“You cannot transform the lives of children without transforming the lives of their parents,” explained Jameelah Hanif, Founder and CEO of Watch Me Grow, Inc. The Vallejo nonprofit provides wraparound services for children and their families. Centering their work on trauma informed services, Ms. Hanif said, “I want to educate the parents, the educators, and anybody who has interactions with kids because you have to know that they’ve had trauma. It’s vital we handle them with care and compassion.”
Ms. Hanif’s experiences have informed her work in the community. As a survivor of childhood trauma, as well as growing up in poverty, Ms. Hanif brings her lived experiences to Watch Me Grow, Inc. A fundamental turning point in her career was when she learned about the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACES) while in attendance at a local childcare council meeting. ACES is the study on how traumatic events in childhood effects health outcomes in adults. Ms. Hanif explained what she was feeling at the council meeting, “I’m sitting there in this meeting and I’m the only Black person in there, other than the presenter. I was bothered by this.” She added, “I’m like, ‘how are we getting this information out to the community?’” In response, Ms. Hanif started Watch Me Grow, Inc. to provide solutions to children and their families piloting multiple programs including educating the community about the impact of ACEs; Parent Support Programs; Youth Empowerment Programs; and ACEs Awareness & Community Resource Fairs. Also fundamental to her nonprofit is partnering with local organizations such as Felton Institute’s IHART program.
The Integrated Health & Resource Team (IHART) is a mobile community resource team serving the city of Vallejo. The team provides services to those experiencing a mental and behavioral health crisis. The dedicated team of non-police personnel provide proactive, culturally responsive engagement to link residents to resources based on their specific and urgent mental and behavioral health needs. And like Watch Me Grow, Inc. they also provide trauma informed services. “What I appreciate about them,” Ms. Hanif said, “is that they’re trauma informed and everybody on their team has a purpose. They’re doing all they can to break barriers and break their bread with the community.”
Watch Me Grow, Inc. has played an instrumental role in helping IHART with exposure and community recognition. IHART Program Manager Rayvon Williamson said of Watch Me Grow, Inc., “It has been one of the few programs that has consistently shown us support, eagerly accepted us, and has been willing to collaborate at every level of our growth and community engagement.”
Felton Institute responds to the needs of our community by providing innovative, evidence-informed social services to transform lives. Our organization offers 50+ programs that address mental health, the unhoused, early care and education, those impacted by the justice system, transitional age youth, as well as aging adults. Our award-winning programs, which have been recognized as national models, combine the latest scientific research with cultural sensitivity and a deep commitment to supporting and reflecting the communities we serve.
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