At Building Families for Children, we know that children can get hurt and in trouble if they don’t listen to those in authority, particularly during a potentially dangerous situation. So we reached out to Courtney Wiggins-Lloyd, a straight-talking social worker on a personal crusade to keep all alive when police arrive.
“If they say stop, stop,” Ms. Wiggins-Lloyd told dozens of our CHOSEN foster children and parents gathered at our office on a recent Saturday. “If they say put your hands up, put your hands up!” Ms. Wiggins-Lloyd said. “You can survive arrest. You can’t survive death.”
Ms. Wiggins-Lloyd is the chief executive officer at Oak Hill House School in Clear Spring, Md., a group home for boys that is part of our close-knit community of child welfare providers. She began her safety campaign after Freddie Gray died in police custody in Baltimore last year.
“It stirred us up. It shut the city down,” Ms. Wiggins-Lloyd said. “It bothered me. I wanted to make sure that we as civilians know what to do to stay safe when approached by police.”
We invited Ms. Wiggins-Lloyd to meet with CHOSEN foster children, knowing they could benefit from her lesson plan. She drafted it with fellow professionals who deal with children, including her brother, a deputy police chief.
“I felt the passion and relevancy of her message,” said Debbie Marini, Executive Director of Building Families for Children. “We believed it would be a good topic for our children and our parents.”
CHOSEN foster children have been through trauma and separation. And that often contributes to them running away and ending up on the street, vulnerable to its many risks. When our children run away, we notify police to be on the lookout for them. Like Ms. Wiggins-Lloyd, we want them safe and out of harm’s way.
During her two-hour talk, Ms. Wiggins-Lloyd gave scores of tips. For example, if approached by police cooperate with their demands, stay calm, and keep your hands visible at all times. If arrested, ask for an attorney or your legal guardian. After leading a spirited discussion with the children and parents about the relationship between police and young people, Ms. Wiggins-Lloyd said this is not about assigning blame.
“It’s not that police are right, it’s not that those who are accused are right. I want everyone safe,” she said. “I want the police to go home safely. I want anyone who is detained to either get booked safely or go home safely.”
Ms. Marini said, “This was highly practical training exercise for our foster kids, parents and staff. The message is clear: be safe.”