Hockey great Wayne Gretzsky once said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” A few years ago, Dr. Kristen Hennessy, a licensed psychologist who works with children with histories of advanced trauma, took her shot at collaboration with an introductory email to Chief Charles “Chuck” Streightiff, Chief of Police for the Huntingdon Borough Police (Huntingdon, PA). The result was a game changer for keeping the children of Huntingdon safe.
Dr. Hennessy and Chief Streightiff will highlight their collaborative efforts in a workshop at the 2024 Forum on Pennsylvania’s Children (FPaC), presented by Voce. FPaC was created for participants to explore what becomes possible for children in communities when professionals come together through a trauma-informed approach. The collaborative practice model that began with Dr. Hennessy and Chief Streightiff exemplifies the positive results that come from child-serving systems working together. As Dr. Hennessy explains, “I can only be with these children for a few hours, but we need to keep them safe at all times. That requires the support of an entire community.”
Anyone who spends time with Dr. Hennessy and Chief Streightiff can easily observe the respect they have for each other and the rapport they have built. However, building a trusting relationship came with challenges and frustrations, primarily with the systems they both work within.
“Law enforcement is very territorial,” Chief Streightiff shared. “When Dr. Hennessy initially reached out to me through email citing her credentials, my first instinct was to give her my whole bio so she’d respect my qualifications, too.” In Dr. Hennessy’s experience, it’s a two-way street. “Providers can be territorial, too. They can be afraid to talk to people outside of the profession. They wonder, “if everyone is trauma trained, will I be out of a job?’”
They both laugh about the initial impressions now but breaking down barriers – both real and perceived – and opening lines of communication are foundational to their success. Their teamwork sets the standard for other officers in the precinct, for members of the multi-disciplinary teams they each participate in and for other professionals who see the difference for children in Huntingdon and want that for their own communities.
Even the children they work with learn from their interaction. “Kids only give you one shot,” said Chief Streightiff. “There’s no faking it.” By example, Dr. Hennessy and Chief Streightiff reinforce the police as the place you run to rather than run from, and they’ve seen a positive impact. They recalled the child who was afraid of police who then chose to call 911 when violence was erupting to get help before anything serious happened. There was also a youth who went home after a meeting with law enforcement and called her parents out for telling her the police wouldn’t help. It empowered this young woman and afterwards, her dad stopped hitting. And there was the realization of progress made when a child with whom they had worked got into a situation and ran to the precinct for help instead of running away. One child at a time, they both want to create a community where children walk down the streets of Huntingdon, see police, and feel protected, not threatened.
At times, they’ve had the assurance and the certainty that their work has saved a child’s life. “We’re playing the long game,” Dr. Hennessy explained. “When a child needs to be placed in residential care, the work isn’t done. That child needs to know even when they’re absent from their community, their community cares about them.”
Part of playing the long game, is continuing to take trainings as well as provide trainings, including the workshop Chief Streightiff and Dr. Hennessy plan to deliver at FPaC. The hope is that their work could serve as a catalyst for collaboration in other areas of the state.
To learn more about the Forum, including the full lineup of speakers, visit the FPaC page. FPaC will take place at the Best Western Premier, Harrisburg, on Thursday, December 5th. Cost to attend is $200, including lunch and refreshments. Register today!
