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.