Lifetime Counseling Center has found a most unexpected and valued partnership by linking arms with the Cops & Kids program in Cocoa, Florida.
Like many other things, the program was cut short this year by the COVID-19 pandemic. But Lifetime Counseling Center Director Dr. Lori Parsons said she is looking forward to being able to continue the program in the summer of 2021 and beyond.
The counselors joined officers from the Cocoa Police Department for the first time in the summer of 2019.
“It’s an amazing summer camp program that they’ve been running for many years,” said Parsons. “We had the great privilege of becoming a partner last year. We had the opportunity to embed a number of our therapists full-time in the camp, interacting with the kids right alongside the police officers all day, every day.”
Detective Chris Hattaway of the Cocoa Police started planning the program a few years ago.
“As we continue to work through each year of impacting kids, I noticed that there was a connection between the cops and the kids,” Hattaway said. “We go to calls daily and we hear of the kids that face many challenges in their home life. I started to think of the great benefit of our officers having mental health professionals with them during their time in their interactions.” And that thought became the partnership with Lifetime Counseling Center.
“One thing we heard from the officers is that sometimes things would come up through the course of camp that really seemed to tap into mental health issues,” said Dr. Parsons. “Maybe it was a traumatic experience that a child had, maybe a death in the family, maybe just somebody getting bullied. All kinds of things come up when you’re working with kids.” The addition of therapy staff added a layer of coverage enabling the camp staff to simply address issues on the spot, even if it was something as simple as settling a disagreement over who gets to play with a certain toy right at this moment.
“It’s also given us an opportunity to help build social skills, to build problem solving skills, and learn how to negotiate when we want something that somebody else wants,” Dr. Parsons said.
The partnership has also allowed the Lifetime Counseling Center therapists to work with law enforcement to interact with the families and have a positive impact, Hattaway said. “There’s a lot of positive impact for the kids. I still see these kids out throughout the community of Cocoa, and I think, ‘those are my kids.’ You spend so much time with them that you get to know them – their eating habits, play habits, what makes them happy. You get to know what makes them sad and you learn their family dynamics. And that dynamic becomes ours,” he said.
Parsons agreed. “One youth approached a counselor and let us know she had been experiencing some abuse. We were able to deal with it right there in the moment, help her get the help she needed, and make sure that she was safe,” Parsons said. “One of the lieutenants mentioned later that week that he didn’t think that would have happened if therapists hadn’t been on-site with the kids. The girl felt safe enough with the counselors and the police officers to disclose that information.”
The pandemic has really brought to the forefront the need for mental health counseling in our country, Parsons said. “With all of the violence and the unrest in our country, mental health is more important than ever,” she said. “And we love having the partnership with the police department. We work with amazing people in this program and they’re very dedicated to making sure this community is safe for everyone.”
Here’s a video courtesy of the Cocoa Police Department showing the program in action:
Photos courtesy of the Cocoa Police Department.