In late January, the Gulf Coast Citizen Diplomacy Council hosted visitors from Armenia, Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guyana, Hungary, Jamaica, Lebanon, and Malaysia as part of a U.S. Department of State International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP) project concerning children in the U.S justice system.
Gary McGraw, a volunteer facilitator with the Gulf Coast Citizen Diplomacy Council, guided the international guests their local professional appointments. The schedule began with a visit to Pensacola’s City Hall where Councilwoman Sherri Myers discussed social justice issues confronting Pensacola and presented the visitors with certificates of honorary citizenship to the city.
The group then met with Guardian ad Litem (GAL) representatives for a discussion on advocacy on behalf of children in the U.S. justice system. GAL First Judicial Circuit Court Director Bryan Carter arranged this session which included the attendance of regional GAL representatives from Escambia, Santa Rosa, and Okaloosa Counties. Attending representatives included Martin Haygood, Kate Hochmuth, Daisy Rutter, Joan Irby, Marcy Samuels, Brian Ciulla, Julie O’Donnell, and Tessie Hudmon.
The group finished their day with a discussion with Escambia Youth Justice Coalition leader and American Civil Liberties Union Regional Organizer Keyontay Humphries. Here the group discussed pressing issues facing American youth, including high rates of juvenile incarceration among minority teens.
The next day, the international visitors began with a tour and meeting at Escambia Boys Base, a residential halfway house program for teenage boys administered by AMI Kids as an alternative sentencing option through the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice. Visitors met with Superintendent Oliver Jones for a discussion of the facility’s rehabilitation program for juvenile offenders before speaking with some of the boys housed there.
Following their time spent at Escambia Boys Base, the group visited the Santa Rosa Kids House for a discussion with Victims Advocate Denise Allen on that organization’s collaborative work model that brings legal, social work, medical, and law enforcement professionals together to the same location to manage children’s abuse cases.
The visitors then went to the Escambia Regional Juvenile Detention Center where Superintendent Jeanette Lee, Florida Department of Juvenile Justice Director of Research and Date Integrity Mark Greenwald, and Juvenile Probation Officer Lori Jamison spoke with them before leading the group on a tour of the facility.
Afterwards, the group joined Gulf Coast Citizen Diplomacy Council members for a meet-and-greet at the Crowne Plaza Hotel’s CAVU Club.
The visitors’ time in Pensacola wrapped up the next day with a final program evaluation and an opportunity to spend an afternoon at Fort Pickens in Gulf Islands National Seashore.
The Gulf Coast Citizen Diplomacy Council extends its thanks to all who shared their time and expertise with these international professionals and also to Julie Tippins Parker who assisted in programming while staff members were out of the office on training. Without the support of the community, these projects would not be possible!
At the community meet and greet