 I'm in the studio and I'm very excited because we're going to be discussing a beautiful program that we have here in Yolo County called Empower Yolo and we're going to share with you a fundraiser that is being done by the Davis Rebecca Lodge in order to support all the good works that Empower Yolo does for our community. And I have with me today the director of the organization called, oh I'm sorry Cameron, Cameron Hanley, I have it highlighted, there it is, Victim Service Division and Multidisciplinary Interview Center. So I want to say thank you for joining us today and sharing with us one of the new pilot projects that Empower Yolo is doing and partnering with Yolo County. So could you share with us a little bit about what Yolo, Empower Yolo does for our community? Well Empower Yolo does a wide variety of things for our community. Originally we had two organizations in our community that provided a ton of resources for families. We had the Center for Families and we had Empower Yolo. They recently merged so that they share the same property and they're also under the same umbrella. And then with this pilot program, I don't know if you want me to start there what we're doing with the, so I'm the director of Yolo County's Multidisciplinary Interview Center which is kind of a one-stop shop for victims of child abuse and their families to come to one place for everything, the same intake process, the same lobby, the same staff. They come for the forensic interviews that are used in criminal cases. They also come for the child welfare interviews. It's the same interview. They come for therapy, support, advocacy, outreach and anytime they have to meet with any professionals involved in the case, they come to that same familiar place that they came to originally. The whole idea is to not cause families and children to have to navigate through multiple different systems when all of those systems need the same information to do their job and also to provide a safe and comfortable and healing place. And we also have a support dog, Daisy, generously shared with us by her human Lori Rainier a longtime Davis resident. So anyways, the FVCPP which stands for Family Violence Coordination Pilot Project is something that Yolo County is doing in partnership with Empower Yolo. And it's kind of, it's the same concept as the MDIC except on a much larger scale to serve all survivors of family violence and also to prevent family violence, hopefully by getting families the resources that they need before something gets dangerous. We serve adults, children, everybody. So how this is all connected is that the county is very interested in developing kind of a one stop, same thing, streamline, intake, safe place for families to come to. Because as service providers, I think we often make the mistake of while we have fantastic resources in the county, we assume that they are available realistically to the clients that we intend and the families we intend to serve. But they're not realistically accessible because time constraints, you know, childcare, families are in crisis. They maybe have, you know, a two hour window of time to accomplish many competing priorities. And so the concept with these agencies is everybody coming together, the systems involved in the services to one place where families can go and get, you know, efficiently helped and get a multitude of needs met. So Empower Yolo was the obvious partner for the county because they already had on one side of their program, they had sexual assault and domestic violence services, counseling, legal help, restraining order clinics, therapy, children's therapy, advocacy. And then on the other side, same property, they had the Family Resource Center, Center for Families that provides house assistance with housing, food, clothing, tax preparation, Zumba classes, yoga classes, childcare, parenting, education, you name it, anything a family needs and the majority of the staff on both sides is Spanish, English, bilingual, which is great. So what we did is we, with the assistance of the county and a grant that the county got, we merged all of those programs existed on one property, but they had separate intake processes and separate lobbies and kind of operated separately, even though they're all under Empower Yolo's umbrella. So first thing we did is we did some remodeling and we merged all of those processes so that we have one intake. They have the same familiar person they see when they walk in the door, one lobby for all the clients. And then we added client navigators, which are kind of the glue that literally help navigate through the system and bring the necessary resources to families. They're greeted, they meet one on one privately in a private room with the navigators and they get their needs assessed based on their specific needs. There's not like a cookie cutter, you know, model for all people and that's kind of the whole concept and now what we're adding are county resources. So instead of having to then go to the county agencies to finalize or to get more services, you know, and a lot of people, they don't know what they're eligible for and they don't know often what they need. So that's the other part is having just one kind of simple form and then meeting one on one with a client navigator to kind of assess what you could benefit from, what your family could benefit from. And so we're adding the county resources, we're adding them to the same property, same location so they won't have to go to an additional place. So it's very exciting and I'm thrilled to be part of it. So the navigator that you're talking about, are they with Empower YOLO only or are they also a county employee because you're mixing them together and the navigator stays with the one family. So how many families does a navigator have typically during a time and are they both a county employee or a YOLO Empower YOLO? They're all Empower YOLO employees but we are using and grateful for a grant that the county got and applied for to help fund the program that started for it. Everybody is Empower YOLO employees and we currently have and we really kind of underestimated the need. We've been blown away. So we currently have about four client navigators doing that role. But we've had is many because we're because all the clients now come to the same lobby, you know, we've had 177 200 clients walk in a month or open Monday through Friday. So there's not specific hours where you have to just come for specific things anymore. We're just open and whoever walks in. So our client navigators, you know, it's not necessarily like they carry a caseload, but they they can meet with 10 15 families a day and then they continue to try to connect them. But then there's also a soft handoff, you know, once they get the services that they need and everything starts going, you know, then the client navigator can be available but kind of step out and work with other families. The really neat thing or good thing that we've seen is, you know, these are families that we already kind of already served in our community in various ways and also at Empower YOLO. But we're finding that 30% of them who have come for something else, for instance, clothing or assistance with housing or something like that or childcare are identifying now through this intake process and through the form they're they're identifying, oh, I do need to talk to someone about that or I am living in an unsafe environment. So we're actually capturing their need at a much earlier stage and we're better able to serve them, you know, by helping them identify what, you know, and so that's been a really valuable thing in the private meeting with the client navigator. That 30% of our folks that have come for other things are saying, I do need to talk about something and then we're able to start much earlier and hopefully before more dangerous things happen. Well, that seems to be a very powerful concept, having the one place to come and enter and be working with the navigator, because if you have multiple places that an individual has to go to, you become confused, you don't realize what you really need. So that is wonderful. So you mentioned some of the programs, they have yoga, did you say Tai Chi or Zumba? Tell us more about the benefits for individuals when they participate in these other activities and are they on site or are they off site? They're all on site. We're very inclusive. So anybody that wants to teach a class or do something, you know, in our community room and our community space is welcome. And the idea is awareness with that, you know, while those are healthy activities and stress reducers, also, you know, you may become, you may come for a Zumba class and you connect with other women, for instance, that maybe are going through similar things with you. You can walk across the hall and get information, get flyers, get counseling, make an appointment, you know, and so it's kind of exposing people to everything that's offered there. Or you also can get help with, you know, childcare referral or food closet referral or clothing, you know, and I think sometimes, even though everybody does a great job kind of a promoting way to do, I think people are also unaware when you're experiencing something, oh, sorry, you think it's, you know, only happening to you and it's scary and you don't want to tell anybody. And so I think there is kind of a lack of awareness when you're in crisis of what is truly available. So when you come to a community place like that and you meet other people, you get connected. And not all of our clients are survivors of family violence. That's the neat thing about the partnership with the Family Resource Center, Center for Families or the merger is they serve the whole community, you know, so they have all kinds of services that, and the wonderful thing about that is, you know, certain catchphrases or labels are kind of stigmatizing and alienating. And so we really do serve the whole community and are open to the whole community. And it's just wonderful and I want to share with you that you know about this that the Davis Rebecca Lodge is doing a fundraiser for Empower Yolo, which involves dance. It's our Bollywood fundraiser. And this year we've chosen your program to be the beneficiary of, and I just happen to have the most recent newspaper article here about the Bollywood event. And Mary Philip is going to be cooking the food, is be a traditional Indian food. People can do Bollywood. I'm sure they can do Zumba style Bollywood. But it's going to be a fun event to bring the community together to help your community, which helps the overall community. Yeah, so I'm hoping everyone will participate in the Bollywood, which reaches out to help your programs and to help our families in need. And when you mention, you may have a two hour window. We have to have your support people there so that individuals get the help that they need. And I want to thank you so much for coming today. Yeah. If individuals want more information about Empower Yolo, you can go to their website, which is EmpowerYolo.org. And you can learn more about the different programs that Empower Yolo offers. And it's a wonderful website to educate yourself on. And do you take volunteers? Absolutely. And this is a partnership with the district attorney's office, the county of Yolo and Empower Yolo. I'm actually an employee of the district attorney's office on loan. So great. Please volunteer. Please contact the agency. Go to the website. Yeah. And volunteer. And if you want more information about Bollywood, go to the davislodge.org. And you can get information about our Bollywood event, the Dancing on May 6th, from 7 to 11 with wonderful food and fabulous activities that will be going on to help raise awareness and help support your program. So again, I want to thank you for coming today and sharing it. And give us one last little, you mentioned Daisy. Tell us what kind of dog Daisy is that goes in and does therapy for. She's a lab border calling mix. And she's a wonderful member of our team. Once a child connects with her, she's with them from beginning all the way through court and through therapy. You know, a lot of times kids have been betrayed by humans they thought they could trust. And so Daisy, they can trust and she's a perfect companion. So wonderful. So thank you everyone to come coming today and listening to this wonderful speaker, Cameron Handley. And thank you for being here in the studio. And we'll see you at Bollywood, May 6th, 7 o'clock at the Davis Lodge in downtown Davis. Bye-bye.