Description
According to The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore routinely spends more than half a billion dollars on its police department, far more than on other agencies, such as employment development, parks and recreation, and homeless services. Now imagine a non-profit receiving a half a billion dollars annually and year after year making little to no progress—what would happen to their funding?
Join this panel as they discuss ways to reimagine public safety and redistribute funds that could potentially change public safety outcomes. They will also discuss what social workers can do to chart new paths that will not only keep children and families safe, but also support them in thriving.
Panel Includes:
- Ako Changa Onyango, Fusion Partnership
- Dayvon Love, Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle
- Dr. Bridal Pearson, Director of the Human Services Administration at University of Baltimore
Moderator: Bobby Marvin Holmes, MSW, Son of a Dream
Instructor
A dynamic and well-rounded professional, Bobby Marvin Holmes is a licensed social worker in the state of Maryland with a dual background in media and human services. Over the span of his career, he has rooted himself in a mission to serve children, youth, & families.
As a media professional, Holmes covered issues for various outlets including the AFRO-American Newspaper, The Baltimore Times, WEAA 88.9, NewsOne.com, NPR affiliate WYPR, and Radio One. In 2008, Holmes founded Son of a Dream, LLC (www.sonofadream.com), an engagement & multimedia venture offering impactful narratives of youth, families, and communities. Through Son of a Dream, Holmes has worked hard to produce compelling projects for film screenings and book talks for public schools, colleges, community-based programs, and human service agencies.
In 2018, Holmes’ commitment to youth & families earned him a fellowship with the Center for Urban Families’ Practitioners Leadership Institute (PLI). The following year he became a 2019/2020 recipient of Baltimore Corps’s Elevation Award.
Holmes’s career in the human service field spans nearly a decade with experience in several capacities including working for mental health agencies, schools, child welfare, and community-based programs. He currently serves as a psychotherapist for Parker Psychiatric Services, an outpatient mental health clinic. As a staunch community advocate passionate about public health and safety, Holmes has also participated in several initiatives aimed at addressing community violence and empowering youth. A proud husband and father, he lives in Baltimore, Maryland with his wife and children.
Dr. Bridal Pearson views himself as a social entrepreneur who engages in actions to empower and transform those who are most marginalized in our society by educating, mentoring, advocating, and leading by example while existing as an active agent within his community. All of his activities, both professional and community-based, are connected by this philosophy. He is the program director and senior lecturer of the graduate program in Human Services Administration at the University of Baltimore. The program is a collaborative with Coppin State University. He teaches between both universities.
At the very heart of Human Services administration is social justice and advocacy. Dr Pearson is an advocate in several areas but police reform has become a prominent component. In 2019 he provided testimony in several forums. He testified in Annapolis to the Baltimore Senatorial Delegation in support of Senate Bill 843. The purpose of the bill was to strengthen the Civilian Review Board’s authority, independence, and resources. He provided testimony to the Baltimore City Council relative to ending the practice of having victims of police misconduct sign non-disclosure agreements/gag orders, to receive monetary compensation. Dr Pearson sat on a panel at a town hall meeting, Policing and Engaging Vulnerable Populations at the University of Baltimore’s School of Law. He also provided testimony to the Commission to Restore Trust in Policing in Annapolis. He discussed strategies to strengthen the Civilian Review Board, issues with the Gun Trace Task Force, and methods to restore trust in policing. Teaching, community work, and advocacy allows Dr Pearson to address both micro and macro level issues towards providing his perspectives on possible solutions.
Dayvon Love is the Director of Public Policy for Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle. For over a decade now, he has sharpened his oratory and political analysis skills. As a Forest Park High school student, he discovered the world of policy debate after slipping into a practice session for the Baltimore Urban Debate League team to keep warm before school began one day.
Dayvon was so skilled at policy debate as a high school student; it earned him a scholarship to Towson University. He then gained national attention when he and fellow debater, Deven Cooper, won the Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA) National Championship – the first time in history that an all-Black debate team won the tournament. Incorporating hip-hop, poetry and personal experiences, their debate arguments flipped the script as they underscored how the practice of the debate community purveys the kind of racial inequalities existent in society today.
Since childhood and with a carpentry background, Ako has been facinated with the interplay of structural members, linkages, and support systems. Now he translates those skills and uses them as keys to creating lasting relationships.
As the President of the Board of Directors, Mr. Onyango believes in balance and collaboration as the cornerstones for enduring institutions who benefit and profit from the the communities they purport to serve.
Mr. Onyango graduated from Coppin State University with a BA in Urbang Studies/Affairs.
Learning Objectives
Upon the completion of this workshop, the participants will be able to:
- Identify 3 funding alternatives that can assist in public safety
- Recite why the current approaches to Public Safety are not working.
- Identify 2 ways Social Workers can get involved.
Late Fees and Refunds
Fee & Registration:
Cost is $30 and includes CE credit. Registering after February 20, 2021 will incur an additional $10 late fee. *Cancellations must be received 24 hours in advance prior to the live interactive webinar to receive a refund or a credit letter.
*All cancellations will be subjected to a $35.00 administration fee
