Exchange for Change: What Happens when Police & Youth Come Together to Try to Bridge the Gap

Speaking for Kids host Matt Gillard, president and CEO of
Michigan’s Children,


welcomes participants from Peckham - Flint’s recent “Exchange for
Change” program,


the multi-week roundtable between law enforcement officers and
court-involved youths.


Over four weeks, seven officers from the Genesee County Sheriff’s
Department and


Flint Police sat down with seven youths enrolled in Peckham’s
Youth Services Program


with the goal to find ways to “bridge the gap” between the
community and police. They


explored difficult topics including trauma, implicit bias,
policing practices, and individual


rights, and discovered a shared desire to improve their home
community. In this


podcast, Matt talks with the guests about the impact the Flint
Water Crisis had on youth


behavior and the distrust of authority that emerge from that
environmental disaster. The


Flint cohort is the third in a series of dialogues that started
with meetings between local


law enforcement and youth enrolled in Peckham’s Lansing program
since the program


launched in November 2021. A fourth session is planned in the
fall. The program is a


collaboration between Peckham and Michigan’s Children. Listen to
it today.