Welcome to a New School Year! |
This month’s newsletter is packed with important information for our school partners! First we’ll start off with a re-introduction of our programming staff, then we’ll move on to our Self-Care 469Tip of the Month. Our focus this month is the Back-To-School section which is filled with a refresh of how Campus Crime Stoppers and Friends for Life can help your school, contact form information, staff training and print material requests, how to get your school year started with Crime Stoppers, and information on our new awareness & engagement website! |
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As Summer slowly comes to an end, Fall on the horizon, and the new school year starting up, we'd like to re-introduce the programming staff! |
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Rachel Gilbert, MPA
Director of Special Programs
Rachel Gilbert is the Director of Special Programs for One Safe Place in Fort Worth, Texas. Since 2005, she has been responsible for overseeing the Crime Stoppers of Tarrant County program, which includes Campus Crime Stoppers, Friends for Life, and the supervision of the Crime Stoppers of Tarrant County Call Center. Her additional responsibilities include serving as the grant manager for the Project Safe Neighborhoods grant and coordinator of the annual Stop Violence: Emerging Trends & Innovative Strategies Conference. Rachel has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Geography from Texas Christian University. She has a Master of Public Administration and Certificate in Urban Nonprofit Management from The University of Texas at Arlington.
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Julian Rangel, MPH, CPH
Engagement and Outreach Specialist
Public Health Coordinator
Julian Rangel is the Engagement and Outreach Specialist and Public Health Coordinator for One Safe Place. Since joining in June 2020, Julian has been responsible for all the outreach and engagement activities for the Crime Stoppers of Tarrant County program. This includes social media management, newsletter production, curriculum development, and various other engagement and outreach activities. In addition, Julian assists Rachel with her duties including planning of the annual Stop Violence Conference and management of the Project Safe Neighborhoods grant. As Public Health Coordinator, Julian works to manage COVID-19 protocols and policies at One Safe Place, increase staff education & awareness on various subjects, and work with OSP leadership to expand community services & outreach. Julian has a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology with a Political Science Minor. He has a Master of Public Health degree and a Certified in Public Health certification from the University of North Texas Health Science Center.
We’d also like to recognize our governing board members, call center team, coordinators, One Safe Place leadership, and all those who make Crime Stoppers of Tarrant County possible! Each of them are hardworking individuals who help further the mission of Crime Stoppers every day.
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Crime Stoppers Board Members:
- Andy Corso, Chair
- Perry Pillow, Vice Chair
- Terry Hazle
- Al Piper
- Robert DeAnda
- Vicki Warren
- Debbie Schroeder
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Crime Stoppers Call Center Team:
- Jana Robertson, Lead Call Taker
- Dee Davis
- Jennifer Dery
- Erika Gilliam
- Melissa Hernandez
- Alma Izaguirre
- Jordan Jeffreys
- Sheila Majors
- Ann Spriggs
- Catherine Torres
- Elaine Tucker
- Jennifer Walker
- Vanessa Wesson
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Self-Care 469Tip of the Month |
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How to Do Nothing (And Be Okay With It!)
As we’ve moved through human history, we’ve bought more and more into the “productivity myth”, especially in industrialized societies like ours.1 Being productive releases a dopamine rush which perpetuates a cycle of productivity addiction.1 This is not to say productivity is not good, however, it is to say that productivity addiction, like any other addiction, is unhealthy for you in the long run. Below are five ways to help you on your quest to do nothing1:
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Become aware of your frenetic productivity. Just like breaking any other habit, being aware of the habit is the first step.
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Schedule it in. Put in time to do nothing into your calendar just like other tasks.
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Figure out what “doing nothing” means. Relaxing is different for everyone.
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Try meditating. Meditation can help bridge the process of productivity addiction to being able to do nothing.
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Sit with the discomfort of chilling out. New things can be uncomfortable, including doing nothing; this will help you learn that it’s okay to do nothing.
Doing nothing is harder than it looks for many of us, especially in this day and age. However, being able to master the art of doing nothing may actually lead to better, higher quality productivity when you are being productive.1 Click here to read the full Headspace article about doing nothing. We hope you learned something new from this month’s tip!
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Crime Stoppers of Tarrant County is happy to welcome all of our school partners back to a new school year! While this year will still have its ups and downs, we hope for a school year that is more predictable, manageable, and enjoyable than last year’s.
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Campus Crime Stoppers & Friends for Life
Crime Stoppers of Tarrant County is a program of One Safe Place (OSP) that works toward OSP’s mission of preventing crime and violence in Tarrant County's neighborhoods, schools and homes. You can find out more information about One Safe Place at www.onesafeplace.org.
Campus Crime Stoppers (CCS) and Friends for Life (FFL) are two programs of Crime Stoppers of Tarrant County that are specifically dedicated to schools and campus safety. Both programs are dedicated to providing a completely ANONYMOUS outlet for students, faculty/staff, and parents to report information about criminal activity and victimization issues that may be taking place on campus, at home, online, or in the community. Anonymous reports that lead to administrative discipline, arrest if appropriate, and/or services provided in the case of victimization are then eligible for an reward of up to $1,000. Tips involving gun and gang activity are eligible for an additional reward bonus of up to $250 meaning a possible total of $1,250 for a tip. Additionally, Friends for Life fulfills the requirement in David’s Law related to schools establishing an anonymous bullying/cyberbullying/harassment tipline for students. Below is a list of the type of tips that each program is equipped to handle.
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Campus Crime Stoppers:
- Drugs
- Assault
- Terroristic threats/Potential School Shootings
- Alcohol
- Tobacco/Vaping
- Sex Offenses
- Arson
- Theft
- Cybercrime
- Weapon Possession
- Vandalism
- Gang Acitivity
- School Violations
- False Alarms/Bomb Threats
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Friends for Life:
- Bullying
- Cyberbullying
- Sexting
- Dating Violence
- Family Violence
- Gang Activity/Pressure to join
- Sexual Harassment (on and off campus)
- Self-Harm
- Suicidal Tendencies
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Contact Information Form
We expect each school district and department to have numerous staff changes. Once positions have been filled and school assignments have been established, please update us with the current contact information for each school. For the Campus Crime Stoppers program, we need a primary and at least 2-3 emergency contacts that consist of law enforcement, administration, and/or security personnel. For the Friends for Life program, we need a primary and at least 2-3 emergency contacts that consist of counselors, interventionists, and administration. Please complete the Campus Crime Stoppers/Friends for Life Google Contact Form (this form has changed from previous years) or if you are at the district level, you may send Rachel your roster as you have done in previous years.
Additionally, you can request print materials through this form. We must have current contact information before any requested items may be delivered to your campus or picked up at One Safe Place.
Staff Training Presentations
Schedule a training presentation with us! We are ready to provide you and your staff with training on the CCS/FFL programs. We are currently offering training for your staff either in-person or through Zoom and will modify the training to fit the timeframe in which you have available. Staff training is a vital piece to the Back-to-School process and we look forward to providing your staff with the necessary education to gain the full potential of the CCS/FFL programs. Please contact Rachel for more details and scheduling.
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Back-to-School Checklist!
In order to help you and your school get started with the new school year we have created a Back-to-School Checklist! This list provides you with all the basic necessary actions that your school should take in order to be properly set up and integrated into the CCS/FFL programs. Click on the image to download your own version of the checklist.
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Awareness & Engagement Google Site!
We’ve worked hard over this summer to put together a Google Site that will serve as a resource hub for all information you may need for Campus Crime Stoppers and/or Friends for Life, including an Awareness & Engagement Checklist, program flyers, completely updated Operational Manual, P3 User Guide, samples of engagement and awareness materials, our QR code, and links to forms, the website, and social media.
As we create and develop more resource items we will update the google site and provide notices.
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Crime Stoppers of Tarrant County
Featured Story of the Month
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With Help of Crime Stoppers Tip Suspect Arrested, Charged with Murder in Fatal Hit-and-Run Crash
The Arlington Police Department has made an arrest in connection to a fatal hit-and-run crash that occurred on July 2, 2021. APD detectives assigned to the U.S. Marshals North Texas Fugitive Task Force located 42-year-old Charlton Harris at a motel in Grand Prairie overnight and took him into custody without incident.
Harris has been charged with Murder, Accident Involving Death, and Public Intoxication. He is currently being held at the Arlington City Jail.
Evidence gathered at the scene, as well as an anonymous Crime Stoppers tip that was prompted by local media coverage of this case, helped investigators identify Mr. Harris as the suspect who struck a Toyota Camry at a high rate of speed, killing the driver, 39-year-old Douglas Oseimo.
Although initial reports indicated there may have been two individuals in the suspect vehicle, detectives later determined Mr. Harris was the sole occupant.
“We are grateful for the community participation and tips that came in,” said Arlington Chief of Police Al Jones. “Oftentimes, we need the public’s help to solve these types of cases and that is exactly what happened in this instance.”
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Follow Us!
Please feel free to follow us on all of our social media!
If your organization, school, or agency has social media pages please have them follow us and we will be sure to follow back!!
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If you know of any other individuals, teams, or organizations that would like to be a part of this newsletter please do not hesitate to have them contact either Rachel or Julian so that they can be added to the email list.
If you have any questions, suggestions, or concerns regarding Crime Stoppers of Tarrant County and our various programs please feel free to reach out to us at any time and we will respond in a timely manner.
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Best regards,
Rachel Gilbert
Director, Special Programs
&
Julian Rangel
Engagement and Outreach Specialist
1100 Hemphill Street
Fort Worth, Texas 76104
817-469-8477 | 469tips.com | "CCS FFL" & "P3Tips" mobile apps
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