- A summit on children was held to help find solutions to close social and economic gaps in Leon County.
- The Children's Services Counsel suggests that the community should bring awareness to social economic issues.
- Watch the video above to see the reaction from parents and others.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
"I think being aware is a big for me. Being aware of those situations; being aware of my role in their future."
Verlonda Johnson is a parent living in Leon County.
"I think knowing that I'm here to learn and to take something from this… this is not just for my kids, this is for me too."
She was one of the parents attending the 9th Annual Summit on Children powered by the Whole Child Leon.
I asked what she hoped to get out of it.
"This is learning how to better help them; better assist them, and how to be there for them and how to be present for them emotionally, and not just physically."
I checked the Leon County Gap Analysis from 2022.
Take a look at these numbers.
- 17.3% are food insecure children
- 52% are reading at grade level in 3rd grade
It’s something that drives Whole Child Board Member, Brooke Brunner.
"What we're bringing to light is specific needs."
I asked Brunner how the summit could tie back into the community.
"How does an event like this help children that live in the 32301 and 32304 ZIP codes?"
"So, when we're looking at specific ZIP codes within our community; what we're bringing to light is specific needs and then really working together across the board to meet those needs."
Going forward, this parent has bigger ideas for finding solutions.
"I think we should take outside of the walls of this space; we should take it to the 04 ZIP codes and the 01 ZIP codes… take them to the homes where those parents are…"
The children services council also tells me that they try to target inequity through access to resources like funding and more. In Southwest Tallahassee, Terry Gilliam, ABC27.
