ABOUT TIM RICHEY:
Tim Richey is the executive director of the Washtenaw Area Council for Children. He lives in Ann Arbor with wife and two school-aged boys.
RESOURCES:
Washtenaw Area Council for Children
Washtenaw Area Council for Children on Facebook
Washtenaw Area Council for Children on Instagram
Washtenaw Area Council for Children on LinkedIn
Washtenaw Area Council for Children on YouTube
TRANSCRIPTION:
David Fair: This is 89.1 WEMU, and welcome to Washtenaw United. This is our weekly exploration of equity and opportunity in our community. I'm David Fair, and this week, we're going to look at the profound impacts of child abuse and victimization and the ongoing efforts to reach kids and families before abuse ever starts. Through a variety of measures and programs, abuse prevention is the mission of the Washtenaw Area Council for Children. Our guest today is Tim Richey, and Tim serves as executive director of the council. And thanks for taking time out to talk with me today!
Tim Richey: Thanks for having us, David!
David Fair: I think we may get some rather specific thoughts and ideas when the subject of abuse and victimization come up. For the work you are doing, the definition extends beyond the parent-child physical abuse that may first come to mind. What other realms of abuse should we be consistently aware of?
Tim Richey: Sure. Well, there's, obviously, the physical abuse that can occur, which we need to be sure were prepared and preventing. But also, there's emotional abuse that parents can either sometimes consciously or sometimes unconsciously pass along to their children, as well as a type of physical abuse or sexual abuse, which has long-term implications and is obviously another one of those devastating complications that can happen in families and in the community. And we work to prevent those things from happening as well.
David Fair: Your organization says that half of all children in Washtenaw County experience trauma. Now that's a horrifying statistic! But again, there may be a temptation to project our own ideas onto what trauma looks like. What constitutes trauma as applied to the data set that you've used?
Tim Richey: Sure. Well, trauma comes in lots of different kinds of forms.There's a group that has worked on what are called "ACES." So, these would be "adverse childhood experiences" that young people face: a divorce in the family if parents are divorced, if there's a substance use disorder in the family or of a parent, if there is a lot of the job, if there is a loss of a loved one or a family member--all of these things cause trauma. And so, it's just important to recognize how these things could and may impact a young person and what steps can be taken in order to mitigate any complications later in life, so that they can grow up to continue to be happy and healthy in their later years.
David Fair: We can all identify some of the adverse consequences of abuse and victimization from mental illness to self-harm, lower educational outcomes, even to involvement in crime. What are some of the more hidden consequences?
Tim Richey: Yeah, I think that you've done a good job. I think a lot of it is the mental and emotional toll that it can cause on a young person. A lot of times, it kind of falls on the young person to pick up the emotional stability of the household. So, they'd kind of be the one to have the stiffer upper lip and try to overcompensate for the challenges that parents may be having. You know, I think a lot of times we're asking kids to take on quite a big deal, and we sort of have a notion in our minds that kids are malleable, that they're flexible, that they can sort of overcome things as they're younger and when they get older. But truthfully, those kinds of things can have a really terrible impact on a young person's mental health, on their physical health, their ability to develop solid relationships moving forward. A lot of those things can be hidden because, sometimes, young people will take the burden on themselves and kind of bury the trauma that they're dealing with, rather than having an open dialog about what they're going through.
David Fair: That's a pretty heavy weight! Our Washtenaw United conversation with Tim Richey continues on 89.1 WEMU. Tim is executive director of the Washtenaw Area Council for Children. We need to look at causation. What are some of the things behind these incidents? What role does socioeconomics play in youth abuse?
Tim Richey: A really big role! So, we are affiliated with Children Trust Michigan. Children Trust Michigan is our statewide child abuse prevention advocate or expert, and they're running a commercial right now that's called basically abuse is not a parent problem. It's easy to say while that parent need to get counseling or that parent isn't treating that young person very well. But at the end of the day, like you said, there's a lot of reasons to go into why a parent may feel that type of stress. And the economics can cause adults to kind of go through their own pain, and then they can pass that pain along to their children. Adults own trauma. Obviously, we know that there's a cycle of abuse that occurs if I'm a young person who experiences trauma or abuse, then I'm more likely to pass that on to my own children. The socioeconomic conditions, certainly, are a big factor when it comes to trauma and abuse in a home.
David Fair: And that brings us to what the council does. In the wide scope of abuse and trauma that you deal with, what are the measures in the processes for successfully preventing such occurrences getting ahead of the game?
Tim Richey: Yeah. So, our mission is really around educating adults, youth-serving professionals, and children how to stay safe. So, what are the indicators of trauma and abuse? What kind of risks are out there? What sort of steps can I take in order to keep myself safe? If I do witness something, who do I contact or what are the steps I can take for ensuring that these things don't happen again to me? So, for us, it's all about creating awareness around the types of abuse that can occur and what resources are available to mitigate those. Our mission is really around building strengths in children and families in order to protect against that trauma and that abuse from happening in the first place.
David Fair: Once again, we're talking with Washtenaw Area Council for Children Executive Director Tim Richey on 89.1 WEMU's Washtenaw United. Through your experiences as you talk about mitigation, I'm sure you've seen people come out the other side and come out in good shape. Tell me about one of the success stories that stays with you.
Tim Richey: Sure! Well, one of the big programs that we have is the Safe Sleep program. So, we work with new mothers, vulnerable new mothers, oftentimes single moms that are struggling or new caregivers that are just now becoming the caretaker for a young person. And we talk to them not only about safe sleep, so how to prevent against a period of purple crying, how to prevent against Shaken Baby Syndrome how to manage your own stress as an adult as you're dealing with this new infant also around safe sleep practices, so we create new cribs. And we also do a baby shower. So, after we've trained new mothers on the importance of a safe sleep environment and Shaken Baby Syndrome, we provide a crib. Then, we also host a baby shower near the end of the year for them, and it's just really wonderful to see the mothers and kind of, after they've kind of gone through the training, the support that they get from the other mothers in the group. We've got a big drive around providing free diapers and formula, and sometimes, we're able to offer strollers. And so, the community that's built with these mothers and along with the support they were able to provide with them really goes a long way to getting those young people, those infants, and then those new mothers on the right step to developing that healthy household. We've also had students that have gone through our cyber safety program. So, we talk to young people around staying safe online in today's digital world, avoiding things like cyberbullying and understanding the rules around things like sextortion. And so, after young people have gone to those classes, we've had them come back and offer to volunteer and become interns with us, because it means so much to them, and they feel like they got so much value out of it. So, that kind of shows the value that we have and the importance of the programming that we're doing.
David Fair: There is a cost to all of that, and, fact of the matter is, we rightfully invest a lot in treating the aftermath of abuse. Why is funding such a huge problem for prevention programs?
Tim Richey: That's a great question there, Dave! I think a big part of the problem is the ability to kind of quantify the value of what prevention means. So, essentially, if we go into a classroom and we're trying to talk to students about avoiding the dangers online in the digital world, it's hard to measure whether or not you've actually saved a young person from getting involved in a human trafficking situation. So, I think part of the challenge for the prevention community, for us folks that are trying to get in front of these problems, is it's really an ability to quantify the work that we're doing and, I think, convince the public and the policymakers that there's actually value in this. And there have been studies done. A dollar put towards prevention will save you upwards of $5 on the backside. But I think really getting to the point where we can quantify that in terms of how many children are being saved or how much abuse were stopping is, i think, part of the challenge.
David Fair: So, our time together is just about at an end. I'll ask a final question. I just can't imagine anyone listening wants to turn a blind eye to abuse, neglect, or other kinds of victimization. How do we collectively and individually become a part of the solution?
Tim Richey: Sure! Our ongoing education, we think, is really important to help people understand what risks are out there and how to protect themselves against that. So, we reach just about 9,000 students every year in Washtenaw County, but we know there's closer to 30-40,000 students in Washtenaw County, so we still have a large gap in terms of our education. We're always looking for sponsorships and donations. Folks are welcome to visit our website at washtenawchildren.org and look at ways to give back. We're looking for volunteers who can help and collaborations. If there are other folks out there in Washtenaw County that are working on intervention programs or prevention programs, we'd love to hear from them to think about ways where we can collaborate, join forces and continue to improve opportunities for young people across the county.
David Fair: Well, Tim, thank you so much for the information and the conversation! I appreciate it!
Tim Richey: My pleasure! Thanks for having us on, David! It was great!
David Fair: That is Tim Richey, he is Executive Director of the Washtenaw Area Council for Children and has been our guest on Washtenaw United. For more information about the council and its work, stop by our website at WEMU.org, and we'll get you linked up. Washtennaw United is produced in partnership with the United Way for Southeastern Michigan, and you hear it every Monday. I'm David Fair, and this is your community NPR station 89.1 WEMU-FM Ypsilanti.
WEMU has partnered with the United Way for Southeastern Michigan to explore the people, organizations, and institutions creating opportunity and equity in our area. And, as part of this ongoing series, you’ll also hear from the people benefiting and growing from the investments being made in the areas of our community where there are gaps in available services. It is a community voice. It is 'Washtenaw United.'
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