early on, like what Children’s Institute is doing, you can set kids up for success – to reach their full, natural potential. I think it’s a tragedy in this country that we’re essentially squandering 60% of the human capital of the country by under-investing in very basic things including housing, education, health care and other basic needs.

Children’s Institute is a large organization for its type, but it serves a tiny fraction of the overall need. It’s very important that Children’s Institute succeeds because it sets a model that other people and organizations can follow.

What connects you to Children’s Institute and what is your message of encouragement you’d like to share with other donors?

Children’s Institute’s model appeals to me because it addresses the entire family system and the community, more broadly. It’s wonderful if organizations operate programs for children and address children’s needs because those are essential, but I don’t think that’s going to be successful unless you are also supporting families and communities at the same time. Unless you’re helping the whole family succeed, it’s not going to work or at least as well as it should.

I’m proud to be associated with Children’s Institute and the work they’re doing. I’m flattered and honored that I am an honoree. I would encourage other folks who have the means to support nonprofits such as Children’s Institute to support this organization. If you care about the health of society, in general, and you care about economic development, public safety, public health, and related issues, this is really where it all starts.

It starts with families, homes, children and education. All of the other things that we’re trying to address, including housing issues, are symptoms of what happens with families and children in the home. I believe in the model that Children’s Institute is using because they are addressing those issues in a holistic way and sticking with people and giving them the broad range of services that they need so that they can go out there and succeed.

And I think this kind of work has a multiplier effect. Families that are on the lower end of the economic spectrum that are able to launch their kids into life successfully – those kids go on and they have kids and they bring these values and these skill sets into their family’s lives, and it grows from there.

 

If you would like to give back to the community while enjoying an evening celebrating our honorees at our 6th Annual “Cape & Gown Gala”, you can purchase corporate sponsorships or individual & group tickets here. Our “Cape & Gown Gala” will take place on Sunday, December 8 from 5-8pm at the Skirball Cultural Center.

Proceeds to the gala will go towards the services and programs helping the underserved children and families in our community.

Deskside Chat with the Board: Supriya Batra

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We recently welcomed Supriya Batra, a Partner at Bel Air Investment Advisors, as a member of our board of trustees. Please read below to learn more about Supriya and what motivated her to join Children’s Institute.

Welcome aboard, Supriya! We are so excited to have you join our board of trustees.  Could you please start by sharing more about yourself? 

I am a child of an immigrant father who moved from India to the United States with only $20 in his pocket, seeking a better life for himself through education. Growing up, he instilled in me the values of responsibility, frugality and the importance of education. He worked tirelessly, commuting by bus to ARCO in downtown Los Angeles. I remember my siblings and I would eagerly wait at the bus stop to welcome him home each day, witnessing firsthand his dedication and work ethic.

He followed traditional Indian customs, including an arranged marriage to my mother who immigrated with my father. In Indian culture, women are not raised to work, but rather, to become mothers. Despite the cultural norms that often limit women to domestic roles, my family was different. My father had three sisters, all professionals – including two doctors and one entrepreneur. This environment broadened my perspective on what women could achieve beyond motherhood. My father encouraged me with a friendly, supportive approach, urging me to pursue my ambitions, and unlike many of my family friends, I was raised with the belief and notion that I could – and should – aspire to a fulfilling career.

My father’s entrepreneurial spirit eventually led him to leave ARCO to start his own company. Watching him navigate the challenges of entrepreneurship and the tough road of not having a steady income and working well into the middle of the night, taught me invaluable lessons about hard work and perseverance. Fast forward to today, I’m a financial advisor, and similar to my father, I co-founded a successful business with another female leader, starting from nothing to building it into what it is today. My father’s positive role-modeling played a crucial role in my career.

What makes you excited to be a part of our Board of Trustees? Is there anything specific about our North Star that speaks to you? 

Reflecting on my childhood, I recognize the immense support I received from my immediate and extended family and community. I realize that this is in stark contrast with the experiences of children facing extreme poverty, who often lack the resources, time and love that are critical for their development. This disparity deeply resonates with me and is the reason why I am a part of the board.

Children’s Institute’s North Star emphasizes the importance of self-empowerment and the pillars necessary for it: educational success, emotional wellbeing, economic mobility plus love and resources necessary for lifelong health. I believe these elements are fundamental to surviving and thriving in today’s world, and they align with my own values and experiences. This is what draws me to Children’s Institute and excites me about contributing to its mission.

What is one piece of advice you’ve received that has helped you – that you’d like to share with the children we serve?

Never give up on yourself. Always advocate for yourself, even when others don’t believe in you. If you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will.

What type of legacy of success would you like to leave behind?

I aspire to leave a legacy of authenticity behind. Everyone thrives when they are true to themselves, rather than pretending to be someone they’re not. Authenticity is not only less exhausting but also more positively received by others. I hope to be remembered as someone who was genuine and who did what I said I would.

Do you have any fun facts about yourself you’d like to share?

My biggest hobby is fitness! I enjoy all types of personal fitness classes and have tried nearly every one of them. Recently, I started weight training class through the encouragement of my friend. Just a year ago, I began lifting almost nothing but now I can bench press my body weight!

Deskside Chat with the Board: Mary Rohlich

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Thank you for making time to meet, Mary, and of course, thank you for joining Children’s Institute (CII) as a new board member. We’re excited to have you here and are eager to learn more about you. Could you start by sharing about yourself, including some of your professional and personal milestones?

I grew up in Iowa until I was 14 and then I moved to Massachusetts, including a couple years in Japan. I mention this because moving around throughout my childhood has impacted my life quite significantly.

I am now living in Los Angeles and have been here for over 20 years, so this is my home. Before my senior year of college at the University of Wisconsin Madison, I interned in LA to see if I wanted to pursue a career in the film industry. I did.

Being half-Japanese in Iowa, I didn’t get to see myself represented on screen. I want to show underrepresented communities on screen so they can see that there are people that look like them and encourage them to reach for that and find connection. Once I made the move, I started temping as a receptionist which grew into a role as a development assistant. From there, I worked my way up to working alongside a director. Over time, that director and I built a film and tv production company together.

Another major milestone was during my pregnancy. I was about to embark on major life changes, in more ways than one. I gave birth to my first and only daughter in 2017, while becoming an independent producer for the first time. After four years in that role, I transitioned to my current role as the Head of Purple Pebble Pictures. Looking back, it was a huge, daunting step for me to take into the unknown, but with my own personal changes came a desire to make my own big and bold moves, professionally.

Tell us about your day-to-day as the Head of Purple Pebble Productions.

As Head of TV and Film, my job is to build out the company through various projects that are all-encompassing. My work as a producer involves tv, film, narrative, unscripted – everything across the board. In my role, I collaborate with writers, actors and directors to get all the pieces of an idea together from inception all the way to the finished product.

I find myself having to read a lot – from books to scripts and everything else in between.

You mention you read a lot as a producer. Do you think all that reading connects back to your childhood in any way?

I think about that a lot, actually. While I grew up loving stories and watching shows and movies, I wouldn’t describe my childhood self as an avid reader. I do remember going to the video store as a child to rent movies and discovering new experiences through film. There were a few my dad showed me that made a lasting impact.

I love all forms of storytelling, but through my work, I must admit that I’m surprised about how much I am now reading as part of the job. And I love it!

That’s wonderful! What a beautiful connection you have from watching movies and enjoying storytelling as a child to what you currently do in the film industry. With such a colorful background, can you share about the thing that draws you to Children’s Institute’s North Star?

Opportunities and access are important avenues that allow a person to dream. What I love about Children’s Institute is that it gives people access to education and fundamental needs that all children deserve.

If you have the resources that Children’s Institute provides, from early childhood education to emotional wellbeing and beyond, people can get out of tough situations and find the freedom to go beyond, to discover and fulfill lifelong dreams. The ability to dream can seem out of reach to those who are too busy obtaining basic needs for survival, but Children’s Institute works in communities to provide access to these essential resources.

Going back to education, how do you think your education has paved the way to be where you are today? What opportunities did they create?

Both my parents were teachers – my mom was a math teacher and my father was a professor of East Asian languages and literature. As a child, education was big in my home, and because of that, I took my education very seriously. I enjoyed learning.

Something I’ve realized as an adult is my desire to learn for the sake of learning and not just for testing and benchmarking. What’s evolved in me is my hunger for knowledge and joining Children’s Institute is part of my own personal growth and desire for continual learning.

Could you share some of your future goals? And more specifically, what is it that gets you excited to start each day?

Professionally, I’m constantly excited about what I’m doing and what I’m working on. I love collaboration – as a producer, you can’t do your work alone. It requires working with other people and my joy comes from finding people that I connect with and telling the stories that I want to tell.

Ultimately, my dream is to work on projects that I love with the people that I love. If I can continue doing that and come home to be with my family, I’ve achieved my dream.

Is there a certain story or message that you’d like to share with others?

This is the thing that I think about every day – what is it that I want to say? I want to tell stories that have heart. Stories that connect with people because that’s what happens when I read and watch movies. I get sucked into stories and I want others to experience that as well.

I believe in human connection. The world can be very isolating, but we’re meant to be in community. The human experience, feeling connection, seeing yourself on screen – the way a character looks or even what they’re experiencing emotionally – those things are what’s really important for me.

And finally, for a light-hearted question, what’s your favorite movie and how has it impacted you?

This is not necessarily my “favorite” movie, (because even if I had to narrow my list down, it would be at least ten films long), but since this is for Children’s Institute, I’ll share my favorite kid’s movie which is the original “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” movie. I remember going to the theater to watch it, and I absolutely loved it. I’d say I was obsessed with it. I wore the t-shirts and recited lines from the movie with my brother – we both loved it together.

Into my twenties, I bonded with my now-husband through the movie. When we first met, we quoted that movie to each other without knowing if the other person knew the movie reference, only to find out that we both were obsessed with it!

The movie still impacts me. Right before the new “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” movie came out, my daughter and I watched the original together and she loved the fact that my family embraced that movie as a family-unit. You can call that our full-circle moment. It’s so fun for me to experience something like that with the two people I’m closest to.

Tis the Season for our Winter Festival Toy Drive-Thrus!

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This month, Children’s Institute held our Winter Festival Toy Drive-Thrus for the third year in a row. Our staff was filled with the holiday spirit as we gathered together to give toys to our wonderful families at our Long Beach, Wilmington, Otis Booth, Watts, Compton campuses! Across our different festivals, we had appearances from Elsa, Olaf, Snoopy, and even the Grinch!

We are incredibly grateful for all of our sponsors and community partners who made this possible: Filmtoys, Mattel, JAKKS Pacific, Inc, Project Pop Drop, Dodgers, Mayor Garcetti’s office and a host of individual donors. Because of them, we were able to give away thousands of toys, hundreds of grocery bags, and hundreds of baby necessities such as diapers.

Total Toys: 3500 +
Yummy Bags: 750 +
Baby Diapers: 250+
Children Clothing: 300+

We would also like to thank all our staff and volunteers who worked tirelessly to prepare distribute, and organize each event. Our families were the shining stars of all our Winter Festival activities!

We wish our community a happy, safe, and healthy holidays this season!

A December to Remember

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In December 2022, more than 100 foster youth in CII’s Individualized Transition Skills Program (ITSP) celebrated the holidays with friends, mentors and chosen family at our Otis Booth campus in Echo Park. Guests enjoyed a holiday meal, music, plenty of games, prizes and photo ops.

This was the first time in over three years that CII’s foster youth program was able to celebrate the holidays in person due to the COVID-19 pandemic and financial limitations. This celebration truly would not have been possible without the generous support of our donors and greater LA community partners. A special shoutout to DJ Lani Love for providing the tunes, Donny Joubert BBQ and Desserts by Donisha for the delicious food, and to sisters, Alex and Tiffany Tuttle, for ensuring that every youth went home with a gift.

CII’s ITSP supports transition aged (16-21) foster youth in preparing for a fulfilling adult life outside the foster system by providing mentorship, life skills classes, and educational supports that work towards high school and college graduation.

We still need your help to ensure that youth have the resources they need to achieve educational success and emotional wellbeing, which build pathways to economic mobility. Please consider making a gift to Children’s Institute and make the future brighter for youth across our city.

 

CII’s 4th Annual Cape & Gown Gala Raises More Than $765K for Children & Families in Los Angeles

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On Saturday, October 23rd, Children’s Institute held it’s 4th Annual Cape & Gown Gala where supporters are invited to join us in celebrating super heroes making a difference in the lives of children and families.

This event is the single largest fundraising opportunity for non-grant or government contracted services for CII families. Donations from this event help to fund initiatives that support connecting and strengthening our two-generation services, from high-quality early learning programs to counseling to workforce development.

Thanks to our supporters, we raised $765,000! It’s not just a number; it’s hope for 30,000 children and families across our city.

This year’s gala, we hosted guests both virtually and in-person, outside under the beautiful, historic fig tree at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows in Santa Monica.

We honored two truly heroic women: Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett for her role in developing the COVID-19 vaccine (making our in-person event possible!) and Suzanne Rheinstein for her lifetime dedication to advocating for children in her community.

 

   Dr. Kizzmekia S. Corbett

Dr. Corbett served as a research fellow at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Vaccine Research Center and team lead for coronavirus research, where she and her team rapidly deployed a COVID-19 vaccine in collaboration with Moderna.

 

   Suzanne Rheinstein 
From opening the door to opera for high schoolers to ensuring students have unparalleled access to education centered in social justice, transformative conversations on race, sexual identity, equity and inclusion, Suzanne is deeply committed to creating opportunities and belonging for young people.

 

Emceed by Emmy Award-winning TV host, actress, author and comedienne, Loni Love, the evening featured inspiring stories from CII staff, community members and supporters.

We finished off the evening with a brilliant performance from the LA Opera’s Young Artist Program, Nicholas Roehler and Anthony Ciaramitaro.

With the shared goal of creating a more just and equitable Los Angeles, we are thrilled to have raised direct support for programs that create community resilience, thriving families, and healthy children.

On behalf of Children’s Institute, thank you to everyone who sponsored, supported and participated in the event.

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Healing Childhood Trauma From Gun Violence in Watts

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At just two square miles, Watts is one of Los Angeles’ smallest neighborhoods – showing up as a blip on the sprawling 500 square mile footprint of the city. Yet with a median annual income of $25,000 and five large housing developments, Watts is a small community dealing with large issues when it comes to violence and trauma.

Watts has dealt with decades of high crime rates and frequent gun violence. Multiple generations have grown up in a neighborhood where the rattling bang of a gunshot has been a regular occurrence and the risk of a family member or friend being targeted or hit by a stray bullet is a real threat. During the span of one week in late March 2019, a total of 26 shootings with 10 fatalities took place across Los Angeles, with multiple incidents in Watts.

Minimizing the impact of gun violence is what a new initiative at Children’s Institute is working toward. Known as The REACH TEAM, CII is partnering with the LA City Attorney’s Office and LAPD to respond to gun violence by expanding access to crucial intervention and counseling services for children in Watts.

“Gun violence is so present in these neighborhoods,” said Eztli Herrera, Care Coordinator on The REACH TEAM. “We don’t want to minimize how traumatic this is and act like it’s normal.”

Residents in Watts have endured decades of gun violence that has caused generational trauma and toxic stress.

Prior to joining CII, Herrera worked in schools around South LA. She said she saw a lot of nervousness and anxiety tied to gun violence whenever the topic came up around students.

At one point, she remembers a group of students swapping details about a time they had a gun pulled on them after school. Other times they talked about having few options for walking home safely where there would be a lower potential of encountering somebody with a gun.

Deputy City Attorney Lara Drino said that in environments where gun violence is prevalent, children are likelier to intersect with violent crimes as adults. After hearing about these outcomes at the Watts Gang Task Force meetings in and around Watts, Drino said she saw an opportunity to increase mental health resources as a way to help children in Watts heal from trauma.

Without counseling services, exposure to gun violence can have damaging results that last throughout adulthood. Viewed as a toxic stress, children can develop symptoms like post-traumatic stress disorder that impact brain development and physical health. Academic achievement, professional success and family stability are all negatively impacted as well.

Watch the Spectrum News story on The REACH TEAM

It is essential that children who have already experienced gun violence have access to counseling and support services. These services can help them heal from past trauma and give them the tools and resources to navigate future dangers. Drino said she also sees The REACH TEAM connecting kids with other community-based initiatives like after-school programs that keep children away from gang activity.

“If we can intervene in these kids’ lives early and get them on a different trajectory with positive mental health, hopefully we can keep them out of the criminal justice system as either a victim or a suspect,” Drino said.

The REACH TEAM wouldn’t be complete without LAPD who provides background on neighborhood dynamics around housing developments while also sharing immediate updates whenever there are reports of shots being fired in Watts. This work is overseen by Lieutenant Gena Brooks of LAPD, who is also on CII’s Board of Trustees.

CII’s Clinical Program Manager Ginger Lavender-Wilkerson with The REACH TEAM members Deputy City Attorney Lara Drino and LAPD Lieutenant Gena Brooks.

“Normally when we respond, we’re looking for the victim to take care of, for the suspect, to take them in to custody, and we’re walking by all these little casualties of war who have seen it, and what we realize now is that hurt people hurt others,” Lt. Brooks said.

While Herrera handles the day-to-day work of implementing the strategies of the program, Clinical Program Manager Ginger Lavender-Wilkerson, LMFT, oversees the team along with Maria Reyes, who provides counseling and therapy and helps with outreach.

Based out of CII’s Watts Campus, The REACH TEAM goes out into the community and responds when shots are fired. Whenever LAPD informs The REACH TEAM of a shooting, the group moves into the area to find kids who may have seen or heard the gun shots. They talk to community leaders and neighbors to understand who exactly has been affected.

When they learn about a child who has witnessed gun violence, they reach out to the family with a care package that includes a teddy bear and other items designed to help a child relax. The team then works with the family to set up short-term counseling. As children access services, assessments are made around longer-term therapy and support groups. In some cases, it may take more than a month for the signs of trauma to appear so the team checks back in with families who may have initially declined services.

If we can intervene in these kids’ lives early and get them on a different trajectory with positive mental health, hopefully we can keep them out of the criminal justice system as either a victim or a suspect.

–  Lara Drino, Deputy City Attorney

Reyes said children have shared with her that it feels good to know they now have a place to go if they need support.

“The REACH TEAM has helped kids understand it’s okay to talk about how they’re feeling or what they’re going through,” Reyes said. “This work is going to dictate the health of the next generation in Watts.”

When designing The REACH TEAM, Lavender-Wilkerson said it was crucial for them to go out and meet residents to better understand their needs. She said mental health resources can carry a stigma in Watts where people most likely won’t utilize these services unless the team was knocking at their door and following up with them. She said this is a unique and proactive approach that is time-intensive, but will likely determine the initiative’s eventual success.

CII's initiative to prevent trauma from gun violenceThe REACH TEAM at CII includes Maria Reyes, Yvette Martinez, Eztli Herrera, and Ginger Lavender-Wilkerson.

“While counseling is focused on children, she said the team’s outreach is geared toward helping the whole family. In most cases, she said parents and other family members have also grown up around gun violence and deal with these dangers on a daily basis. They too have experienced trauma and need outlets to heal.

“Parents are affected by this as well,” she said. “Many don’t recognize their own trauma, because they’ve accepted gun violence as a regular thing.”

The REACH TEAM is focused on partnership at all levels of the community and refers adults to free mental health counselors or support groups like Mothers of Murdered Children. Lavender-Wilkerson said it is essential that the whole family heals from gun violence, not just the children.

The REACH TEAM has helped kids understand it’s okay to talk about how they’re feeling or what they’re going through. This work is going to dictate the health of the next generation in Watts.

– Maria Reyes, Therapist

When The REACH TEAM isn’t working directly with families affected by a recent shooting, they are out in the community educating groups on the importance of counseling and ways to stay safe in their neighborhood.

Herrera estimates the team attended upwards of 30 meetings in the last few months with different community groups at housing developments, schools and churches. She is frequently picking up the phone or meeting in-person with community leaders.

She said it is important for The REACH TEAM to be an active part of the Watts community. She wants residents to know she and her team members are a resource, whether it is a question about the best route home from school or the benefits of accessing counseling after a traumatic event.

Herrera said it is important to let people know they aren’t alone. They have a whole network of people here to help them.

While the program has only been in place since September 2018, Drino said she is already seeing results that point to this being an essential program to helping Watts heal from decades of gun violence. If this program is successful, Drino said she can see it expanding to other parts of South LA that face similar challenges.

Last month, The REACH TEAM held the first workshop in what will be a series of courses designed to give kids important tools for avoiding gun-related traumas. A group of 20-plus kids listened intently as the team went over the long-term effects of trauma and how counseling can help. The kids were appreciative and optimistic about the guidance they were receiving.

For Herrera, this was another reminder that The REACH TEAM is approaching gun violence in a unique way. Classes like these, in addition to the other work being implemented, highlight the evolution of community support and trauma that differed from when she first started in the neighborhood. The last few months have been a positive first step in what will hopefully be a successful campaign to heal Watts after decades of struggling against gun violence.

“We want to continue a dialogue and start the healing process,” Herrera said. “We’re reaching out and we’re really trying to make a difference.”

CII is working to help children affected by gun violence

Netflix Executive and LAPD Lieutenant Among New Trustees

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Children’s Institute announced five influential leaders have joined the organization’s growing Board of Trustees.

Channing Dungey, Vice President, Original Series at Netflix; Lieutenant Gena Brooks, Los Angeles Police Department; William R. Burford, Partner at Venable LLP; James G. Freeman, Principal at Beacon Rose Partners; and Glenn A. Sonnenberg, President at Latitude Management Real Estate Investors, join the esteemed board of over 30 trustees chaired by Paul R. Kanin, partner at Kanin Soffer LLP.

“We are thrilled to welcome this new group of trustees to our board, and we are confident their breadth of expertise will allow us to make an even bigger impact for children and families across Los Angeles,” said Martine Singer, President & CEO, Children’s Institute.

With extensive experience in the entertainment industry, Channing Dungey most recently served as President of ABC Entertainment, and is joining Netflix this month as Vice President of Original Series. She’s held previous positions at 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. Dungey is a UCLA graduate from the School of Theater, Film and Television, where she serves on the school’s executive board, and is a founding and current member of Step Up, a nonprofit dedicated to helping girls living in under-resourced communities fulfill their educational potential.

“I’m passionate about improving the lives of children, especially those living in difficult circumstances,” said Dungey. “My goal in joining the board is to raise the profile of Children’s Institute within the entertainment community, and shine a light on the vital work they are doing.”

Lt. Gena Brooks brings over 30 years of experience with the LAPD and is currently the Officer in Charge of the Community Safety Partnership Team (CSP) responsible for relationship-based policing in the five housing developments in Watts. The CSP team works side-by-side with residents and community members to develop and implement sustainable programs, eradicate crime, address quality of life issues, all while simultaneously bridging the gap between the community and the LAPD.

Lt. Brooks plays a key role in the Children Exposed to Gun Violence Initiative launched in 2018 between the LA City Attorney’s Office, Children’s Institute and the LAPD. Her community relations experience and expertise working with children and families in South Los Angeles will be invaluable as a Trustee.

William R. Burford specializes in tax and wealth planning at Venable LLP. Prior to this work at Venable, he served in the nonprofit sector as a project director at The Nature Conservancy. Burford’s knowledge of tax expertise combined with his experience in the nonprofit sector will offer a unique perspective to CII’s Board of Trustees.

James G. Freeman serves as a Principal for Cardinal Industrial. In this capacity, Freeman is a member of Cardinal’s Investment Committee and is responsible for Acquisitions and Business Development, which includes deal sourcing, capital sourcing, establishing and maintaining relationships with operating partners, and ensuring successful investment execution.

Glenn A. Sonnenberg is President of Latitude Management Real Estate Investors, a real estate investment management company. Sonnenberg has a broad range of nonprofit experience over his career. He is an active board member and past Chair of Bet Tzedek Legal Services, board member and past President of Stephen Wise Temple, and on the Boards of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, the AJC, Wise Readers to Leaders, the USC Law School Board of Counselors, and the USC Libraries Board of Counselors.

Learn more about CII’s Board of Trustees here.

Children’s Institute’s Top Moments of 2018

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This month, we took a moment to pause and look back at a few highlights from Children’s Institute this past year. In 2018, we adopted an ambitious strategic plan that will double the number of children and families we serve over the next 10 years. As part of this strategic plan, we spent last year expanding services focused on supporting children and families facing adversity across Los Angeles. This included launching a new initiative in Watts supporting children and families exposed to gun violence. We also looked for ways to bring new experiences to kids in our programs like attending a theatre performance, camping or building their first bike.

Like previous years, our successes in 2018 were powered by the strong support of our greater LA community. Events were supported, attended and hosted by amazing volunteers and in-kind items were donated by local CII friends and businesses. The donors who fund crucial CII services continued to support our organization with a record number of gifts. We ended the year on a high note by raising almost $1 million at our inaugural Cape & Gown Gala on November 14 when we honored child advocates Beth & Bob Lowe along with Frank, Berta and Sam Gehry.

We’ve already started working to make an even bigger impact in 2019, and we’ll keep you updated along the way.

Supplied for Success

We celebrated our four year-old Head Start graduates with a back-to-school event ensuring a successful transition to kindergarten. The children received backpacks filled with school supplies provided by Age of Learning.

“It has always been our goal to achieve school readiness for our children and their families. The backpack donation ensures our children starting kindergarten have all the essentials,” says Justine Lawrence, Vice President of Head Start, CII.

The Healing Power of the Arts

Youth from our Individualized Transitional Skills Program  and Santee Education Complex were treated to a performance of Daniel Beaty’s “emergency” at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. The one-man show featured poetry, music and humor as Beaty played an array of characters coping with the effects of trauma. Read more about the event.

Supporting Children Exposed to Gun Violence

We launched a new initiative in partnership with the LA City Attorney’s Office and LAPD to support children in Watts who have been exposed to gun violence. The REACH TEAM ensures children and families in Watts receive appropriate and timely crisis intervention and support services through Children’s Institute and partner organizations. Read more about the partnership.

Gears for Kids

Our annual Gears for Kids event went off without a hitch thanks to our partners at Haworth.  Partners from 24 major design firms built bikes with kids from our Power-Up after-school program. Each kid got to take their bike home at the end of the day. In-N-Out Burger sent a food truck keeping our kids and volunteers energized.

Happy Campers

We held our 8th annual Camp Booth retreat at Booth Ranches in Fresno where kids got to spend time in nature and build camaraderie. Youth got to see a movie under the stars, interact with horses and make s’mores. Camp Booth was hosted by former board member and longtime supporter Loren Booth.

UCLA Career Day Opens Horizons for Youth

Our Power Up after-school program youth joined us for our first College & Career Day. The event was hosted by the UCLA Latino Alumni Association. Kids created resumes and figured out the skills they will need to make their dream jobs a reality. UCLA students and alumni also spoke to the kids about their unique college and career paths.

Cape & Gown Gala Raises $1.3 million for Services

Children’s Institute welcomed 400 guests to the Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows in Santa Monica to honor Beth & Bob Lowe and Frank, Berta and Sam Gehry at the first ever Cape & Gown Gala. The event raised close to $1 million for Children’s Institute’s programs. Read more about this successful event.

Early Head Start Expands to Compton

CII opened its first Early Head Start Program in Compton. Serving 140 infants and toddlers, the program provides crucial services to set kids up for future success. To celebrate the grand opening, CII invited kids, families and community members to an event with food and music.

A New Home in Long Beach

The day after we celebrated the new Compton Early Head Start, CII headed further south to celebrate the grand opening of our Long Beach center. The award-winning 20,000 square foot hub was designed by DSH // architecture.

Winter Family Festival Spreads Holiday Cheer

In December, we hosted our annual Winter Family Festival. The event opened our Otis Booth Campus to more than 2,500 children and families. The day included special holiday moments for kids including storytelling, arts and crafts and cupcake decorating. There was also an obstacle course and lots of giveaways for children and families who take part in CII’s programs.

Working as a Team

More than 30 CII staff members finished up the year by completing in the rigorous LASpartan Race. With several stunning displays of teamwork, the group pushed the limits as they climbed over barriers and swung through rope courses to finish as a team. Those who compete in Spartan races demonstrate a camaraderie towards other participants, embrace the challenge of the unknown and set out to prove they can accomplish difficult things. Mission accomplished.

Want to learn more about CII?

Read our 2018 Annual Report and Impact Report.

Make a difference in the lives of children and families exposed to adversity and poverty by making an end-of-year donation this holiday season.