As 2019 comes to a close, we looked back at a few of the highlights from the past year at CII. As with previous years, our success was powered by the support of our strong community of volunteers, donors and staff.

Father-Daughter Tea Honors Special Bonds

Project Fatherhood welcomed families to our Otis Booth campus for the 7th annual Father-Daughter Tea where the princess-themed party celebrated the relationship between fathers and daughters. Read more.

Promoting Healthy Alternatives to South LA’s Food Deserts

CII held a Family Health Fair in South LA that promoted healthier life choices for families. The event promoted access to preventative health care while encouraging nutritious meals. Read more.

Healing Childhood Trauma From Gun Violence in Watts

Since launching in the fall of 2018, our REACH TEAM spent this last year building important relationships in the Watts community and offering crucial support services to children exposed to gun violence. Read more.

31st Annual Colleagues Spring Luncheon Highlights Legacy of Giving Back

The Colleagues held their annual Spring Luncheon benefitting CII and honoring actress, author and philanthropist Marlo Thomas. Actor Henry Winkler introduced Thomas, and following the award ceremony, the audience was treated to a private fashion show of Oscar de la Renta’s Fall 2019 line. Read more.

Movie Night & Car Show Promotes STEAM Curriculum

More than 500 families and staff attended the 2nd Annual Movie Night & Car Show at CII’s Watts Campus in early May that prepared kids for success in school while encouraging group activities with families. Read more.

Appreciating Our Amazing Teachers

CII has 32 early childhood sites in LA that are staffed by 213 teachers and home visitors along with in-classroom parent volunteers. In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, we shared perspectives from teachers, volunteers and parents connected to these programs. Read more.

HBO Documentary FOSTER Features CII’s Family Preservation Program in Action

As part of National Foster Care Month, CII teamed up with Film Independent to co-present a screening of the new HBO documentary FOSTER at the ArcLight Hollywood. The documentary featured CII’s Family Preservation Program in action and the screening was followed by a panel discussion. Read more.

C.H.I.P.S. Annual Spring Luncheon Focused on Philanthropy & South LA

The C.H.I.P.S. held their annual Spring Luncheon benefitting CII where they honored the Watts Gang Task Force and philanthropists Alex Tuttle and Tiffany Tuttle.  Read more.

Community Connections Promoted Mental Wellness in Watts

Over 1,000 kids and their families joined CII for a family-friendly day of fun promoting the role of prevention, social support and connection in overall wellness. More than 50 providers, programs and services helped make the event a success. Read more.

Dream Big Graduation Caps Major Milestone for Foster Youth

CII celebrated foster youth from our Individualized Transition Skills Program (ITSP) at our 3rd Annual Dream Big Graduation. Speakers included Sean Anders, writer/director, Instant Family and Jessica Chandler, Children’s Social Worker, DCFS.
Read more.

Fatherhood Conference Brings Together Leaders

CII’s Project Fatherhood Program brought together 400 professionals at its annual Fatherhood Solutions Conference focusing on ways to increase fatherhood involvement in families. Read more.

Improving Support Through the Trauma-Informed Care Conference

CII gathered experts in the field of childhood trauma to discuss the latest research and best practices when it comes to providing trauma-informed care. Read more.

Designers Partner with CII to Build Bikes for Kids

CII’s annual Gears4Kids event partnered with 100 volunteers from some 20 architecture and design firms to taught kids how to build and ride a bike. Read more.

2^nd Annual Cape & Gown Gala

CII honored Netflix’s Channing Dungey and long-time supporters Bridget Gless Keller and Paul Keller at the 2nd Annual Cape & Gown Gala where $1.2 million was raised for CII’s early education, behavioral health and family strengthening programs. Read more.

Neighborhood Schools Initiative Invests in South LA

CII launched the Neighborhood Schools Initiative, which aims to support an entire school or preschool community with services for students, their families, teachers and administrators. CII will work in three schools in South LA that form a “feeder pattern,” which will support the same kids as they move from preschool through 12th grade. Read more.

Winter Family Festival Creates Lasting Memories

CII hosted the 25th annual Winter Family Festival for more than 2,500 children and family members that featured holiday entertainment, a petting zoo and winter crafts along with toy giveaways. Read more.

Hello,

My name is Raul and I’m a Parent Partner at Children’s Institute in Watts. In my role, I use my life experiences to support, engage and motivate families to achieve their goals. I wish CII’s services had been available when I was a child.

Growing up in South Central LA, it was normal for me and my brother to witness violence. Whether we were riding bikes or playing catch, it wasn’t unusual to hear gunshots, take cover, and then resume playing like nothing had happened. I remember walking around yellow police tape on my way to school, seeing dead bodies more than once, and witnessing domestic violence in our home.

Adults never talked about what was going on. I don’t remember anyone sitting me down and saying, “You shouldn’t go outside right now,” or “Maybe we should talk to someone about what you saw.” Instead, everyone acted like it wasn’t a big deal—it’s normal and it’s what happens in South Central.

I’ve made plenty of wrong turns myself and had to work very hard to overcome the trauma in my own life. But today, I feel so lucky to be a part of Children’s Institute where I am helping people from my community heal from trauma.

Our caring, compassionate services support families struggling from the effects of community violence and poverty. These families have witnessed many of the things my brother and I experienced growing up, but thanks to Children’s Institute, we are able to help by offering trauma-informed early education, behavioral health and family strengthening services.

This year, partner with us to create a new normal for South Los Angeles. When we invest in kids, we lift up the whole community. With your help, change is possible.

Happy Holidays,

Support life-changing services for children and families with an end of year donation this holiday season.

Kristine Hovhannisyan and David Lou have a clear strategy when it comes to innovation within the finance department at Children’s Institute. While it is common for many professionals to look at innovation as an opportunity to make their own lives easier, Hovhannisyan, Accounts Payable Supervisor, and Lou, Accountant, often make extra investments in innovating financial procedures to make work easier for all CII staff.

To them, finance can play a crucial role in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of nonprofits with limited capacity and budgets by innovating in ways that allow staff to spend less time on administrative tasks and more time on their core roles working with clients.

“We continue to try and introduce new ways to make sure the processes are easier for us and our staff,” Hovhannisyan said. “We want to make sure checks are sent faster, grant dollars go further, and staff reimbursements are processed more quickly.”

As a CII Value, Innovation is essential to the current and future success of serving children and families across Los Angeles. CII has played a crucial role for more than 100 years because staff at all level have embraced innovative practices that contributed to increasing the quality and quantity of CII’s work.

For many CII staff, their interaction with finance is limited to communication around vendor payments or expense reports. Behind the scenes, Hovhannisyan, Lou, and the 17 other members of the team, handle every dollar and cent of CII’s $83 million annual budget that keeps the organization functioning for nearly 1,000 staff and 26,000 clients.

Lou, who was hired by CII right out of college, said innovation can mean finding a financial solution to spreading grant dollars further, which then leads to the Early Childhood Education program enrolling more families or Behavioral Health & Wellness serving a larger number of clients. With the preschool right next-door, the results of this hard work can sometimes be right outside their window.

“I realized right away how big of an impact CII has and how important it is to have a functioning finance team,” Lou said. “Finance is where the budget starts, and if we’re doing our work inefficiently, we won’t be able to provide clients with what they need.”

Hovhannisyan, who has held multiple finance roles at different nonprofits before coming to CII, said it can be common for nonprofit finance teams to avoid innovation out of complacency, but this approach can hurt the long-term health and culture of an organization. While it takes more effort upfront, incremental improvements keeps an organization on a constant positive trajectory where financial support in always improving for clients and staff.

“We continue to try and introduce new ways to make sure the processes are easier for us and our staff. We want to make sure checks are sent faster, grant dollars go further, and staff reimbursements are processed more quickly,”

– Kristine Hovhannisyan, Accounts Payable Supervisor

A recent example the two shared was around staff compensation for mileage. Hovhannisyan and Lou said they are currently working on a system that tracks mileage in real time so staff no longer need to enter trips into Concur, which doesn’t always capture longer routes that Waze or Google Maps takes drivers on to avoid traffic.

Eliz Hovsepian, Vice President of Finance, said that Hovhannisyan and Lou approach their work with an eagerness and openness to partner on innovative ideas across all departments so they can understand concerns and answer any questions as they develop a solution that works for everybody.

“Both Kristine and David take the initiative to partner with their colleagues to provide insight and innovation in creating better systems, processes, trainings and support for the entire agency,” she said. “This isn’t an easy task and they come into the office every day with a smile and great attitude.”

Terry Kim, Director of Government Relations & Advocacy, said she noticed almost immediately that CII’s finance team treated innovation as a top priority. Kim, who worked at a nonprofit in New York City before joining CII, said she was used to handwriting expenses and stapling receipts to pieces of paper, which could be a slower and cumbersome process compared to using Concur.

Kim added that the finance team, especially Lou, was willing to hop on the phone and talk through the different technology features so she could better utilize them.

“David was accessible and patient,” Kim said. “He walked me through all of the details.”

This type of availability is important to Hovhannisyan and Lou, who take every opportunity they can to meet new staff. From their perspective, each new opportunity gives them insight into a different CII team or person, which can lead to new ideas about where they can innovate next.

“When we have the chance, we try and call someone instead of emailing so we can better understand their questions and concerns,” Hovhannisyan said. “We look forward to every opportunity to leave our department and get to know the rest of CII.”

Earlier this fall, we launched our Community Schools Initiative, which aims to support an entire school or preschool community with services for students, their families, teachers and administrators.

The program launched at three schools in South LA that form a “feeder pattern,” which supports the same kids as they move from preschool through 12^th grade. There are roughly 1,000 students between the three schools that include CII’s Jordan Downs Head Start, Florence Griffith Joyner Elementary and Animo College Prep Academy.

At the heart of the program is the Community School Director who partners with school leadership to identify needs and rally around a shared goal. Each Neighborhood School Director identifies issues facing students and finds resources to support children and families by connecting them with specific CII programs along with other community-based organizations like LA’s Best and Turnaround Arts. This year we are focusing on addressing chronic absenteeism.

Services will vary according to the needs of each site, but all schools will have access to mental health and other wraparound services for students and their families, many of whom have experienced high levels of trauma. In addition, we will provide training and support for teachers and parents and we have placed clinicians and parent partners at the schools. At Florence Griffith Joyner, for example, we have introduced our soccer program that used to take place at a park in Watts.

Mary Brougher, Director of Experiential Learning & Community Schools, said that the combined resources of many different providers, coordinated by the Community School Directors, will improve the overall health and well-being of students, and in turn, boost educational success.

With extra attention devoted to emotional wellness, along with additional programming across tutoring, sports and arts, Brougher predicts absenteeism will drop, school culture will improve, and more students will be focused on their next level of education, whether that’s kindergarten or college.

“Each Community School will be a one-stop shop based on the specific goals of each school community,” she said. “You bring the opportunities to where they are and they take it from there.”

Lali Alvarez, Community School Director for Jordan Downs Head Start, said each Community School is about working hand in hand with schools, families and the larger community to address trauma and community violence. For Jordan Downs, she said this approach helps foster family participation at home and in the classroom, making families aware of developmental delays, child development milestones and identifying their own family needs to ensure positive health and wellbeing.

“I am excited that the Watts community will have continuity with the three schools identified,” Alvarez said. “We are following a student from as young as 18 months to 18 years old and seeing them through their educational trajectory, and the overall strengthening of their family unit.”

Learn more about CII’s Neighborhood Schools Team:

• Mary Brougher

  Director of Experiential Learning & Community Schools
  Mary will oversee Community Schools including program design, roll out and day-to-day management. Prior to developing the Neighborhood Schools Initiative, she oversaw CII’s Experiential Learning Program. Mary is a state and nationally licensed Recreation Therapist with over 25 years in the mental health field.

• Lali Alvarez

  Community School Director
  Jordan Downs Head Start
  Lali joined CII to work on Community Schools and brings 14 years of experience supporting education-focused programs. An LA native and first generation college graduate, she earned a BA in Sociology from California State University, Dominguez Hills and a Master’s in Education from Pepperdine University.

• Robin Leach

  Community School Director
  Florence Griffith Joyner Elementary 
  Robin is moving over to Community Schools after six years of working at CII on community-based programs in Watts. Prior to joining CII, Robin spent 10 years working as a teacher at LAUSD. She is a Los Angeles native and graduate of USC with a Master of Business Administration and BS in International Finance.

Children’s Institute honored Netflix’s Channing Dungey and long-time supporters Bridget Gless Keller and Paul Keller on Wednesday night at the 2nd Annual Cape & Gown Gala in Santa Monica.

The event, emceed by actress, activist and philanthropist Holly Robinson Peete, raised $1.2 million for CII’s early education, behavioral health and family strengthening programs.

Channing Dungey, Vice President, Original Series at Netflix, was honored for her commitment to advocating for educational resources and life changing services on behalf of disadvantaged children and families in Los Angeles. Her Children’s Champion Award was presented by Academy Award-Winning Actress Regina King (Watchmen, If Beale Street Could Talk), while friends and family praised Dungey’s commitment to giving back to her community in a moving tribute video.

https://youtu.be/DZc6v61khmo

“It takes an incredibly selfless person to see what is needed and then act upon that need. Channing does everything so quietly without fanfare. She is one of the most powerful women in the industry but she doesn’t use her power for self-promotion. She actively tries to empower those that need precious resources,” King said.

Academy Award-Winning Actress Regina King introducing Channing Dungey

“As an entertainment executive, I am an advocate for the creative process and am fortunate to be able to tell stories that often provide a voice to the underrepresented. Similarly, Children’s Institute and all of us here tonight are advocates for children who lack a voice, children who are exposed to trauma, poverty and adversity,” Dungey said.

Bridget Gless Keller, CII Watts Building Committee Chair, and Paul Keller, Chairman of Mack Real Estate Development, were honored for their longtime support of CII’s mission. Together, they have led charge on CII’s new, Frank Gehry-designed Watts campus, slated to break ground in early 2020.

“My hopes for kids in the Watts community is that the new Children’s Institute campus provides them with a place to dream, and dream big, and this becomes a foundation for them to grow into the next generation of leaders,” Gless Keller said.

The Kellers’ commitment to Los Angeles was praised in a tribute video that included Mayor Eric Garcetti, Carolyn Clark Powers, President, Board of Trustees, MOCA, and Marc Nathanson, Chairman, Mapleton Investments.

https://youtu.be/yKd4fM8PoyA

“Bridget and Paul Keller are truly angels in this city of Angels…And they’re always asking, ‘what can we do to give back to this city?’ that they’ve given so much to already,” Mayor Garcetti said.

CII Parent Partner Raul Aguirre shared his personal story of growing up in South LA, and how he has devoted the last eight years working to help children and families in the community.

CII Parent Partner Raul Aguirre, Emcee Holly Robinson Peete, and CII President & CEO Martine Singer

“There are a lot of people out there that are lost, some embarrassed to ask for help, and some who just don’t know that there’s help out there,” he said. “There’s an organization down the street that is here to help the community and that gives you something to hope for – that is Children’s Institute.”

The Cape & Gown Gala also included a virtual reality experience of the new Watts Campus, a live auction hosted by Billy Harris and a musical performance by L.A. Inner City Mass Choir.

To view photos from the 2019 Children’s Institute Cape & Gown Gala, please click here.

Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from September 15-October 15, honors Hispanic Americans by celebrating the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America.

As a social impact organization based in Los Angeles serving predominantly Latino children and families  and with 70% of our staff identifying as Latino, Children’s Institute is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month by shining a spotlight on some recent events:

Volunteer Partnerships for CII Preschools

In late September, a group of volunteers from the UCLA Latino Alumni Association celebrated Hispanic Heritage month by spending their Saturday beautifying a CII Head Start preschool in Watts.

Nayra Gil, a senior studying Sociology at UCLA, grew up in Compton and said the UCLA campus in Westwood can feel like a different world compared to neighborhoods in South LA, so it is important for people to leave the UCLA campus and give back.

“With my own experience growing up in Compton, a fresh coat of paint may feel minor, but it can make a major difference for a young kid who is building confidence to explore a world outside her neighborhood,” Gil said.

David Huizar, a first generation graduate from UCLA in 2010, joined the UCLA Latino Alumni Association earlier this year. Covered in paint like many of his fellow volunteers after a few hours, Huizar said he received a lot of support from older siblings that led to academic success at UCLA. He volunteers to help open doorways for the next generation of students.

“As the youngest, I didn’t have the opportunity to give back, so volunteer opportunities like this are a chance to pay it forward from those who supported me,” Huizar said.

Please visit our volunteer page here to learn more about supporting CII.

Immigrant Rights Presentations

The recent threat of ICE sweeps across the country heightened stress on children and families in Los Angeles. In an effort to equip families with resources and information, CII is holding sessions about immigration rights. Thanks to support from community groups with a background in immigration law that included the Salvadoran American Leadership and Education Fund (SALEF), Long Beach Immigrant Rights Coalition (LBIRC), Councilman Joe Buscaino, Central American Resource Center (CARECEN), and Little Providence Company of Mary Wellness and Activity, each session features a lawyer or immigrant rights leader who can answer questions about what to do if law enforcement is at your door or if you’ve been stopped while in transit.

For more information on immigrant rights, visit here to read a helpful Q&A provided by Cindy Garcia, Staff Attorney with the Central American Resource Center.

Childhood Trauma Q&A on Univision

In July, CII released a Public Service Announcement and conducted an outreach campaign to educate the public about childhood trauma. The campaign focuses on the risks of childhood trauma, its short- and long-term effects that can last into adulthood, and what parents can do to prevent trauma or support healing within their own families.

On September 27, CII’s Adriana Molina, Director of Project ABC, participated in a Facebook Live Q&A with Univision 34 Los Angeles. Viewers had the opportunity to ask questions about parenting tips and resources to support kids in healing. Click here to watch the full interview in Spanish.

Children’s Institute is holding five specialized workshops on immigration rights for families served by CII. Community leaders and immigration lawyers are educating families on what rights they have when interacting with law enforcement.

As a social impact organization serving more than 26,000 children and families facing adversity across Los Angeles, the ongoing threat of ICE raids can be traumatic for immigrant families. It is our goal to make sure parents are informed and their loved ones are not victims of an unlawful detention. Cindy Garcia, a lawyer with the Central American Resource Center, shared answers to common questions around immigrant rights.

What are my rights if law enforcement asks about my immigration status?
You have the right to remain silent. You should not discuss your immigration status with ANYONE other than your attorney while you are with the police. This includes information about where you were born, how or when you came to the United States, or any criminal history. Say out loud if you wish to remain silent or show your Know Your Rights card. To order a card, click here.

What should I do if I am stopped by police or ICE?
Do not run. Before saying anything (including your name) ask, “Am I free to go?” If yes, walk away slowly. If no, do not walk away. In some states, you must give your name. If you are searched, stay calm and say, “I do not consent to this search.”

What should I do if police or ICE come to my home?
DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR. Ask for ID (look through a window). Officers can enter only with a valid warrant or with your permission. Ask to see a warrant. When examining the warrant, look for your name, your address, and a signature. This can help you decide whether or not the warrant is valid (true). The warrant will be in English. If you have trouble reading it or understanding it, get someone else in your house to help you read it or translate it, if possible. An example of a warrant is on page 4 of this document.

If the warrant is not valid, ask the officers to leave. If officers enter (with or without a valid warrant) say you do not consent. Tell them if there are children, elderly or sick people in the house.

What can I do if I am detained while my immigration case is underway?
Talk to your attorney to determine how this will affect your case. In some situations, immigration may choose not to prioritize someone who already has an immigration case underway, but that is not guaranteed. If you decide to inform immigration about your case instead of remaining silent, they could form probable cause to believe you may not be in lawful status and could be detained. It is best to not discuss you immigration status with anyone other than your attorney.

For more information on immigrant rights, click here for English and here for Spanish. Please visit the Legal Aid Foundation here or MALFEF here if you are in need of an attorney.

Preguntas y Respuestas Sobre Derechos de Inmigración

Children’s Institute estará ofreciendo cinco talleres sobre derechos de inmigración para familias que reciben servicios en CII. Líderes de la comunidad y abogados de inmigración educaran a familias sobre los derechos que tienen cuando deben de interactuar con oficiales de la ley.

Como una organización que ayuda a más de 26,000 niños y familias expuestos a la adversidad a través de los Ángeles, reconocemos que las amenazas de redadas de ICE pueden traer trauma a familias inmigrantes. Es nuestra meta asegurar que padres estén informados y que sus seres queridos no sean víctimas de una detención ilegal. Cindy Garcia, una abogada con el Centro de Recursos de Centro América, compartió respuestas comunes a preguntas sobre los derechos de inmigrantes.

¿Cuáles son mis derechos si oficiales preguntan sobre mi estado de inmigración?
Usted tiene el derecho a permanecer en silencio. No debe de discutir su estado de inmigración con NADIE más que su abogado mientras esta con la policía. Esto incluye información sobre donde nació, como o cuando entro a Los Estados Unidos, o cualquier historial criminal. Dígalo en voz alta si desea permanecer en silencio o ensene su carta de “Conoce Tus Derechos.” Para ordenar una carta visita este sitio: https://www.ilrc.org/red-cards

¿Qué debo de hacer si me detiene la policía o ICE?
No corra. Antes de decir algo, incluyendo su nombre, pregunte, ¿“Estoy libre para retirarme?” Si dicen que sí, retírese lentamente. En algunos estados debe dar su nombre. Si lo revisan, manténgase en calma y diga, “Yo no doy consentimiento para esta revisión.”

¿Qué debo de hacer si la policía o ICE viene a mi casa?
NO HABRA LA PUERTA. Pide una carta de identificación (mira por la ventana). Oficiales solo pueden entrar con una orden o con su permiso. Pide ver la orden oficial. Cuando examine la orden, busque su nombre, su dirección y una firma. Esto le puede ayudar a decidir si la orden es verdadera. La orden estará en inglés. Si se le dificulta leer o comprender la orden, pídale ayuda a alguien en el hogar si es posible. Un ejemplo de una orden está en página 4 de este documento.

Si la orden no es válida, pídale a los oficiales que se retiren. Si los oficiales entran con o sin una orden valida, diga que no consiente su entrada. Dígales que “hay niños, gente mayor o gente enferma en la casa.”

¿Qué hago si me detienen mientras mi caso de inmigración está en proceso?
Hable con su abogado para determinar cómo le afectara su caso. En algunas situaciones, inmigración no le da prioridad a gente que ya tiene un caso en proceso, pero no está garantizado. Si usted decide informar a inmigración sobre su caso en lugar de mantenerse en silencio, pueden constituir una causa probable para creer que no está en el estado legalmente y pueden detenerlo. Es mejor no discutir su caso de inmigración con nadie más que su abogado.

Para más información sobre los derechos de inmigración, oprima aquí para inglés u oprima aquí para español. Por favor visite la Fundación de Ayuda Legal aquí o MALFEF aquí si necesita un abogado.

Children’s Institute is proud to introduce Danette McBride as our new Vice President of Community Innovations. Danette will be responsible for leading our community organizing initiatives around addressing trauma in South Los Angeles. Danette will directly oversee CII’s Innovations II, Neighborhood Schools, Project Fatherhood, Children Exposed to Gun Violence, Health Homes Program, and our Census preparation work.

Danette joins CII with a wide range of experience that spans more than 15 years in program management and community organizing. Notably, she has worked for the Office of Los Angeles County Board Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas where she advanced policy and programs related to education, youth, and human services. In addition, she worked at Para Los Niños, Children Uniting Nations, Excel Family Intervention Programs, and the Dangerfield Institute for Urban Problems where she was responsible for life skills training classes, tutoring programs, mentoring programs, and youth advocacy boards empowering young adults and communities to become the “authors” of their own future.

As a South Los Angeles native, Danette found that education was her passport to a world of possibility, and an equalizer that creates opportunities for personal growth and economic mobility. Importantly, this value has informed her work both at community-based agencies and more recently at the Board of Supervisor’s office. She graduated from Tuskegee University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and received her Master of Social Work and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Southern California.

Dr. Todd Sosna, Chief Program Officer at CII, said Danette is bringing a rare combination of knowledge, experience and passion for community organizing and social services that will be needed to successfully lead CII’s innovative efforts in South LA.

“We currently have a unique opportunity to deepen and expand our work, as part of our neighborhood schools and community engagement initiatives, to achieve real and enduring impact, and I am confident Ms. McBride is singularly well-suited for this critical role,” Dr. Sosna said.

CII’s annual Gears4Kids event partnered with 100 volunteers from some 20 architecture and design firms to teach kids how to build and ride a bike. At the end of the event, each child got to take home a new bike.

Haworth, the furniture and office space manufacturer, made the event possible by purchasing the bikes and tapping into their network of Los Angeles-based design firms. Each firm organized small teams and contributed to Gears4Kids by purchasing essential items like bike lights, bells, water bottle holders and locks.

April Blackadder, Director at Haworth, and Celeste Altimari, Account Executive, were on site with 15 Haworth staff who volunteered for the event. Altimari has been part of Gears4Kids since its inception and said it is always a wonderful event. Blackadder, who was attending her first Gears4Kids, said she understood why they continue to partner with CII to put on the event each year. 

“I would wake up early every Saturday to be part of something special like Gears4Kids,” Blackadder said. “Nothing makes us happier than to witness the smiles from the kids when they see their new bikes for the first time.”

This year’s event benefited children whose dads are part of CII’s Project Fatherhood program, which provides comprehensive parenting skills to men in caregiving roles and uses an innovative support group model where dads learn to be active participants in their children’s lives.

After the teams assembled the bikes, the kids were put through an obstacle course run by The Los Angeles County Bike Coalition (LACBC). Two officers from the LAPD led a presentation on rules for the road with safety tips while riding. Near the end of the event, an In-n-Out Burger truck handed out free meals to keep kids, families and volunteers energized.

Soleil Delgadillo, Volunteer & Community Engagement Manager at CII, coordinated the event with Kelsey Sebastian, Digital Market Manager at Haworth. Delgaillo said it was amazing to see so many different groups from the community come together to support children and families.

“Everyone got the opportunity to meet someone new and walk away with either a bike, a photo, or a meaningful experience,” she said. “And hopefully each person had a great time in the process.”

Gabrielle, a father in Project Fatherhood, worked with the volunteers to assemble a bike with his 7-year-old daughter
Marisela. Gabrielle has been involved with Project Fatherhood for three years and said he could tell the experience was something his daughter was going to remember and appreciate for a long time.

When asked what she thought about her new bike, Marisela kept it simple. “My new bike is awesome of course,” she said. “I loved pedaling it around.”

Thank you to everyone who made Gears4Kids possible: Peoplespace; SAA LA; Wirt; Wolcott; Gensler; HDR 1; HMC LA; HOK; HDR 2; Callison RTKL; JLL; Haworth; Klawiter; Bluescape; Ergtotron; AIS; H Hendy; Forge; LAPD; LACBC; In-n-Out Burger

For the 8^th year, Children’s Institute gathered experts in the field of childhood trauma, along with more than 600 attendees, to discuss new approaches around supporting children and families facing adversity across Los Angeles.

Keynote speakers Dr. Deborah Prothrow-Stith and Liz Huntley shared their unique experiences with the ways that trauma has profoundly affected their professional and personal lives respectively. The two anchored an array of speakers who ranged from experts in neurobiology and brain development to seasoned social workers with decades of experience working in the child welfare system.

More than 600 professional working in child welfare and social work attended the 2019 Trauma-Informed Care Conference.

Huntley kicked off the event with a very moving account of her childhood in Alabama, and her amazing resilience and professional success despite numerous traumas she experienced. She spoke of one caring kindergarten teacher who saw her potential, leading her eventually to become a lawyer and children’s advocate. 

“When a child is going through traumatic events, if that child has consistency in a nurturing, buffering environment, that can help offset the negative damage,” she said.

Keynote speakers Dr. Deborah Prothrow-Stith emphasized research and data to support her point that violence is a public health crisis.

Dr. Prothrow-Stith spoke about the different ways that violence is a public health threat that can have generational effects at the community level. As a nationally-recognized health leader, youth violence expert, physician and author, she shared research and data that called for early intervention along with new approaches to address the problem.

Dr. Prothrow-Stith, who graduated from Harvard Medical School and practices as a physician in inner-city Boston, called for early intervention to make real change.  

“We’ve got to think a little differently if we’re going to do some real prevention of this problem,” Dr. Prothrow-Stith said.

Ingrid E. Mürrle, Senior Clinical Specialist, NCTSN Training Center Clinical Manager, and PSB-CBT Program Director at CII, coordinated many aspects of this year’s conference and ensured all sessions aligned with The National Child Traumatic Stress Network. CII is a member of the network, which helps ensure child welfare professionals are trauma-informed.

The Trauma-Informed Care Conference inside a ballroom at the InterContinental in downtown Los Angeles.

She said the conference not only gives people new resources to incorporate into their daily work, but it also serves as an opportunity to provide inspiration and reenergize helping professionals who are very susceptible to burnout and compassion fatigue.

“This is great vehicle to bring people together who are doing similar work,” she said. “It is affirming to see so many like-minded professionals in one place where we can connect and reconnect.”

CII offers ongoing trainings throughout the year. Click here to learn more and register for upcoming trainings.