COMMUNITYCONNECTIONS Contin u ed From Page 6
as the nutrition and anti-racism-based curriculum continues to build in tandem with farm school infrastructure including a greenhouse, hoop house, chicken coop/ run, raised beds, outdoor learning pavilion, working orchard, sensory garden and scholar’s forest, plus garden beds.” Field trips to the farm create a natural bridge by which the children can gain a multicultural, multilingual perspective on what farming is: a community where all voices can be heard and where all backgrounds can be empowered, to embrace healthy food systems.” On the farm, the after school program and summer program children are given daily exposure to the great outdoors, as well as multicultural experiences like sushi-making and Japanese garden architecture, double-Dutch jump roping, West African cuisine, native plant and pollinator symbiosis study, indigenous basket weaving, so that working parents can feel secure that their children will be having lots of fun in a safe, healthy setting, connected to their community.” Recent emails from parents to Christa say things like: “I am so happy that my kiddos get to spend after school with you and your fantastic staff and other campers at your amazing location. Historically, both of my younger children take a long time to come out of their shells. It was a joy to see them so happy and comfortable at pick up. It really makes my heart feel so good and grateful as a parent. Thank you!” While programming has been piloted at Enfield Elementary School, the Learning Farm after school program will begin taking students K-12 from all schools in the Ithaca City School District, with bus transportation provided, beginning in 2022. The waiting list is open. Students in K-5 are guided and supported by counselors in training (high schoolers), and leaders in training (middle schoolers) who learn childcare, child development, leadership, group collaboration, safety and first aid. “The older students help create activities and teach the little ones. Their input and guidance are vital to the success of the program.”
As Ithacans, Enfielders and community members hear about the lively happenings, Christa is welcoming more local farmers, contractors, volunteers and observers. “Local farmers have visited our school and shared tips and insights they have garnered throughout sometimes a lifetime of farming, or several generations of ancestors working the land,” she said. “Contractors have dropped in to help build infrastructure large and small — raised beds and a greenhouse, sheep shed and farm animal pens. There’s nothing sweeter than to complete a project successfully together, having gained new skills and developed talents along the way with lots of help from others.” Woven throughout the joyous times are the issues that our little people will face increasingly as they come of age. Christa said: “Early on, we begin to lift the veil on how food is produced on huge industrial agri-business farms — how things are done when small farms go under and animals spend their entire lives in dark, dirty warehouses, separated at birth from their mothers…As equity is declining in America’s local food chain, we must be and are solution-oriented. It is our responsibility to do better. Our children are the leaders of the future. Together we plant in healthy ways, we care for our precious Earth and our neighbors. We learn to tread carefully in the natural world, trying to disturb as little as possible the miraculous ecosystem we depend upon. The choices we make today will determine our tomorrow and our tomorrow’s tomorrow. “As we live and learn, we share our growth with our partner school district, then New York State, the region and beyond. When young children are supported and empowered in their embrace of the natural world, we can rest more securely in the knowledge that we’ve done all we can to protect the environments in our care and ensure the natural regeneration of all that Nature so generously provides to us.” Stay tuned for a late winter announcement about an exciting guest coming to the Equitable and Edible Farm School.
TCAT Contin u ed From Page 4
Vanderpool said some of the funding could go toward providing incentives to employees, paying for training courses and figuring out other ways to entice people to work at TCAT. He added that he’s still waiting for some details and clarification about how the money has to be used and in what time frame, and any other restrictions that may come along with federal funding, but said he’s already trying to think outside of the box for uses.
One area that he thinks could use some support is TCAT’s Human Resource Department. Vanderpool noted with everchanging COVID protocols, regulations, and employee shortages, HR has been dealing with a lot. “I want to concentrate on, as a general manager, how can we support our employees better? And HR is ground zero when it comes to supporting your employees,” he said. “Everyone should be putting more thought into that piece.”
THE TALK AT
YOUR LETTERS Why we have SWAT
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wenty five years ago on November 17, 1996, officers from the Ithaca Police Department responded to a noise complaint at an apartment on West State Street. It was not the first time they had responded to calls regarding that residence, but it would be their last. Debbie Stagg resided there. She was an individual who had a serious psychiatric illness and had been hospitalized many times in the previous twenty years. Debbie’s illness was so severe that ten years earlier in the midst of a psychotic break, she performed a cesarean on herself with a penknife, delivering a healthy baby and then sewed herself up. That night in November, having stopped her medications weeks earlier, she again was psychotic. As the officers arrived, they tried a variety of approaches to calm her with the hope they would be able to enter her apartment and take her to the hospital for a mental health evaluation. Eventually, Investigator Mike Padula showed up to add his knowledge of her and assist in taking her into custody. After officers managed to enter the apartment, Debbie retreated into her bathroom. She had a long term fear of people breaking into her home and hurting her. Apparently this fear drove her to burst from her bathroom, knife in hand to inflict a mortal wound on Mike Padula. An officer at the scene then shot and killed Debbie. In the weeks and months after, the actions of that evening and events leading up to it were reviewed multiple times. As the supervisor of the county mental health clinic that Debbie attended, I was deeply involved in this process. At the time, there was no New York State law to mandate treatment for certain individuals with serious psychiatric illness. There is now. Debbie had refused treatment and claimed to be taking medication. The criteria for “Danger to Self or Others,” forcing her to be taken into custody had not been met prior to that night. After that event, the Mental Health Department became strong advocates for a change in the law. When it was passed, we were one of the first in the state to use it. The word most often used by officers at the scene was chaos. Imagine a small unkempt apartment filled with police officers while a screaming, cursing psychotic person overwhelms communication as various officers attempt to make contact or offer suggestions. As the review process went on, headed by Deputy Chief Randy Haas, one idea No ve m b e r
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appeared to emerge. The City and County needed a response that would have changed the outcome of November 17. The two lives lost were part of every discussion. A Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) unit and Critical Incident Negotiations Team (CINT) unit were planned. As Deputy Chief Haas and I wrote the original grants for funding these two additions to police/mental health services, some unique decisions were made. The SWAT team would be an interagency team including the Tompkins County Sheriff’s Department, so it could serve the larger community. The CINT team would also be interagency. It not only included members of other departments such as the State Police and Cornell, but also mental health professionals as part of the negotiating team. Myself, two other social workers, and a mental health nurse joined our law enforcement colleagues in the FBI basic and advanced hostage negotiation courses. We then began a heavy training schedule with the SWAT team to integrate our services in the most effective ways. I authored many of the training scenarios to include a variety of mental health and domestic abuse situations. One very important element of the training was an understanding of how the process works. A simple view is described this way: SWAT is an arm, CINT is an arm, Incident Command is the head. Law enforcement is para-military. The assigned officer in Incident Command is in charge. No actions are taken without his or her say so. Traditionally that officer is senior to others on the scene. Fully trained we began to respond to events. One of our first was a response to a domestic violence call that became a hostage taking. This became a common event. In this case, a domestic violence call came in, an officer responded, the man wouldn’t come out and he wouldn’t let his female partner leave. Incident Command had SWAT secure the scene. When we were certain no one was coming or going, the negotiations began, the incident was peacefully resolved. Over a decade, I was involved in approximately fifty incidents. Some small and brief, some large and long. One lasted 23 hours. The common element in all of these incidents was a lack of chaos. We had achieved our goal. A calm, reasoned approach prevailed and nobody died. Everyone knows the bad SWAT stories. There is no defense for bad and at times illegal behavior. When there is, it is a leadership problem. Good police departments have good leadership. As the time comes to review law enforcement in our community, it may be easy for some to come to the conclusion that SWAT is an unnecessary and intimidating part of policing. The national stories pollute our views and hinder our judgement. SWAT is a tool to be used judiciously in the most serious incidents. Having it rechristened as the
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