My vision for wraparound services is they not only can be used to assist students to persist to graduation, success and personal development; they can also be used to assist the Black collective and economically challenged communities in persisting towards the improvement in community development, economic development, mental, physical and spiritual health outcomes and the holistic recovery from present and historical years of trauma. This is only a stop gap not a solution because the solution would be to holistically restore the Black collective and economically challenged communities in communities to overall economic, political, social, physical, spiritual and mental health.
To reduce the absorbent amount of money spent over policing Black and poor communities(including the nonprofit industrial social program complex) we should consider using that money to fund wraparound services to address mental health, food scarcity, black business creation, proper education curriculum/pedagogy, emergency fund assistance for homelessness and affordable housing, along with job placement/employment and other quality of life issues.
Having been a police officer, and having spent years working with and researching wraparound services I have first hand knowledge that over policing doesn’t reduce crime, poverty or improve the quality of life issues in impoverished communities. Resources provided through wraparound services and policies that economically strengthen and make families independent improve quality of life outcomes for communities.
Research data and lived experiences show the importance of whether we target communities for economic resources/wraparound services (positive outcomes) or whether we target communities with law enforcement resources(negative outcomes).
When we destroy a nation abroad through so called regime change we economically rebuild it. America destroyed African American people and then left it to rebuild itself.
Read how this could be used to improve our student and community outcomes as well as our communities in my book, “A Community Guide to Student Persistence”
Link to purchase.