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Sikeston Community Conversations begin
SIKESTON — The conversation has started.
The first of the Sikeston Community Conversations was held Tuesday night at the YMCA of Southeast Missouri gymnasium, with a panel discussion featuring Lincoln University, DAEOC, Sikeston Career Center and Bootheel Counseling.
“We want to get people in the room to have conversations that are helpful,” said Jason Davis, who moderated the event. “The conversations are already taking place, we just wanted a place where we could all come together in one room and have a big conversation about those things that are happening.”
Davis said the hope is that the conversations will: spotlight community resources that are available in Sikeston for the betterment of the community, identify helpful solutions to issues in the community and promote positive change for the betterment of Sikeston.
A representative was on hand from each of the featured groups to describe the services offered to the community.
Lori Caldwell, supervisor at the Sikeston Career Center, spoke and said the Center is often known as a “one-stop shop.”
“We are also the best kept secret,” Caldwell said, adding they serve the community in three ways: employment, training and in referral agencies.
She said they serve unemployed and under-employed, those working jobs that are not meeting a livable wage. The help could be as little as assisting people on a computer or helping with interview skills and resume building to career exploration.
Shirley Love Hamilton spoke representing Lincoln University Cooperative Extension.
“Our main focus is the youth,” Hamilton said.
She said with youth committing some of the crime in Sikeston, what they try to do is get youth to come in to the
“They say that youth is our future, but what kind of future do they have if they are not educated, if they are not involved with something that makes them feel like they belong to the community,” Hamilton asked, saying at Lincoln they try to help with self esteem and preparing the youth for the future.
Hillary Hamra, vice president and HR director at DAEOC, said they are community action agency enacted in 1965.
“Our mission for DAEOC is to empower people to make positive change,” Hamra said.
DAEOC operates in six major counties: Scott, Mississippi, Stoddard, New Madrid, Pemiscot and Dunklin and has many hats.
“Head start, early head start is our biggest program,” Hamra said. “We operate 21 head start and early start locations in the six counties that we serve. We have approximately 300 employees just in that department alone.”
They also operate in the community services department with outreach offices, including one in Sikeston that offers many different services.
David Terrell, executive director at Bootheel Counseling Services, also described his organizations.
“To be privileged to serve others in sometimes the lowest moments of their lives is just nothing short of a true blessing and privilege,” Terrell said.
A private, not-for-profit organization that is chartered by the state of Missouri, they are similar to doctor’s offices.
They serve Mississippi, New Madrid, Scott and Stoddard Counties and offer crisis intervention as well as many other services like certified peer support, community behavioral health liasons and firearms suicide prevention.
‘We’ve seen over 1,000 new clients just this fiscal year alone,” Terrell said.
Terrell highlighted the day-treatment program which is named Everyday People Clubhouse, named by the clients.
“It’s home to them,” Terrell said. “Some clients have never had the opportunity to learn how to do dishes or follow instructions. To have that social interaction and that opportunity to be with their peers and learn from each other, that is their place.”
The groups also took part in the question and answer portion of the program, answering questions as to how people can qualify for their programs and how to volunteer.
One question involved transportation barriers to each of the groups and each admitted transportation is a huge barrier.
Some of the groups had some sort of transportation for their programs but lack of funding, vehicles and other road blocks make transportation limited.
DPS and their role
Sikeston DPS Chief James McMillen was also on hand and said all four groups are resources that DPS can work with on a day-to-day basis to help with crime prevention.
“If you’ve heard me talk, you’ve heard me say historically police departments get this wrong,” McMillen said. “The metric for success is high arrest stats, high ticketing and really high enforcement to deal with crime.
“I’ve been here 24 years. These problems are still here. We’re not making the progress that I want to see.”
McMillen said the metric for success should be low crime rate but that they can never get to the root of the problem. He said after recently attending a Hope 180 meeting, he realized there are multiple groups in Sikeston working on the same issues DPS was working on like underserved communities, more vulnerable populations in some of the same areas they are dealing with crime.
“They’re doing it from the preventative approach, and we’re doing it at the very end result and so many things go bad,” McMillen said. “There are so many failures in society that lead up to someone that involves themselves in crime.”
McMillen said if DPS doesn’t have the community partnership and help they are not going to bring down crime adding that if half the community decides to report a crime when they see it or give information they know, it would go a long way.
DPS officers passed out cards with a new anonymous tip line and McMillen encouraged the community to use it, guaranteeing he or other DPS officers don’t have access to the name attached to the phone call. The tip line number is 573-475-3774.
Another meeting will be planned for the future with other local groups to be a part of the discussion.
“All these organizations are trying to reach the same goal,” McMillen said. “We have to get more people involved.”
For more information on Sikeston Community Conversations, visit their Facebook page.