WaveMakers: Freddy Barton of Safe and Sound Hillsborough

Share
Freddy Barton in the WMNF studios

Freddy Barton, executive director of Safe and Sound Hillsborough, a community-based intervention program intended to prevent violence in Hillsborough County joined WaveMakers on April 19.

Listen to the full show here or by searching for WMNF WaveMakers wherever you get your podcasts

 

Safe and Sound Hillsborough was founded in 2013 after the Sandy Hook shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. Originally a think tank project, the group works to identify the root causes of violence and take measures to prevent it from happening. This is done through professional services, as well as community outreach from person to person.

Among the roots that can lead to violent outbursts and crime: poor and dilapidated infrastructure, lack of access to mental health, and overall stability of the family and community units. And among the main issues that Safe and Sound is focused on in the community: gun violence.
Across the country, gun violence has seen a significant rise since the start of the pandemic. To combat this, Safe and Sound has partnered with county commissioner Gwen Myers and the public defender’s office to engage parents and children in conversations about gun safety and broadcast PSAs throughout the county.

However, traveling further to the roots of the violence, mental health treatment and advocacy is also a major component. Safe and Sound has worked with law enforcement to promote a co-response model of answering calls, where both police and social workers answer calls in potential mental health cases. In addition, resources for members of the community to understand signs of mental distress and help their peers have been made available.

Other topics of interest that Safe and Sound works within the community are financial literacy, youth intervention programs, and providing male role models for young men.

For more information on Safe and Sound, visit safeandsoundhillsborough.org

Leave a Reply

  • (will not be published)

XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

You may also like

student meal
Next school year Hillsborough public schools are offering free meals

Hillsborough Public Schools are offering students free meals for the...

Correspondence Through Poetry. A Mind-Numbing Week.

Father Verses Sons: A Correspondence in Poems by Herbert Gold...

The sound of change: Music’s influence on anti-war and human rights movements

Throughout history, music has served as a powerful catalyst for...

a man in a tye dye shirt talking on a radio microphone
Recreational pot for Florida is on the ballot this fall—let’s talk about it

In four months, Florida voters have the opportunity to vote...

Ways to listen

WMNF is listener-supported. That means we don't advertise like a commercial station, and we're not part of a university.

Ways to support

WMNF volunteers have fun providing a variety of needed services to keep your community radio station alive and kickin'.

Follow us on Instagram

Sloughbirn
Player position: