Injury & Violence Prevention INdepth
Injury & Violence Prevention INdepth
Special Edition - Safe States 2022 Annual Conference
During the Safe States 2022 Annual Conference held August 31 - September 2 in Orlando, Florida host Mighty Fine had a chance to meet up with attendees and chat "in person"! Hear from our members what it's like being back in person for our Annual Conference after a 3 year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, what benefits they were getting out of the conference and exciting IVP work they are involved in. Take a few minutes to listen in and learn all about it.
Welcome to the Injury and Violence Prevention INdepth podcast. My name is Mighty Fine, and I'm the host of this Safe States Alliance production. In this space, we'll engage in dialogue with IVP professionals on a variety of issues. To help inform our listeners on the latest trends and hot topics in injury and violence prevention. Today, we have a very special episode for you because we're broadcasting live from the Safe States Annual Conference in sunny Orlando, Florida, I had the chance to chat with some folks in between sessions and to catch up, since it's been a while since we've been able to meet in person due to the COVID 19 pandemic. Before we get into some of those conversations, just want to give a special shout out and big thank you to our sponsors who make activities like this podcast possible. So let's get right into it.
Laura Chisholm:Hi, Mighty, it's great to be with you. My name is Laura Chisholm, I use she/her pronouns. I'm the Section Manager for the injury and violence prevention program in the Oregon Public Health Division.
Mighty Fine:So great to be with you here, Laura. And thank you for stopping by to chat with me for the podcast. So we're all here together for the Safe States Annual Conference, which I'm super stoked and excited about. And it's great to be back in person. I know we everyone who has been passing by has been saying that so sorry, folks who are listening, and you're gonna hear a lot of that, because we're very excited. Right? And just from your perspective, what's the importance or the significance not just for that considering COVID? And as that meeting in person, but why is it important for us in this space to come together to connect at conferences like Safe States?
Laura Chisholm:Well, um there are the obvious reasons for for coming together. Like you know, being able to share all the cool things that are happening. One of the one of the things that I always get the most out of with meetings like this is just finding my peers, reconnecting with my peers, and particularly getting that kind of moral support. Because as a, as a manager as an injury and violence prevention person, you know, we're we're relatively small, but excuse the expression mighty team. And, you know, and it can feel a little lonely sometimes out there, you know, when we're doing our work. And so it's just, it's wonderful to get to come here, meet so many smart, fun, enthusiastic people and exchange ideas. And then also just really feel, you know, when I, every year when I come home from from these conferences, or, you know, the last couple of years when we were done talking on online, I just feel really inspired, and, and have a lot of new ideas and also just feel grounded as well, just like in you know, the reasons that I do this work.
Mighty Fine:Absolutely, definitely share that sentiment, and an almost as if it sort of rejuvenate as you are energizes you reinvigorate you, and you're like, Okay, you get to touch and see and connect with folks who are in shared spaces as you are. You can talk about your victory, some of the your triumphs and some of your challenges and things that you're working through. Totally agree. And there's something about that person to person connection that, you know, that obviously, we know that virtually you just can't mimic that, you know, nonetheless, we here we are. So thinking about us connecting and collaborating and working together, what's an area within IVP that you think we're doing really well in? Or you know, there's some promising work happening there. And how do we continue to push that work forward?
Laura Chisholm:Wow, it's hard to even, like know where to start. Because there's so many, there's so many big wins. You know, I think one of the things that I've been thinking about a lot lately as I work in overdose prevention, and I'm privileged to work with an amazing team of folks from Oregon, but also from across the country who have the Overdose Data to Action grant from CDC. And there's also a lot of SAMSA funding that's supporting that work. And one of the big challenges that I've had is, you know, because the numbers keep going up. I sometimes I feel like oh, my gosh, this is just it's a rising tide. But then I need to stop and think about how much amazing work we're doing. And frankly, probably how much worse this issue would be if we were not out there. Doing this work every day and continuing to, to come at it with new ideas to to really, you know, continue to pivot because the the epidemic is changing so quickly. And I've just I've seen so much really interesting and innovative work happening and I've also seen a real deepening of the work related to equity. And I think many of us who have thought we were doing equity related work have a really better sense now of what that really means and about how how the really challenging conversations we need to have with ourselves with our teams, with with the people that we work with, who help us to decide how we're allocating our resources, and really have some hard conversations. And I think those are happening. And so I'm really excited about that, because I think it's going to really help us move to a deeper and better and more impactful place with our work.
Mighty Fine:Absolutely, totally agree to that point about being more intentional, right in the work when it comes to equity for certain. And then also I like that to giving, giving kudos and credit to folks in the space for being flexible for being nimble. And even when things seem like they are falling apart. I don't know how else to classify it. But to remember, like, Hey, we're here, we're doing great work. And imagine if we had an allocated resources and time and build our capacity in these areas, things would be even greater, you know, in a worst off way. But again, I think that's great to take a step back, and to really give folks their kudos, because a lot of people are doing a lot of great work with a lot of things that would work against progress, you know,
Laura Chisholm:Particularly for those of us who work in bureaucracies, we've really had to learn to be nimble. And to, you know, I think a lot of folks that I've been working with, and, and myself included, are kind of asking questions that we weren't asking before, like, why do we do it this way? And just because we've done it this way, do we have to keep doing this way and who wrote the rulebook, and let's just chuck it out the window. Because we can't afford we can't afford really not to take some, you know, things that feel risky right now. But we can't sit back and wait until we have all the information, all the data, all the best practices, we have to you know, sometimes we kind of need to go with our, with our gut, and do what we what we think is gonna work, or, and even more importantly, things that communities are telling us are gonna work, even considered.
Mighty Fine:Absolutely, totally true. And I think I may have said this on the podcast before, certainly in a public space, I hadn't, and I live by this motto, she says, If it ain't broke, break it. I want to hang out with your arm. Because sometimes we get so confined to doing things because this is how they have been done. And it almost limits our ability to say, hey, we can do this a different way or let's at you know, so totally, totally agree with you on that. And thanks for sharing that. And lastly, just want to ask you as we think about growing the capacity of the field. And as a member of Safe States, we've often talked about engaging more students and folks early in their careers, to help them to understand the totality of all of what IVP encompasses. So just any tidbits from your perspective as to what more we can be doing to just showcase the value of folks being in the space of IVP.
Laura Chisholm:I think, yeah, again, that's a huge question. But but the you know, the thing that comes to mind immediately is, I think, at least for those of us who work in public health, like I do, we're not very good at tooting our own horn. We're just really, really bad at that. And, and I think sometimes we're even apologetic for our successes, and we kind of don't want to stand up and jump up and down and say, Hey, wait a minute, we're doing amazing work. We're so cool. We're so we're so worthy of attention on the respect and funding. And so yeah, I think, I think whatever we can do, also realizing that I'm, I'm a Gen X er, so I'm sort of, you know, in, in the middle, early ages of, you know, getting getting toward to be more of a experienced person, shall we say, Boy, that was like, really a certain realization that anyway, you know, realizing, like, I don't necessarily know how to connect with with, you know, people who are really you're brand new in their careers, as well as somebody who's younger does or who is perhaps hipper. I don't want to be ageist about it. But you know, it's just, you know, I realized, like, I'm not as connected to some of them, maybe some of the same social media platforms. Just yeah, methods of communication and messengers important. Exactly. And so I think I think building up our messaging to the the folks who are newer in, in the field by, you know, helping to support and empower people who are closer, closer there to be messengers, I think is, is really important because it's one of the things I've been learning lately. related to a lot of things in my work is that I'm often not the best mass messenger.
Mighty Fine:I told I agree, I think the messenger is even if you know the message and the content well, right. Sometimes we have to ensure that you are the most appropriate person to be delivering it right if we want to broaden the reach, right, yeah. Awesome. Well, thank you again for taking time to chat with me. Looking forward to spending some more time with you over the next few days here, Safe States.
Unknown:Thanks so much Mighty. And I just have to say, I'm a big fan of your podcast, so I'm having a fangirl moment right now. So
Mighty Fine:that makes us feel good. Thanks again. Thank you. Super excited to chat with our next guests. I'm going to ask her to introduce herself before we get into some questions.
Toska Cooper:Thanks, Mighty. Hi, everyone. My name is Tosca Cooper. I'm a Product Manager at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hills Injury Prevention Research Center.
Mighty Fine:Toska so happy to be chatting with you today here at Safe States Annual Conference. And we've gathered over ZOOM for the past couple of years or so right? Here in person in Orlando finally, right. We're excited about that. And so other than us being in sunny Florida, what else are you hoping to get out of your time here at the annual conference?
Toska Cooper:I'm definitely here for the interaction. I mean, I feel like it's been so long since we've been together, seeing people outside of the small little box. But I'm also looking forward to building new relationships with people. So there's familiar faces, there's new faces. And I'm also excited for well, some of the things that we've already experienced for what we're on day, one and a half now. So I've really enjoyed what I've already gone to the keynote speakers and some of the breakout sessions. But then also, this afternoon, the welcome reception was fabulous. to so many things I feel like we always offer at the conference, and even the lightning talks and lightning talks are gonna be great later on the day. And then we have keynote closing keynote tomorrow.
Mighty Fine:A lot. A lot. Yeah, definitely a lot, a lot of good things happening. I'm super excited to be here as well. And just thinking about us convening around injury and violence prevention, a lot of great work happening. So some challenges and things we need to overcome, right. Just from your standpoint, the work that you've you're doing or things that you've heard, what's something that you are aware that it's going really well in the injury and violence prevention space that you think we need to just push a little further and continuing doing work down that road?
Toska Cooper:Sure. So one thing that I think we're doing extremely well is conversations around gun violence, okay. I believe that we are moving so much further ahead than we ever have before, where there's funding of air available to do work around firearm safety. And then even now just having conversations in public spaces about not just the, you know, one off conversations on the corner of the room, like, hey, we need to do this, but we're actually doing it or working towards doing it. So that's something that I've seen evolve, you know, due to several unfortunate circumstances and what we've been watching in the world, but I think that there is some light in that, in that is having these discussions having policies being put forward and we're moving fluffer little
Mighty Fine:Before I think, absolutely, and I think that's a, that's due to a lot of the hard work of folks who are members of Safe States, working tirelessly to really showcase the importance of us using a public health approach to tackle gun violence. So those are the questions that I have for you. Thanks for stopping by to chat with me today. If there's anything else you want to tell our listeners, I'll open it up for you to do that. Or I'll let you get back to the rest of the conference. Um,
Toska Cooper:I think the only thing that I would add is, you know, if you're not connected with Safe States, you know, find a way to get connected with us. Whether you want to become a member or subscribing to the podcast, or, you know, how are you gonna follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, whatever your adventure is, find a way to stay connected to all of the great things that we're doing here. I love it. You're welcome.
Mighty Fine:So tell us who you are, where you're from and what you do.
Claire Stroer:Alrighty, Hey there, my name is Claire Stroer. I work with the National Safety Council, which is based in Chicago, Illinois, technically, Itasca, right by the airport. But I live in the city of Chicago. And I'm actually from Atlanta. So kind of popping around all over the place. But like I said, I'm a program manager with NSC, and I work on our impairment team. So it's a little bit different for injury violence professionals on the term impairment and why we talk about that. But the foundation of what NSC does is really workplace and occupational safety and also roadway safety. So impairments kind of a part of that on how we're helping to make sure people are able to be fit for duty. And what that means that it's anything from addressing things like substance misuse, but also things like fatigue and mental distress, and how we can be present and safe but also addresses wellbeing and root cause issues that can lead to those things.
Mighty Fine:Thanks for that very, very comprehensive. So we're here gather for a safe, safe annual conference, folks from all aspects of injury violence prevention have convened here to do lots of things right to learn network, etc. So just curious, what is it that you're hoping to get from the conference? or what have you gotten from it thus far?
Claire Stroer:Sure. Yeah. So I think so far, you know, the main reason I love participating with Safe States in general, is that it grounds me in my public health routes, I wasn't trained in injury and violence prevention. It's something that I think a lot of us probably say on this podcast. You know, we didn't start with this. But I do a public health background. And a lot of what I do in my day to day is with workplace professionals and safety professionals, and they obviously bring great expertise to the table. But it's really great to be surrounded by public health professionals and refresh myself on the roots where I came from, and what I can bring to the table and working with different partners that we have at NSC. So I love learning from everybody here, and just kind of taking ideas back with me to really just refresh what I'm doing.
Mighty Fine:I love that refresh has been coming up re-energize. So all of those all of those things for sure. Thinking about, as you mentioned, some of us have not been trained per se in injury and loss prevention. What else do you think we can be doing other fields to get folks who may be interested in IVP, but not really know that there are things that you can be doing, like what we're doing. So again, just what do you think we can be doing to be more intentional about showcasing and communicating what the opportunities are in this field?
Claire Stroer:That's a tough question. I think, you know, something that I'll put a plug in for is I'm the chair of the Membership Development Committee. And something that we're excited about is the new students special interest group. And so really engaging with students more and even before that, I know we've had some conversations, and even the plenary session on the first day about really engaging with young folks way before they're even thinking about, you know, what jobs are going to have the probably not there, but really talking about these issues early on, I certainly did get exposed to this in school. So something that we could be doing better is working with schools, to just even showcase job opportunities that are out there. Just because, you know, most people fall into it. So what can we do better to just open up people's eyes to what those jobs look like? And I think that's just the most obvious answer, but I think it's somewhere that we could still be certainly spending more energy on.
Mighty Fine:Absolutely. I think, uh, you know, you've, I don't know, if you've seen some of the commercials, and it's like, if I see it, I can be it, you know, saying, I like that guy, you know, it's like, oh, you know, injury folks and doing epidemiology. They're doing health education they're doing, you know, so I think, helping them to see the broad array of work that we're doing in this space and tapping into some of the work that they're doing or their interests or their experience in as you know, our collectiveness is what really makes us shine in this space of IVP, or public health more broadly. So those are all the questions I have for you. I know you're busy here learning and networking, and just open it up to to you if there's anything else you want folks to know, that are listening about the injury, violence prevention, sort of what's going well, the work that you're doing, or you know, anything you want to say in closing.
Claire Stroer:Oh, wow, there's so many things I want to say. But I'm just excited to be here and appreciate you, you know, having a conversation with everybody here. And I'm looking forward to listening to the episode just to hear what everybody's up to. But I think one plug I'll just I'll give is just to encourage folks to work with workplace, workplaces, in their communities and other business associations. I know there's been some sessions here on that. And Safe States has done some work in this space on how to partner with organizations. It's not always the avenue we think of when we're doing our public health work, but they're a captive audience. And we spend a lot of our time at work. So how can we use that as an avenue to do our work? So that's just the one plug I would add in there. So
Mighty Fine:it's a great plug. Thanks, play. Appreciate you stopping by. Thanks.
Kinzie Lee:Hi, Mighty. I'm Commander Kinzie Lee. I am the lead for the strategic partnership team at CDC Injury
Mighty Fine:So glad to be here with you in person Kinzie at the Center. Safe States Annual Conference. And just curious from your standpoint, why is it important for medicine, public health or IVP? To come together at conferences like Safe States? What? What's in it for you? What's in it for us collectively as a field?
Kinzie Lee:Yeah, I mean, I think relationship I it's just at the very basis of all that we do and injury and violence prevention and public health as a whole. And I think that we've done a really great job as we can over the last couple of years. But you know, there's no substitute for being with somebody being able to give them a hug or a fist bomb, or whatever it is that makes you connect with folks around you and that's how, you know, peace. by piece by state by state and community by community, we just move injury and violence prevention along.
Mighty Fine:Absolutely. I couldn't agree more that connection piece is so paramount to the work that we do, and just sometimes commiserating where, but connecting around some of our challenges with opportunities, and how we can better collaborate and connect to move the work forward. And speaking of moving the work forward. There's a lot of great work happening in this space of IBP. Just from your vantage point, what do you think is something that we're doing really well, and we can just do even more and scale it up?
Kinzie Lee:Yeah, I think that over the last couple of years, it's become even more obvious and important, this connection between state and local public health and community based organizations. And while I know that community based organizations have always been a staple of the work that we do, just the degree to which we needed to lean upon as organizations throughout the COVID pandemic, I think really just highlighted the need for us to pour into those connections as we move forward from the pandemic. And I think there's a lot of amazing work that's happening now, especially between those local public health authorities and community based organizations. And I think as we continue to just grow, build those relationships, understand how one can benefit the other, that will just continue to see positive impacts for injury and violence prevention.
Mighty Fine:Absolutely, folks, since this is a podcast, and you can't see me, but I was shaking my head as he was speaking, because I totally agree. And I'd even say even leaving in DC and working with some of the local communities, they're initially going to talk about COVID. And some of those things, we ended up just addressing the multitude of other issues. And they were just experts in a lot of the work. You know, I'm trained in public health, yada, yada, yada. But I found myself really leaning on down and leading into the expertise, because we ultimately had a common goal. And I think having gone in with one purpose that may not have appreciated, you know, so I totally agree that that connection is paramount, and require that you go and get back to the conference, is there anything else that you want to share with the listeners about the work that you're doing about injury, Violence Prevention, or just anything?
Kinzie Lee:I think I will just ask folks to continue exploring, making sure that people with lived experience and who are impacted by our topics are always part of the conversation always have a place at the table. And that they, what they have is valued not only by their, their local communities, but by the organization's by the federal government by all of the organizations. I think that that's the real way that we continue to build public health and injury balance prevention as a whole.
Mighty Fine:Absolutely. Very well say, as always a pleasure. And I'm glad that you had a chance to sit down and chat with us today.
Kinzie Lee:Appreciate it. Thanks, Mighty.
Eva Bland:Hello, my name is Eva Bland, and I'm a Program Manager here at Safe States.
Julie Alonso:And it's Julie Alonso, Senior Manager at Safe States.
Mighty Fine:Hi, Julie, so great to be here with you both in person after what three years. A lot of zoom time together. But bodies. Yeah. It's amazing what you find out when you're not behind a computer screen. Alright, so some questions for you. You both have this insider knowledge. But we're here convened for Safe States on behalf of the organization. And what are you hoping to get out of this convening as staff members of the organization that's hosting it?
Eva Bland:Yeah, I mean, I'm just I'm excited to see everybody. I'm excited to see everybody in person. I think that having those one on one conversations in the hallway is always helpful. And you that's, to me, that's where you get a lot of the takeaways, not only personally about people and being able to connect with them, but also professionally hearing where they're at and what they've been through in the last two, three years. You know, it's been difficult on all of us. So just having a one on one time with each other in the hallways is what I've been looking forward to.
Mighty Fine:Totally, totally agree. And, Julie?
Julie Alonso:Well, I don't know how much more I can add to that, because I think that's probably where everybody's at, but I think definitely the energy. It's been three years I can't believe it's been three years. I mean, there are people here that now have like other humans in their life that they didn't have the last time we saw them. So just kind of passing that on and then so many new faces and then yes, getting to see the bodies attached to faces that you can't see. But I totally agree that getting that time to talk to people and like really think about and reflect back and forth on what you're learning in the sessions, I think is kind of invaluable.
Mighty Fine:Absolutely. And when you say energy dances song, it dances a track on Beyonce. Yeah, so that people listening listen to this podcast shelling the bad, the sound broke out by moving to 32 are both very busy. And I just have one more question for you. I know, as a member of Safe States, we've talked about this for some time really engaging, or the career professionals or students and I just want to hear from your perspective, what more can we be doing to get folks interested in injury violence prevention early on in careers?
Eva Bland:Yeah, you know, I think what I often think back of when I got introduced to injury, violence prevention, it was actually kind of at a Safe States Conference. And I came in and I didn't know anybody, and somebody sat beside me and introduced themselves and, you know, told me how they got into this, this whole field. And I think that, to me, is the most interesting thing is sharing and hearing how people get into this field and what different things have brought them here. Because we all have a different paths, we all have a different journey. It's kind of what we were thinking when we thought of this theme destination, you know, we all have a journey on IVP. And so I would just say, you know, to new people, introduce yourselves say hello, and to people who have been in the field for a while, the same thing, introduce yourself and tell them your journey did tell them how you started. Show them where you are now and just let them know that there's lots of opportunities and lots of different ways you can go with this field. So yeah, that's that's definitely one thing.
Mighty Fine:Totally, totally agree. I think if people were here and they recognize like zero or not, there's not a tradition or only a senior the way to get here, they can realize that they can be in the same positions that we Occupy. Absolutely,
Julie Alonso:yeah, yeah, I think just even to piggyback on that is that I think as people in IVP now is being open to like visiting with people that aren't on a, maybe a traditional track, they haven't chosen IDP and do a better job at connecting the dots for them. Because it's not always obvious that go talk to people that are working in substance abuse prevention, because guess what the risk for high risk and protective factors for injury and violence and substance abuse, the same thing, the risk factor, you know, talk to people in chronic disease, because if you're doing right disease prevention, a lot of that translates over to IVP, because that was kind of my journey. I did substance abuse prevention work, ended up with chronic disease. And then I was like, take both of those mentioned together, what do you have? But I think we could do a better job at helping people a lot that you don't have to take very specific courses while you're in school. That all of it kind of prepares you for a path IVP
Mighty Fine:Absolutely, very well said thanks again to you both, and then you get a scurry out of here to take care of some business. So appreciate you stopping by and chat with me. Okay, now, I know I keep saying this, right. But I am even more excited. The more people that come by, the more excited I get. And I have the pleasure right now speaking with some staff members of Safe States Alliance, so I'm going to ask you all to introduce yourselves. And then I have a question for you. Sure.
Amy Bailey:I'm Amy Bailey.
Mighty Fine:And what do you do here at Safe States?
Amy Bailey:I'm a Program Coordinator. Next,
Christine Anyanwu:I'm Christina Anyanwu, and I'm a practicum student.
Mighty Fine:And last but certainly not least,
Taylor Mayberry:I'm Taylor Mayberry health equity fellow.
Mighty Fine:Awesome. Great. Thanks again for stopping by to chat with me and as staff members, and you've obviously helped put together this awesome conference. So just from your perspective, what are you hoping that us as members will get out of attending?
Amy Bailey:Well, I'm hoping that members are able to take away something new from what they're learning from the speakers that they can use in their everyday work life.
Christine Anyanwu:I'm hoping that everyone can make new connections like as a first time attendee, I'm like meeting new people and getting to interact with new people and see, like their perspectives and expertise. So it's really fun, and I hope other people get that opportunity as well.
Taylor Mayberry:I think on top of just like general connections and learning new things, I think I would really enjoy to see the takeaway of actually like new built partnerships, like within actual organizations, and like you're using the new knowledge instead of being like, I learned just for professional development, and just kind of making larger strides and entry in violence prevention.
Mighty Fine:Absolutely, that that operationalizing what we learned, right and seeing it in action is certainly helpful making those connections and just again, being with folks, and I know for myself, sometimes even seeing someone's name on a research paper and then getting to chat with them after a session you like, wait a minute, did you just write you know, and it's almost like public health or IVP supers ours. And it's great to see when they're so knowledgeable like you all are, and yet still so humble and able to engage you in conversation so we can really think about how we can collectively address some of the more challenging issues that we're facing in injury and violence prevention. I know you all have to get out of here. But again, thank you for taking a minute to chat with me for the podcast today. Thank you, yourself, and then I have some questions for you.
Leanne Sestak:Great. My name is Leanne Sestak. I am a public health educator in Erie County, Pennsylvania.
Mighty Fine:Nice to meet you. Liana. Actually, you still live in western PA? By Erie, actually. So cool. Great that that connection? So Rumor has it that this is your first Safe States annual conference. So very curious to hear how you learned about Safe States and what you're hoping to gain from attending this year?
Leanne Sestak:Yeah, so I have a new public health educator, this is part of my job duties to come here. And I'm very excited. One of my focus areas is falls prevention. So it's nice to be here and get a even broader view of injury prevention in my in context of my little scope of work involves prevention,
Mighty Fine:your big scope of work. Fall Prevention is critically important. And just curious, recognizing that we know that injuries enact a huge burden on society. What, what got you interested in fall prevention or injury prevention? We're curious how you get here.
Leanne Sestak:I'm here because injury prevention, we have the tools to do it. It's just reminding people what we need to do to prevent injury and to prevent violence. I'm just excited to see what other people are working on and how that might benefit my community when I go back home.
Mighty Fine:Great, great. Is there anything else you'd like to share with our listeners before I let you get back to the conference? Sure.
Leanne Sestak:I also focus on physical activity. So please me, vericut guidelines get 150 minutes of moderate cardio today. It's a strange dream.
Mighty Fine:And I'm actually going to go for a walk tomorrow morning. So maybe you should We should go. Absolutely. Well. Great to have you. Thanks. And
Leanne Sestak:thanks, mighty, of course.
Mighty Fine:Both. Thanks for joining me for the podcast today. I know you all are busy enjoying the annual conference. So I'll just take a little bit of your time. But for starters, let me know your name and where you're from. And then we'll go from there.
Angela Marr:Hi, this is Angela Marr. I am the chief of the program implementation and evaluation branch at CDC Injury Center. And I'm thrilled to be here.
Amy Wolken:Hi, Amy Wolken, our chief of the data analytics branch division as injury prevention and also with the Injury Center and CDC.
Mighty Fine:So thanks Amy - Amy and Angela - AA. MAA as well. They can have like a group name, you know, a MAA on if I want to be a MAA, hey. So we are all assembled at the Safe States annual conferences, we haven't been together some time and first time attendee for you at any rate. And just curious, from your perspective, what has been going well, so far, or what were you looking forward to getting out of the conference this year?
Angela Marr:Well, many of you said it, it's the connections across the board, we haven't had a chance to come together with our partners in the field research partners, state practitioners, all the fantastic folks who are here. But even beyond that Amy and I were just talking earlier, it's the connection with even our CDC colleagues that we haven't seen in years. So it's just been fantastic. We are glad to have this opportunity. And I think the the networking and connecting and all the fun little pop up adventures that are happening here at the conference within my favorites. I like that I'm
Mighty Fine:going to have to use that to pop up adventure. True. In between sessions, we get a chance to chat with folks learn about the work that they're doing and reconnecting almost reinvigorating, certainly, if you
Amy Wolken:agree with Angela's putting faces to names, so I joined the injury field three years ago, and I never met before because it's been COVID. So it's really nice to finally put a face to a name, make the connection and really hear from the state see what they need, how we can better help them. Physically nice to just sit in a session and hear what's out there, what's happening and how we can be better systems.
Mighty Fine:Great. Thanks, Well I appreciate you both for stopping by enjoy the rest of the conference. Ok - thanks for having us. Thank you. Thanks for stopping by. I'll have you start by introducing yourself. Let us know your name and where you are joining us.
Ashley Lamar:My name is Ashlyn Lamar. I am a injury prevention specialist from Fort Worth, Texas.
Mighty Fine:Welcome Ashley.
Mary Ann Contreras:Mary Ann Contreras, Injury and Violence Prevention Manager in Fort Worth, Texas.
Mighty Fine:It's been some time actually this is our first time right?
Mary Ann Contreras:No, the first conference in I think it
Mighty Fine:was but it was okay. And we were we've been doing this for as well, with that being said, I would love to hear from you all, what are you hoping to get out of the conference this year? or what have you gotten out of it thus far,
Mary Ann Contreras:I can say that I have learned so much. There's so many IvP things going on around the United States. And it's just been really interesting to hear all the different programs and projects and funding opportunities that have come out of all of the IVP work that's been going on. So that's been one of the things that's been super special here this year. And just being in person and connecting with people seeing that everyone has legs, and really enjoying networking, and just getting more tools to take back to my own organization. Absolutely. So I am loving, just seeing everyone after being isolated for so long, and hearing what they've been doing and hearing what some of their ambitions are, as well as some of the special speakers that have come in to address violence. Because we're certainly seeing a whole lot more of that. And and I'm really thankful that some of the community and the cultural perception of violence is looking at, oh my gosh, why are people acting like this? It's because of their social determinants is where they live, it's the things that they don't have. And it's really turning injury prevention into such an opportunity with looking at root causes that will not only address injury and violence, it's going to address health care as well.
Mighty Fine:Absolutely. That's so so well said. And I think about it, too, when you watch the news, which I've tried to balance that, right, always something happening. And you sort of can get bogged down, and when you see the increase in incidents, and this or that, or whatever. And I feel like coming here and connecting with your colleagues and learning about the great work that's happening in a most reinvigorates hope, at least for me, because you recognize that, collectively, we are extremely powerful. Yes, we do our work in our silos in our day to day, and sometimes we lose sight of the importance of them. And I think coming here, you have to remember the importance of the work that we're doing individually. So with that being said, you'd have done this a little bit already. What is something that you think that's going really well, spacing and potential that you're excited about, you're proud that you're doing or involved in something, or someone else is doing it, just again, to inspire this idea of holding that there is, you know, the sun is shining, and rainbows are in the clouds and the room bloom and all that. But again, just something that you feel is doing well, that we almost need to pat ourselves on the back for, you know, in the IVP space.
Mary Ann Contreras:Yeah, I think one of the big things is the collaboration that is happening. I know that we all work in silos. But I think that, for the last couple of years, injury prevention has been moving to where everyone is working together so much. And not just working with conventional other IBP partners, but working with unconventional partners too, and bringing other people into the public health IDP fold. And so it's really encouraging to see how we're able to really cross those different barriers and break down some of those walls, and accomplish more than we've ever been able to and have the support of the public and those kinds of things. So I'm just really encouraged to see all the collaboration that's happening. Exactly, exactly. And what actually said and what I also like, is it we're also not only are we collaborating with other different professionals and other different organizations, but we're actually doing more listening to our community people, which is something that has been a little bit neglected in the past. But now with these opportunities it has, it's really come to the forefront to understand what other people are experiencing.
Mighty Fine:Oh, yeah. A little birdie told me that you got our Rising Star Award for Safe States. So kudos for that. Congratulations for that. And how does that make you feel, you know, someone rising in the space of injury loss prevention? Where would you like to see to the field,
Ashley Lamar:I will say it makes me feel a little bit embarrassed but excited. I love all the praise that comes from and I love that people are recognizing the work that's being done. And so it's really encouraging to you know, keep going and and take it even further than I have previously. And so and I mean Safe States has such a such a unique and special place in my heart. I really love this organization. So as far as where I want to see IVP go, I'm really interested to see where and how far we'll be able to get with violence. I think that the work that has been been done, the recognition that violence statistics have been getting lately is going to be really incredible for pulling together just different disciplines and really diving into, you know, decreasing violence in our communities. Going across the United States, and just seeing how much we can bring our entire country and hopefully be a model for other countries in relation to violence.
Mighty Fine:Absolutely. Thank you. In that rising star moment you tap into it, Mary Ann talked about and making those connections. And I'd like to say there's no such thing as a non traditional partner anymore, right, because we've seen that by has an injury, even if we're not directly impacted, it impacts us in some way, socially, politically, economically, etc. So I think that's very well received in that those connections and helping us all collectively to understand how it impacted by and then maybe that will incentivize us to participate more actively, as an individual collectively as a field. So thanks to you both for stopping by to chat with me a pleasure and look forward to engaging more as we close out issues. Thank you. All right. I know you all gonna continue to hear me say this. But I'm really excited about this next guest that I'm speaking to. So I'll ask you to introduce yourself. Tell us your organization, your title, your name?
Ina Robinson:Absolutely. Hey, my name is Ina Robinson, I'm a Safe States staff member, Senior Manager for programs and health equity.
Mighty Fine:Hi, I'm so glad that you stopped by to chat with us for IVP in depth, few questions for you. So we're here gathered at the Safe States annual conference, and I've been pulling people and asking them, you know, why are you here with the talk to the listeners about the importance of us gathering and coming together as folks in the field of public health and dream violence prevention, etc?
Ina Robinson:Well, you know, I think this is a very exciting time for Safe States, it's with the annual conference is something that we always look forward to, on an annual yearly basis. Of course, with COVID and the impact, you know, the pandemic being in the mix, we kind of been on a sabbatical doing things virtually for the last couple of years. So it's an exciting time for us, because it's an opportunity for us to see some faces in person that we've been seeing in little boxes and squares and zoom, and just reconnecting and catching up on life events with different folks that we work with in the field, you know, at establishing some some new partnerships and opportunities to collaborate with folks who are doing some amazing work in the field of injury and violence prevention. And then we have so many of our members, and partners and stakeholders also coming as well. And in sharing the work that they're doing, which again, provides a very phenomenal opportunity again, for just that connecting and that collaborating that networking and continuing to build upon the work and the evidence that we do in the field of IVP.
Mighty Fine:Absolutely. And just looking around and being here I can tell that Safe States is growing in general, right. And then it also seems that people were very eager to come back in person, because you know, that we were we're certainly filling up the space of this hotel. So it's exciting to see such a good showing for the meeting. And I think because of a lot of what you have just shared and thinking about us our collectiveness and us coming together as a field, what's one area or project or program that you think that folks need to hear about that you think's going really well, and as an IVP, sort of needs to pat ourselves on the back and say, Hey, good job. But let's continue to grow this and do more of that. You know,
Ina Robinson:I think as of late in the field, again, going back to the pandemic, and even with some of the resurgence of some of the events that we've been seeing sort of in the social justice arena, I think a lot of IVP professionals in the field have been taking the time to focus on self care, mental health, focusing on resiliency and what that looks like on an individual and or community perspective, and how do we implement those those types of strategies and approaches to ensure that we're not only taking care of ourselves and our IVP workforce, but we're also taking care of the needs of the communities that we serve. And then getting back to the point that I made about social justice. The field has been been moving, I think, for for several years, right in the direction to ensure that the programs that we implement and the way that we view policy, and strategies around policy, ensuring that they have a health equity or racial equity lens, and viewpoint. However, again, we've really been mobilizing over the last two to three years. I'm concentrating our efforts in that regard. And just speaking as a Safe States member in some of the work that we've done collectively over the last couple of years, we've really been taking the time to assess what's happening in the IVP field, excuse me, IVP field with regard to racial and health equity, and figuring out what are some opportunities that we can continue to serve our members and our partners in helping folks sort of connect those dots from an upstream perspective on how to address some of the inequities that we so often see, when we're looking at the burden of injuries and violence among community Particularly those that are marginalized or those that have been disinvested in
Mighty Fine:absolutely very, very well put. I know you're busy, and you're running around and taking care of visits here at the conference. But again, thank you for stopping by to chat with me. And I look forward to engaging with you more over the next few days or so.
Ina Robinson:It's been a pleasure, thank you Mighty
Mighty Fine:All right, why don't you introduce yourself to our listeners, let us know your name, where you're from, and a little bit about what you do.
Michele Schombs:So my name is Michele Schombs. I am a registered nurse by professional trade. I work in New York Presbyterian in Queens, New York City, as the injury and violence prevention coordinator for our level one trauma center.
Mighty Fine:Great pleasure to meet you from the New Yorker. I'm from Brooklyn. I live in DC now, but from Brooklyn. So you know. And we both are here at the Safe States annual conference, and it's been going well for me thus far. And we'd love to hear from you. What are you looking forward to for the remaining portions of the meeting, or what has been something that's been of significance to you thus far.
Michele Schombs:So my passion and the work that I do, and that I bring to injury prevention is health equity and health disparities. So every time I'm at a conference, that's always my focus, I am very happy to see that it is heavily focused on here at this conference, I just attended the panelist section of today. And it was unbelievable. I met with Tony R. Jones, who is doing a lot of the work that I'm looking to create within our community. He has an urban program focused on youth rather than incarcerating people or sending them to detention, he is addressing the root causes of the things that lead to that, you know, pipeline to prison issue or right, and had success with that. And so there are plenty of grant opportunities out there. But it requires a lot of knowledge that he has an I don't. So I met with him after and I made that connection. And it was huge, like beyond my wildest dreams. I think I have met my needs for this conference. And beyond that I am a student, Sig member of excellent student chair, it's brand new, for me is a brand new part of this organization. And so I'm here representing that, and looking to, you know, help our student members to really embrace their power and the role of injury prevention and to navigate the things that have been difficult for me navigating in my current role, because I'm a student, but I'm also a professional.
Mighty Fine:Sure. Awesome, that's so great to hear that you made that connection, and that there's a way forward, and there's gonna be some partnership that comes out of that and some collaboration. So I love to hear that. I agree with you. That's one of the greatest things, I think about being able to come together. Obviously, Zoom plays, or any sort of virtual connection to allows us to connect remotely. And yet there's still no replacement for that in person connection, hearing someone talk about a program or project and then being able to figure out how you can use that to enhance. So you mentioned your role as a student and as a professional. So wearing both of those hats, I think you're the perfect person to answer this question. What do you think we can be doing more of I do differently to get more students involved in entering violence prevention, and help them to even think about it as a potential career choice?
Michele Schombs:So I think really what injury and violence prevention is, is this public health model we talk about, you know, public health is the view from a system. Sure, right. It's not an individual level issue, like you came here. My husband said, Oh, if somebody falls, are you gonna take care of them? I said, No, that's an individual ideals population. And it's the same thing. When we talk about recruitment, I don't think there is a lot of large level work on injury and violence prevention, we have a lot of great programs that are kind of small pockets in different regions with different funding. And I think we need to come up with a larger narrative to represent all of the work that we're doing. So that collaborative effort right me meeting, Tony Jones isn't just Michele from New York Presbyterian meeting. It's a larger levels of national level, and that Violence and Injury Prevention isn't their problem. It's our problem, even if I'm not the one getting injured today, right? Because we talk about older adult falls, just because I'm not an older adult yet. I will be an older adult one day short, right? So it's my risk then, just because I'm not living in a community with violence doesn't mean I can't, right doesn't mean it won't impact my family, my loved ones, my community. And if we don't address the root causes and other those problems, then we won't really address them and they will continue to plague us and have economic impacts in all of our communities. Right? So it's not others province, it's our province. And that's what injury and violence prevention. And that work does. It's about the whole community, regardless of where you come from or who you are. And we need to elevate that narrative, that message to really engage our communities, in wanting to fund the church. Funding is a huge issue. Collaboration is a huge issue. So it's everyone's, yeah, everyone should be passionate about it, not just us.
Mighty Fine:I love that. And so it's really the reframing of it, so folks can see where they fit in, irrespective of their direct connection to that injury, that violence or whatever, I love that I'm gonna I'm gonna tap into that, myself. And those are the questions that I have for you. Thank you for stopping by. But I'll pass you the mic. And if there's anything in addition that you want to share with folks that are listening in to the podcast?
Michele Schombs:No, I think this is great. And if you're not a student member, you definitely should be. Student members are really affordable. And as most organizations can be pricey student members the way to go. So become a student and injury violence prevention, join the membership.
Mighty Fine:Second.
Torine Creppy:Hi, my name is Torine Creppy and I'm president of Safe Kids Worldwide in Washington, DC
Mighty Fine:Torine, such a pleasure to meet you happy to be with here with you at Safe States annual conference. And you know, we haven't met in a while because of COVID. And we've been engaging over zoom and other ways and just want to hear from you as an exhibitor. As an attendee, why was it important for you to be here at the meeting this this week,
Torine Creppy:This has been a fantastic opportunity for Safe Kids Worldwide and the staff at Safe Kids. You know, as mighty just mentioned, we haven't been in person, although we've been zoom in it. I think it's been fantastic just to be back in the room with colleagues to really be able to strategize and really look to what the future holds for us. We know right now, an injury prevention, as well as violence prevention, all about mental health is very important. And so getting back together allows us to foster those relationships, collaborate and really see greater things happening in the future, not just for our children, but for adults as well.
Mighty Fine:Absolutely. And I'd be remiss if I didn't congratulate you on behalf of Safe States and Safe Kids Worldwide for winning Partner of the Year. Just talk to us about what that means. And and why is that significant? For what the work that you all are doing in injury prevention?
Torine Creppy:Well, let me just first say, I was like, over the moon. Oh, my goodness, how fantastic was it to be recognized by Safe States. I mean, that was an honor and a privilege. I think just setting the tone for our organization where our focus has been primarily on injury prevention is just spoke volumes that while we don't really do much in balance prevention, the work that we are doing in injury prevention is recognized and fostering the strong partnerships that we've been able to do through Safe States has been a fantastic,
Mighty Fine:awesome, awesome, and and just building upon that, where do you see Safe Kids Worldwide going are the field of injury and violence prevention going in, and just continuing to shore up our resources, our efforts, our capacity to make sure we're meeting the the burden of injury that we see enacting a toll on the public?
Torine Creppy:Well, I think first, you know, we can do more together than apart. And I think this week speaks volumes to that just to see that having over 250 attendees, let you know that it's a priority for us and injury prevention. I think there are three things that I'll leave with the group here today, and that is equity. We talk a lot about diversity. But I think if we can start with equity will be inclusive. And I think diversity of all things we sometimes look at race as being the priority around diversity, but we don't know someone could be sitting there and could be in a wheelchair or to have a hearing aid on so I think we need to meet families meet each other where we are and address the burden of injury where we can make the biggest impact together than being apart.
Mighty Fine:Absolutely. And that has been a thread that has been woven throughout the conversations I've been having this week is the collectiveness that the collaboration, the partnership, and recognizing the supreme power of that we have as a collective as opposed to what we're doing individually, not undermining the great work that we each are doing by recognizing the again the supreme power that we have when we come together. So thanks again for stopping by and looking forward to seeing a little bit more as we conclude the meeting. Thank you. Thanks for listening to IVP endeavor, be sure to subscribe and listen to us on Apple podcast, Spotify or Google podcasts. You should also follow safe states on Twitter at Safe States same for LinkedIn. And don't forget to check out our website www dot safe states.org For more injury and violence prevention, tools, resources and so much more information. Again, I'd like to thank all of our sponsors for supporting Safe States and helping us to create space for programs such as this. This is your host mighty fight I'm signing off and until next time, stay safe and injury free.