April 22, 2025 • 36 mins
Talked with Mindy Hanken, MSW, Executive Director, Tenise Williams, School Counselor and Laylah from Pace Center for Girls. There are pace centers throughout Florida. The Pace Palm Beach school provides academic and behavioral health services to girls ages 11-17 in Palm Beach County School Districts. Pace is free and the students take classes along with working closely with counselors, therapists trained in trauma-based therapy, tutors, etc. Pace also helps with life skills, such as shopping, getting your first job. "Pace helps reduce juvenile justice involvement, increases high school graduation rates, and fosters long-term success for girls and their families. By creating a ripple effect of positive change, Pace strengthens the community by cultivating confident, educated, and engaged young women who are ready to contribute meaningfully to society." For listeners who are interested in volunteering, becoming a mentor, making a donation, becoming a corporate sponsor or enrolling in the school, they can reach out to www.pacecenter.org.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
iHeart Communities Presents Palm Beach Treasure Coast Perspective which dead now.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Good morning, welcome to Palm Beach Treasure Coast Perspective. I'm
your host Stev Now, thanks for spending your weekend with me.
All kinds of great things going on. If you haven't
made it yet, you want to head over this weekend.
They are wrapping up for Palm Beach Drama Works their
play called Camping with Henry and Tom. It's going through
April twenty seventh. And find out well more shows they're
(00:26):
doing there and if you want to become a volunteer.
If you're into theater, go to their website Palm Beach
Drama Works dot org and all the details are right
there waiting for you. Always spoke to miss Wendy from
the more Common Museum and Gardens. Lots of cool things
happening there. On May third, there's a family fun Children's Day,
gonna be calligraphy for adults. I don't think it's going
to help me write any meaner, but it sounds like fun.
(00:50):
May tenth, if you haven't been, definitely check us out.
It's the Tea Ceremony. It's from one to three pm.
Simth to go to more commed dot org and all
the details are listed right there for you. And if
you've got kiddos that are into theater, lots of places
having summer camps. Delray Beach Playhouse has a couple coming up,
and I know Arts Garage and Deler Beach also has
(01:11):
summer camps. The Coxsite Center has summer camps, The Zoo
has summer camps. Lots of summer camps everywhere. So whatever
your kiddos are interested in, I am sure there is
a summer camp there. You can reach out to me
Palm Beach Perspective at iHeartMedia and I'll get you happy
to give you more information on those. And of course
last Sunday we spoke to Mindy Stoller and Jim May
from Mounts Botanical Gardens. So this is their big spring
(01:35):
plant sale and family fun weekend going on, so it's
got to be a lot of fun. Kids are free
and of course if you have a membership, emission is
free all weekend. And they've got vendors there. They've over
seventy plant vendors to help you out. World renowned artists
Frank Hider will be there with his Janus project, and
then of course they've got eleven o'clock today doctor Kimberly
(01:55):
Moore doing a presentation called turn off your Sprinklers Your
plants really aren't That Thursday, and then at one o'clock
there's a history of Hibiscus and Propagation with Don Conrad
and you can go to Mounts dot org to get
more details about that and other programs. Oh And got
a reminder from her friends. The Fort Piers Yacht Club
is doing their Blessing of the Fleet as part of
(02:15):
their forty fifth Sapphire Anniversary celebration, and that's going to
be on May seventeenth, starting at eleven am. For more
details on that, you can reach out to them Fort
Piers Yacht Club dot com and they have all the
details right there for you on that one. Oh And
this is going to be cool. There's a call out
for artists. There's a new mural project for downtown Fort Piers,
(02:37):
so if you're interested in participating in that, you need
to submit your proposal by May sixteenth. Reach out to
Caitlin for more details seven seven to two seven four
to two ninety eight thirty five and she's happy to
give you more information. Oh got a reminder from friends
over the North Museum of Arts. Oh my gosh, lots
of cool things happening, and they have all the different
(02:58):
main big artists, but then some of them like Salvador Dolly,
you know, the one's actually also made jewelry. So they
have a whole exhibition going on now of the droy
these people made. And they've got a lot of great
art after darks coming up. On May second, it is
the Smookies. May ninth is Seafoam Walls. May sixteenth, there'll
be the Wellness Night May twenty third Eric Olsen and
(03:20):
May thirtieth of Lose Wizards and that's also been a
subtropic film Fast Night, so that's a cool things. Simply
go to Norton dot Org all the different art after
dark informations there, the different exhibitions that are going on now,
all the fun things how you can get your tickets
and admission and stuff like that. Always spoke to Miss
Vowstags from the Pandora's Kids organization the other week and
(03:43):
just want to remind everybody that if you're a coffee fan,
to go to Oceana Coffee. They have three locations this
month for April and you buy a cup of coffee,
you can take your little coffee bean and put it
in the cup. That says Pandora's Kids, and then that
fundraiser money goes to them. So help your cough, if
you do help other things, help you get through your day,
and help the kids get some some great program to
(04:04):
set up for them. Oh when if you haven't been
to the Cravis Center lately, lots of cool things happening there.
This weekend the wrapic up the next performance on their
Cravis on Broadway series called Otley Mizz And so that
has been going on this week, great big show. And
then coming up next year for their Cravis on Broadway season. Oh,
they've got a great lineup. So next year is going
(04:25):
to be starting off with the Whiz then Kimberly a
Kimbo want to see that one. This one I definitely
want to see. It's called Twas the Night Before, but
it's with the Circus lay people, so it's gonna be
really cool. The choir Man will be coming in December.
Some Like It Hot in January, MJ the Musical in February,
A Beautiful Noise, which is the Neil Diamond Musical. That'll
(04:46):
be April of next year. And then the Notebook based
on the book by Nicholas Sparks, So lots of lots
of different ones coming next year. You go to Cravis
dot org to find out more about those. And also
this month they've got May Sorry, and coming up in May.
On May fourth they have the Young Singers of the
Palm Beaches presenting their Many Voices One Song Sunday at
(05:10):
four thirty on May fourth in the Dreyfus Hall. They
do a fantastic presentation. Then on May thirteenth through eighteenth
is Mystic Pizza wrapping up their Cravis on Broadway series
for this year. And then Ballet Palm Beach is presenting
their student showcase on May thirty first, that'll be in
the Rinker Playhouse. And of course they've got the Gospel
(05:30):
Gala coming in May. Believe that's May seventeenth with Yolanda Adams.
So great, great show. You we see that one. There's
our few tickets left for that one. Something go do
Kravis dot org and all the details are right there
for you. Speaking of getting details, I want to welcome
my guests for today. I have got Mindy Hanken, the
executive director from Pace Center for Girls, Tenise Williams and
(05:51):
Layla Good morning, ladies, Good morning, thanks for coming in. Mindy,
tell me a little bit about the pay Center. How
long has it been around? Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 3 (06:00):
So the Pay Center for Girls is celebrating forty years
in existence. It started in nineteen eighty five in Jacksonville, Florida,
and it came to Palm Beach County twenty nine years
ago in nineteen ninety six.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Oh, that's been around a long time.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
Yes, we've been able to impact a lot of girls.
Forty thousand girls nationally have been impacted since the Pay
Center for Girls started forty years ago.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
Oh, that's fantastic. So what services do you guys provide
for the community.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
So, the pay Center for Girls is all about supporting
and advocating for adolescent girls. We have several programs that
support girls. One is our Day Program, which in essence
is a school. We offer academics, counseling, career preparation, college prep,
and life skills training. The girls come to us every
(06:50):
day Monday through Friday, all day for their full curriculum
and all those activities. We also have a program called
Reach because we reach out into the community. We have
a team of therapists that provide mental health services to
our middle school and high school girls anywhere in Palm
(07:10):
Beach County and it's free of charge. So we support
mental health for all girls in Palm Beach County at
no cost.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
And that's fantastic, and that's something we were talking before
the show. One of the reasons people, just people in
general don't get help with their mental health cost and
the lack of access, right.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
Correct, So those are the two main reasons that people
don't seek out mental health services, which is so important.
So all of the services at pay Center for Girls
are free, including weekly therapy that we provide to the girls,
and our therapists go to them. So our therapists meet
with girls in their public schools, in their homes, in
(07:50):
other community locations around town, even if it's at a
room in the library or coffee shop. We go to
the girls.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
So we make it accessible for them.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
So there's no reason that any teenage girl that needs
a little extra help and support can't get it.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
And we're talking like just if you're stressed, it can
be something severe or not correct. So what are the
things some of the things they reach out for help
with because I know there's a lot of problems like
cyber bullying. I know that even for grown ups there's
that's a problem.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
Yes, there are so many things that girls need support
for today. Girls have could have anxiety going to public school.
They're dealing with maybe divorce in their family, or other
issues in their family, their community life. And girls can
use support just like anyone can. Being a girl today
is so much harder than it was years ago, with
(08:40):
social media and cyberbullying. Like you mentioned that, I don't
know any girl that wouldn't benefit from some extra support
from a licensed clinical therapist.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
Well, I know, and I know that you said going
in public school is stressful because, like I know, obviously
with the recent shootings of college, some of those people
at college, now we're in their school, in their high
school when it happened before, you know, Yeah, and it
happened twice in one lifetime. That's just unreal.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
We were actually talking about that on the way here,
that there's so many more stressors that all students have
to deal with, and so our school is very small,
we personalize it to the needs of each girl and
we support every single girl that's in our program.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
I think it's fantastic that you provide support for the girls,
but you know, sometimes the family struggles as well, because
I have friends that are parents and they're afraid to
let their kids go to school. So obviously that stress
goes and gets transferred to the kid unknowingly by them,
but it does correct.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
It's the entire system of care, and at pay Center
for Girls, we look at the entire care team that
is supporting that girl. So it's parents, other therapists or psychiatrists,
other tutors, anyone who works to support that girl. The
Pay Center for Girls becomes the hub and our team
(09:57):
of counselors, and I have one of our counselor's with
with me today. Our counselors have care team meetings on
a regular basis, so they bring together everyone who is
working on behalf of that girl, plus the girl is
in the room. Because we work with our girls and
teach them how to advocate for themselves, so it's really
a full system of care. We work with the families,
(10:19):
Our counselors, our therapists talk regularly with the families, and
so many times they need additional resources that we're able
to connect them to.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
Well, that's cool. So speaking of one of your counselors, Ms. Denise, Welcome,
good morning. So now you're actually one of the school counselors,
so you go to the schools and you also work
with the girls at the pay center. Rate.
Speaker 4 (10:42):
No, I'm actually stationed at the pay center and each counselor,
it's three of us. We're assigned a care load and
we're responsible for a certain amount of girls. So we
look into their academic performance, the mental health background, any
behavior issues in the school, and the family component, which
are the family stressors and or barriers that they're dealing
(11:04):
with that brings them to pace.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
Okay, yeah, because I know when I was younger, there
was a program called a Giranpen in Pennsylvania, and there's
a program called Upward Bound and it targeted at risk
youth and because my family was extreme poverty, I fell
into that part of that target range. So I got
to do some really cool programs. And then when I
got a little bit older, like they started in middle
(11:27):
school and then went continued in high school, but they
sent us a couple of summers to college for like
a six week session in college. They paid for us
to go and I was the only person in my
family who had any interest after that going to college.
So I paid my way, made my own way through it.
But it took a while, but I got there. So cool,
but that it opened up a lot of doors for
me that I didn't even know were closed because I
(11:47):
didn't realize they were there. So the opportunities were there,
and I know.
Speaker 4 (11:51):
At PACE we do have a college and career coach.
She assists with our girls going to different state schools universities,
looking at at the schools and even the trade programs
that they may be interested in. So Pace is pretty
much a one stop shop. Everything is right there for
the girl.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
Very cool, and I just have to say for folks listening,
if the girls are interested in like becoming an ac
person the HVAC plumbing, it's a good career of choice.
If people weren't interested in that, we.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
Like to bring the girls on different field trips and
bring in guest speakers because we want to expose them
to all the different industries that are available. So so
many times the girls think I'll just do what someone
in my family is doing, but they can do so
much more, and we want to expose them to different industries.
We take the girls to see throughout Palm Beach County
(12:42):
what's available.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
That's cool. That's a really cool thing to do, because
that's what you said. They get exposed to everything. I
think it's awesome. So, Leila, you're part of the school
that it's actually at the center, correct, Yes, how long
have you been going to school there?
Speaker 5 (12:55):
I've been going to school there for two and a
half years now.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
Oh that's so cool. Yeah. So now what is a
normal day like for you? You get out, you go
to school. What's like the first thing that happens.
Speaker 5 (13:05):
Oh, wake up pretty late, go to school, and just
we don't have science at the moment, or math, but
we do our best to move into each class back
and forth. I would say English is probably my favorite
because I love writing and just go to each of
(13:28):
the classes, have lunch, just spend time talking with my
friends and the staff, which I see once every week.
I see Miss Denise every Thursday, talk to her about
whatever I need to and then my other counselor, who
is similar to a therapist to me.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Oh that's good. So you have access to people, and
if you need to talk to Miss Denise more, you
could just reach out and should be there. Well, it's
good to know because like here at iHeart, for the
folks that work here, we have what's called an EAP
Employee Assistance program, so you can reach out to say
you have a legal question. They got a company that
does that for us. If you have a financial assistance need,
they have something for that. But then they also have
(14:08):
like the mental health component, so they'll have somebody that
can talk to you. And I was got up to
three so eight sessions for for a year and then
if you need more, you can get that. But it's
neat that that's available, and they make it easy because
you just call them and then you fill out the
onboarding online and then you just do like a zoom
call with them if you want correct. But you can
reach out to them and set it up any time
(14:29):
you needed correct.
Speaker 3 (14:31):
In public school, on average, it's one counselor to every
five hundred students. At PACE, it's one counselor to every
fourteen students. So, as Leila's explaining, she meets with Miss
Denise on a weekly basis, and on top of that,
if she wants to or feels like she needs to,
she can slip a note to her teacher and say
(14:52):
I'd like to see miss Denise, and at Denise's next
available slot, she will come and meet with with Laila
whenever she can, so that it's really hands in hand
the academics and the counseling services.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
Oh, I think that's fantastic. So now I know they
might be a fan of this. Do you have to
take those tests like everybody has to take in school?
LA's shaking her head. Yes, listeners can't see that She's
shaking your head. Yes, So even though you're at PACE,
you still have to do all those regular tests and everything.
Speaker 5 (15:23):
Yes, the recent one I just took with ACT just
for college purposes, which I will be hopefully graduating very soon.
I'm working on my GED But the studying and all
that whole big book of work.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Yeah, but it's a big book, but it's worth it, Yeah,
because then that opens up a lot of doors for
you to try other things.
Speaker 5 (15:48):
Yep.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
We're a regular school with the Palmage County School District.
On the school district's website you see all the elementary,
middle high schools, and then you see alternative education programs.
Pay Center for Girls is listed as one of thirteen
alternative education programs in Palm Beach County and we are
the only one that's exclusively for girls.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
Oh very nice, very nice. That also takes some stress off. Yeah, absolutely,
so you can focus on just being your best self.
I like that. So you do fund raisors throughout the year.
And I know you just finished the Baker one. Yes,
you have another one come up. Did you say it
was coming in the fall. Yes.
Speaker 3 (16:24):
We do a Believing in Girls Empowerment Luncheon every fall.
It's coming up in mid November, November thirteenth at the
Kravi Center, and we bring together hundreds of people that
come to support pay Center for Girls. We bring some
of our girls to come and experience it and speak
(16:45):
so that the audience can hear directly from our girls.
We've also brought an alumni in the past that have
been at PACE that then speak about their successes since
graduating from PACE. And it's an incredible luncheon. It's a
beauty full event taking place November thirteenth, twenty twenty five.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
And of course, so if businesses and people who are
listening want to become a sponsor for that, they can
reach out to you.
Speaker 3 (17:09):
Absolutely, we have availability for all different kinds of sponsors
for underwriters, lots of opportunities to get involved.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
Very cool. So when they go to the website or
give you a call.
Speaker 3 (17:19):
They can go to the website paycenter dot org. They
can also call me at the pay Center. We're at
five six' one four seven two one nine nine zero
and they can ask for me and we can get them.
Connected there's lots of ways to be involved at Pay
center For, girls whether it's supporting through sponsorships or, underwriting
(17:41):
attending our, fundraisers donating.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
Directly we love our.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
Volunteers we'd love for people to come and volunteer with.
Us there's lots of ways to connect with the girls through.
Mentoring we also have other opportunities that are more.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
Artistic and so they go to the website and find
the volunteer link. There, yes they, can, okay cool and
go through the. Process you're, black? Gotcha?
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Yes all?
Speaker 2 (18:02):
Right so miss teniees back to. You so you've been
At pace what you said about a year? Now, YES
i have so as a school. Counselor why did you Choose?
Pace why do you like working?
Speaker 4 (18:14):
There, WELL i come from the world of law. Enforcement
INITIALLY i was a law enforcement officer AND i got
tired of arresting individuals and it was mostly adolescents and
teenagers where more was going on and no one wasn't
doing anything to address the main, issue and they were
wondering why these kids were breaking the. Law so in
(18:38):
the interim also of me losing my own father to,
CANCER i had to make the decision either my career
or move into something WHERE i could be beneficial and
also help take care of my. Father so you, Know
i'm A. CHRISTIAN i prayed about it And god led
me into the field of prevention and. Intervention SO i
(18:58):
started in the school district as part of department Is
Safe schools where we would go into the schools and
we would help with the gang and the drugs and
the behavior stuff in the. Schools AND i found my
passion for mental health because a lot of the KIDS
i was encountering were dealing with substance use issues as
a result of mental health issues and it was going
(19:19):
undiagnosed and no one was paying attention to get them the.
Services so HERE i. SIT i saw an offer at,
pace and most of the girls were dealing with the
problems more so than the, boys AND i wanted to
help our girls get back on their feet BECAUSE i
am a mother of five and out of, five three
of them are. Girls SO i needed to do WHAT
i needed to, do not only for my, girls but
(19:41):
also to assist others in their. Girls so that's Why
i'm AT pace today AND i love doing WHAT i.
DO i KNOW i can't change them, all but IF
i can help plant the, seed they can warder their
flower and they can. Bloom And layla is one of
my girls on my care. Load and within the year's
time That i've been working With, LAYLA i have seen
her growth and she Has we're only a.
Speaker 2 (20:02):
Lot AND i like how you found a new. Path
SO i think most people have three or four careers
in your lifetime and different things lead you different. Ways
so when you were doing law, enforcement you recognized a.
Need then a family issue put you kind of on,
hold and you, know changing the perspective because being a
what three time cancer survivor definitely changes your perspective on
(20:23):
what's important is really what's important you, know and how
you can do. This so that's part of why the
talk show came to Be because WHEN i was, sick
there was a lot of programs that could have helped,
me BUT i was very. Young the doctors never thought
THAT i needed. HELP i didn't know to ask my.
Bet my friends were taking off work from their from
their jobs to take me to the, meetings into you,
(20:45):
know therapy sessions and to get treatments because you're not
allowed to drive afterward and all these. Things and there's
no oubu or uber or anything like that back. Then
so afterwards the doctor's, like, oh, well there's this, thing
and were, like where were? You why didn't you tell?
Us so started the talk show, too interview all the
different programs in the community shell let people know what
is out. There so how would somebody who who thinks
(21:09):
they might benefit FROM pace reach out TO pace to
become a member of the.
Speaker 4 (21:13):
School well they can, actually because we are an alternative
setting of the school. District the parents can go to
the child's guidance counselor and have a conversation with some
of the things that the child is. Experiencing and all
of the guidance counselor is a very aware OF, pace
and a lot of them have referred us. Girls we've
(21:35):
even had some girls reach out TO pace on their
own by googling different schools to help, girls AND paces
the first that comes. Up and also we have an intake,
Coordinator Mss maria who does a lot of the. Intakes
they can reach out to her as, well And Miss
mindy did give the phone number for them to reach
(21:55):
out TO. Pace and outside of, that law, Enforcement Palmbach
County sheriff works hand in hand with us, too and
they've referred us quite a few girls as. Well so
we get an influx from all of the, community from
the law enforcement, side to the school district, side to
just parents in general reaching out because their girls are.
Struggling and just As Ms mindy, said we are a
(22:17):
smaller setting and a lot of our high schoolers do
struggle with the social anxiety, piece especially the eighth graders
going into ninth, grade because they go from maybe at
the most twelve hundred students to almost three thousand plus
students and it's a lot to deal with and a
lot of them do, struggle and they struggle in. Silence
but the beauty of the school district now they're starting
(22:40):
to put professional behavior health counselors in the, schools but
a lot of the kids don't even know about the
bhps being in the school unless they have come in
contact with their guidance counselor and they've referred them. Over
so pace is really an alternative setting to help curb
the mental health stuff that's going on in the school.
Speaker 2 (22:59):
District, yeah WHEN i first moved To, FLORIDA i worked
briefly as a teacher and an alternative high school In, Leesburg,
Florida and a lot of the students going there were
in The Team mom program m and they worked with,
them the boys and the. Girls they could they, said tea,
mom but the teen dad was there, too and they
could go get their either their ged or their regular,
diploma whichever route they wanted to. Go lots of counseling
(23:22):
and they would actually have obgu i ns come in
with a little baby and teach them how to diaper the,
baby how to do all those, things and then they
to give them all the information so and work with
their families to make an informed. Choice do they want
to keep the, baby do they want to adopt the?
Baby how they want to, Go but in the, meantime
accommodate their schedule so they could continue to work to
(23:44):
get their. Degree. Correct really cool. Program SO i know
there's programs like, that so that obviously Like. Pace it's
not for tea, moms for, say but it's where people
need help and you're addressing, it WHICH i think that's. Cool.
Speaker 3 (23:55):
Correct and we go year, round so as summer is coming,
up we get some students that come just in the
summer because maybe their parents don't want them to have
nothing to do in the, Summer maybe they need to
catch up on their. Academics perhaps they need to be
off the streets and coming to a safe place every single.
(24:16):
Day SO pace is a great place for students to
be able to catch up on their studies in the.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
Summertime oh that's. Cool so there's no backsliding or any
of those kind of. Concerns. CORRECT i like the safe
space concept and they can come and be with other
folks and HAVE i think good friendships they. Develop, Yeah
So Miss layla back to. You so obviously you've been
there for a couple of. Years now you're getting ready to.
Graduate you're really working toward that. Goal what was your
life like before you Found? Pace, OH i was a
(24:45):
very shy.
Speaker 5 (24:46):
PERSON i was very, introverted AND i was doing online
school at the, time so of course, pandemic not being
able to really see your, friends not really talking to.
People for, me during that, TIME i was dealing with.
Depression that's WHEN i got a therapist and she Recommended
(25:07):
pace for. Me and ever SINCE i met one of
the staff that day and talked About pace and what they,
DO i was desperate to go, there, honestly because online
stuff is just not for.
Speaker 2 (25:20):
Me, WELL i think a lot of kids found that online. Stuff,
online when you're chatting with your friends is one, thing
but for school you can really struggle because you need
more of that. Interaction especially while being in your.
Speaker 5 (25:33):
Room you get very. Lazy you want to be on your,
phone WATCH, tv do anything else but your. Work so
WHEN i was doing, THAT i was just, like, OH
i don't, KNOW i don't feel like doing.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
This. Yeah one of my friends is a school, teacher
so DURING, covid she obviously was at home as well
teaching her, classes but she set very clear goals for
the kids to know what was expected of. Them but
it was very interesting because then later on when everybody
went back to, school because she taught middle, school those
kids were now like eighth graders in her, school and
they came to find her in person to give her
(26:07):
a hug and say hi because they actually wanted to
meet her in, person WHICH i thought that was so.
Cool but like you, said it is a lot of
people dealt with like depression other family stressors because DURING
covid everybody was, together and to be, honest that's a
lot of togetherness for some, people and, like you love your,
(26:29):
family but sometimes you love your family when they come
For thanksgiving And. Christmas SO i think the world as
a whole discovered that they needed a little bit of.
Help so the fact that you recognize that that congratulations
and that you found a place that's so.
Speaker 5 (26:43):
Cool, yeah social media was a really like big thing
at that, time especially because we couldn't see each, Other
so just going on that and you, know probably being
up all night just helped a lot with like how
you felt about the world at the. Moment but bullying
(27:06):
was definitely something that happened at that, time AND i
wouldn't SAY i got it as, much But i've heard
a lot of stories about my friends just conversations in,
general and it's definitely not. Okay AND i don't understand
what happens during that and what people are going through
as they do. That but, now at this time it
(27:30):
for my, generation bullying has in some ways become like a.
Joke so the way we insult people online and communicate
is basically through. Jokes if it's actual, bullying these are
the type of things that we don't hear about because
the person is either too scared to talk about it or.
Speaker 2 (27:53):
Just, yeah well if they even. Noticed like, myself online
people will comment things And i'm, like what exactly did
they mean by? That because if you're in, person you
can see their, expression you can see the body, language
you get that you get if it's a, joke if
they're being, mean they just don't, know you know What i'm.
Saying we had a coworker in our office many years.
(28:15):
Ago he's long. Gone he would come into people's office
and make the most, rude inappropriate, comments and he thought
he was being. FUNNY i reported him Because i'm, like,
dude not. Funny And i'll give you one time if
you think you're being. Funny but ONCE i tell you
that's not, funny AND i tell, you it took me
a lot to say that's not funny BECAUSE i don't
(28:37):
like to confront. People but he was. Bad he was
really was he was just, mean And i'm, like don't
like mean, girls AND i don't like me and grow
grown ups. Either so, yeah good for you for speaking
up for.
Speaker 3 (28:48):
Yourself we teach our girls and all the, time and
we talk to their families how important it is that
our girls advocate for, themselves.
Speaker 5 (28:56):
But in a way where it's not rude to the other.
Person over the, years the two years That i've been,
There i've learned how to not be so selfish while
talking to another person just Because i'm hurt about something
Or i'm angry over something that has probably nothing to
do with.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
Them and a lot of TIMES i think you. Haven't
think you're getting that perspective now where whatever they, say
you do your. Thing so like my grandma used to,
say what did she? Say, oh she, said there's four
kinds of people in the. World fifty percent are going
to love, you fifty percent are not going to like,
You so twenty five percent are going to love you
(29:33):
for the right, reason twenty five percent for the wrong,
reason twenty five percent are going to not like you
for the wrong, reason and twenty five percent for the
right reason to not like you because you did something they.
Didn't it was an Appropriate she's, like the only percentage
if you want to grow as a person to worry
about is that twenty five percent who don't like you
for the right. Reason what did you? Do can you be?
(29:54):
Better and she's, said don't worry about all the. Rest
So i've, always my whole life had tried to be
better and learn from. Things but getting that, Perspective i'm
a lot older they use it take me a lot
to get, There so you're way ahead of me on this.
Though good job on. That thank, you very. Cool so
you Love? English the? Writing is there a special kind
of writing you like a certain genre like fantasy? Fiction Or?
Speaker 5 (30:18):
OH i just write poems and songs BECAUSE i love.
Singing and whenever it comes to a project in My english,
CLASS i usually, LIKE i am very extra about it
and do ten times more than what they. Asked BUT
i do that because writing is very special to me
(30:40):
in a way that it brings me out of like
sadness almost and putting my mind to something very simple
in my in my, PERSPECTIVE i feel very proud of
myself in that. Moment soon there's an event That i'm
going to On saturday where it's a competition if you
(31:01):
win first, place you get one thousand dollars towards education.
Purposes so my goal is not to, win because you
can always never underestimate. Someone But i'm happy to just
go there and do WHAT i love to.
Speaker 2 (31:17):
Do that's so. Cool i'm glad you could to conview.
That so you share your poem with everybody and fingers
crossed you win because that'd be. Fantastic but just going
and sharing your poem with everybody, else that's gonna be so.
Cool m. H AND i KNOW i want to Say
Arts garage And Delry beach has open mic, NIGHTS i
Think tuesdays where folks can come and, share whether it's a,
poem if they have a comic, skit a comedy comedy
(31:39):
skit where they think they're. Funny the room can be
a little rough, people is that WHY I but you,
know bring your friends in that. Way but it's a
cool thing that there's lots of places in town where
you can do. THAT i think that's awesome and what
a cool.
Speaker 5 (31:52):
Skill my mom does encourage me sometimes to do open
mic in the way of singing and like just basic,
karaoke but we don't always have the time to ride
just working all the, time but for the TIMES i
get to speak at my school or maybe there's a
talent show or. Something Pay center has made me realize
(32:16):
that a very small crowd can lead to a bigger,
one and they have made me very comfortable with the
WAY i can perform in front of other, people whether
that's speaking or. Singing and it's because there's so smaller
girls than a normal, school so and it's all, girls
and Since i'm a, Girl i'm just, Like i'm very
(32:37):
comfortable with you. GUYS i may not get along with
all of you, guys because that's how girls, are But
i'm happy to just be able to share my moments
with you.
Speaker 2 (32:47):
GUYS i think that's. Fantastic as A, DJ i love
being in the room here talking with you. Guys but
IF i have to talk to more than twenty, PEOPLE
i get really. Nervous so you're already way ahead of
that because you're comfortable performing in front of a big
group and an even bigger, group whether it be doing
your poems or. Singing so public speaking or performing is
(33:07):
actually one of the biggest fears most people.
Speaker 5 (33:10):
Have, Yes AND i Mean i'm still very nervous even
speaking right now being in front of tons of people
on a stage. Wherever BUT i love the saying to
do it scared because then you're never going to be
able to do it and you never know what you
can accomplish later. On just by me being here right
now speaking to you, guys you're doing.
Speaker 2 (33:32):
Great thank. You maybe another future career for, you you never.
Speaker 5 (33:34):
Know, yeah anything and entertainment brings me.
Speaker 2 (33:38):
Joy very. Cool so singing? Podcasts is? There poem Podcast
let's look into. That that'd be.
Speaker 5 (33:43):
Cool i'm not, sure But I'M i got.
Speaker 2 (33:46):
That, Yeah google's our, friend, right all, right miss. Me
before we, go let's find out more about another event
you have coming? Up is, graduation, Right, yes we're really.
Speaker 3 (33:56):
Excited next month we have. Graduation we'll be graduating several
girls either with the high school diploma or they're working
towards their ged like Leyla, is and we celebrate all
of our. Girls we also will do a leveling up
ceremony for our eighth graders who will be going into high.
School so we celebrate the successes of all of our.
(34:18):
Girls and every single month we do something called The
growth And Change ceremony because we encourage development from all
of our, girls and so it's a behavioral modification program
where girls can level up and to move into the next.
Stage leyla came in and started where everyone starts at
the opportunity level and has now moved up to the highest,
(34:40):
level which is grace and. Beyond and there's ways that
our girls can level up and move up to the next.
Stage and so we celebrate growth and change every month
and we'll be celebrating that again at, graduation which is
an even bigger.
Speaker 2 (34:55):
Celebration well that's. Fantastic, Yeah so again before we go
at the phone number and website for folks to reach
out to, you whether they want to become a teacher or, instructor,
volunteer make, donations or if they have a daughter that
might benefit for coming by coming TO.
Speaker 3 (35:11):
Pace absolutely so pacecenter dot org is our. Website you
will see when you go to the website there are
twenty five locations all across the state Of. Florida so
you can go under locations and look For Palm beach
which services all Of Palm Beach county and our intake
counselor That denise mentioned, before she is listed there to
(35:33):
field any questions AND i can also be. Contacted the
phone number For Pace Palm beach five six one four
seven two one nine nine, zero and we are centrally
located in the village Of Palm. Springs we've had plenty
of people that have knocked on our door and, said
please help with my, daughter or my sister or my,
(35:56):
niece and we will do whatever we can right then
and there to support that.
Speaker 2 (36:01):
Girl oh that's. Fantastic thanks for coming in and sharing
your stories today and for doing such a cool thing
in the. Community it's very much needed and definitely. Appreciated
we need more. Information reach out to Me Palm Beach
perspective At iHeartMedia dot com And i'm happy to forward
on the details and don't. Forget you can always download
the shows a podcast on Our iHeartRadio. App hope everybody
has a wonderful. Weekend i'm Dev nev and this has
(36:24):
been my. Perspective remember life is, good so be your
healthiest view and let's get out there and live it
until next week.
Speaker 1 (36:31):
Enjoy I Heeart, communities the community engagement arm of the,
station champions critical issues and causes in the area of
health and, wellness social, impact, education, literacy and, music and.
Art join us next week For Palm beach treasure cost,
perspective
iHeart Communities Presents Palm Beach Treasure Coast Perspective which dead now.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Good morning, welcome to Palm Beach Treasure Coast Perspective. I'm
your host Stev Now, thanks for spending your weekend with me.
All kinds of great things going on. If you haven't
made it yet, you want to head over this weekend.
They are wrapping up for Palm Beach Drama Works their
play called Camping with Henry and Tom. It's going through
April twenty seventh. And find out well more shows they're
(00:26):
doing there and if you want to become a volunteer.
If you're into theater, go to their website Palm Beach
Drama Works dot org and all the details are right
there waiting for you. Always spoke to miss Wendy from
the more Common Museum and Gardens. Lots of cool things
happening there. On May third, there's a family fun Children's Day,
gonna be calligraphy for adults. I don't think it's going
to help me write any meaner, but it sounds like fun.
(00:50):
May tenth, if you haven't been, definitely check us out.
It's the Tea Ceremony. It's from one to three pm.
Simth to go to more commed dot org and all
the details are listed right there for you. And if
you've got kiddos that are into theater, lots of places
having summer camps. Delray Beach Playhouse has a couple coming up,
and I know Arts Garage and Deler Beach also has
(01:11):
summer camps. The Coxsite Center has summer camps, The Zoo
has summer camps. Lots of summer camps everywhere. So whatever
your kiddos are interested in, I am sure there is
a summer camp there. You can reach out to me
Palm Beach Perspective at iHeartMedia and I'll get you happy
to give you more information on those. And of course
last Sunday we spoke to Mindy Stoller and Jim May
from Mounts Botanical Gardens. So this is their big spring
(01:35):
plant sale and family fun weekend going on, so it's
got to be a lot of fun. Kids are free
and of course if you have a membership, emission is
free all weekend. And they've got vendors there. They've over
seventy plant vendors to help you out. World renowned artists
Frank Hider will be there with his Janus project, and
then of course they've got eleven o'clock today doctor Kimberly
(01:55):
Moore doing a presentation called turn off your Sprinklers Your
plants really aren't That Thursday, and then at one o'clock
there's a history of Hibiscus and Propagation with Don Conrad
and you can go to Mounts dot org to get
more details about that and other programs. Oh And got
a reminder from her friends. The Fort Piers Yacht Club
is doing their Blessing of the Fleet as part of
(02:15):
their forty fifth Sapphire Anniversary celebration, and that's going to
be on May seventeenth, starting at eleven am. For more
details on that, you can reach out to them Fort
Piers Yacht Club dot com and they have all the
details right there for you on that one. Oh And
this is going to be cool. There's a call out
for artists. There's a new mural project for downtown Fort Piers,
(02:37):
so if you're interested in participating in that, you need
to submit your proposal by May sixteenth. Reach out to
Caitlin for more details seven seven to two seven four
to two ninety eight thirty five and she's happy to
give you more information. Oh got a reminder from friends
over the North Museum of Arts. Oh my gosh, lots
of cool things happening, and they have all the different
(02:58):
main big artists, but then some of them like Salvador Dolly,
you know, the one's actually also made jewelry. So they
have a whole exhibition going on now of the droy
these people made. And they've got a lot of great
art after darks coming up. On May second, it is
the Smookies. May ninth is Seafoam Walls. May sixteenth, there'll
be the Wellness Night May twenty third Eric Olsen and
(03:20):
May thirtieth of Lose Wizards and that's also been a
subtropic film Fast Night, so that's a cool things. Simply
go to Norton dot Org all the different art after
dark informations there, the different exhibitions that are going on now,
all the fun things how you can get your tickets
and admission and stuff like that. Always spoke to Miss
Vowstags from the Pandora's Kids organization the other week and
(03:43):
just want to remind everybody that if you're a coffee fan,
to go to Oceana Coffee. They have three locations this
month for April and you buy a cup of coffee,
you can take your little coffee bean and put it
in the cup. That says Pandora's Kids, and then that
fundraiser money goes to them. So help your cough, if
you do help other things, help you get through your day,
and help the kids get some some great program to
(04:04):
set up for them. Oh when if you haven't been
to the Cravis Center lately, lots of cool things happening there.
This weekend the wrapic up the next performance on their
Cravis on Broadway series called Otley Mizz And so that
has been going on this week, great big show. And
then coming up next year for their Cravis on Broadway season. Oh,
they've got a great lineup. So next year is going
(04:25):
to be starting off with the Whiz then Kimberly a
Kimbo want to see that one. This one I definitely
want to see. It's called Twas the Night Before, but
it's with the Circus lay people, so it's gonna be
really cool. The choir Man will be coming in December.
Some Like It Hot in January, MJ the Musical in February,
A Beautiful Noise, which is the Neil Diamond Musical. That'll
(04:46):
be April of next year. And then the Notebook based
on the book by Nicholas Sparks, So lots of lots
of different ones coming next year. You go to Cravis
dot org to find out more about those. And also
this month they've got May Sorry, and coming up in May.
On May fourth they have the Young Singers of the
Palm Beaches presenting their Many Voices One Song Sunday at
(05:10):
four thirty on May fourth in the Dreyfus Hall. They
do a fantastic presentation. Then on May thirteenth through eighteenth
is Mystic Pizza wrapping up their Cravis on Broadway series
for this year. And then Ballet Palm Beach is presenting
their student showcase on May thirty first, that'll be in
the Rinker Playhouse. And of course they've got the Gospel
(05:30):
Gala coming in May. Believe that's May seventeenth with Yolanda Adams.
So great, great show. You we see that one. There's
our few tickets left for that one. Something go do
Kravis dot org and all the details are right there
for you. Speaking of getting details, I want to welcome
my guests for today. I have got Mindy Hanken, the
executive director from Pace Center for Girls, Tenise Williams and
(05:51):
Layla Good morning, ladies, Good morning, thanks for coming in. Mindy,
tell me a little bit about the pay Center. How
long has it been around? Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 3 (06:00):
So the Pay Center for Girls is celebrating forty years
in existence. It started in nineteen eighty five in Jacksonville, Florida,
and it came to Palm Beach County twenty nine years
ago in nineteen ninety six.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Oh, that's been around a long time.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
Yes, we've been able to impact a lot of girls.
Forty thousand girls nationally have been impacted since the Pay
Center for Girls started forty years ago.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
Oh, that's fantastic. So what services do you guys provide
for the community.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
So, the pay Center for Girls is all about supporting
and advocating for adolescent girls. We have several programs that
support girls. One is our Day Program, which in essence
is a school. We offer academics, counseling, career preparation, college prep,
and life skills training. The girls come to us every
(06:50):
day Monday through Friday, all day for their full curriculum
and all those activities. We also have a program called
Reach because we reach out into the community. We have
a team of therapists that provide mental health services to
our middle school and high school girls anywhere in Palm
(07:10):
Beach County and it's free of charge. So we support
mental health for all girls in Palm Beach County at
no cost.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
And that's fantastic, and that's something we were talking before
the show. One of the reasons people, just people in
general don't get help with their mental health cost and
the lack of access, right.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
Correct, So those are the two main reasons that people
don't seek out mental health services, which is so important.
So all of the services at pay Center for Girls
are free, including weekly therapy that we provide to the girls,
and our therapists go to them. So our therapists meet
with girls in their public schools, in their homes, in
(07:50):
other community locations around town, even if it's at a
room in the library or coffee shop. We go to
the girls.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
So we make it accessible for them.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
So there's no reason that any teenage girl that needs
a little extra help and support can't get it.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
And we're talking like just if you're stressed, it can
be something severe or not correct. So what are the
things some of the things they reach out for help
with because I know there's a lot of problems like
cyber bullying. I know that even for grown ups there's
that's a problem.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
Yes, there are so many things that girls need support
for today. Girls have could have anxiety going to public school.
They're dealing with maybe divorce in their family, or other
issues in their family, their community life. And girls can
use support just like anyone can. Being a girl today
is so much harder than it was years ago, with
(08:40):
social media and cyberbullying. Like you mentioned that, I don't
know any girl that wouldn't benefit from some extra support
from a licensed clinical therapist.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
Well, I know, and I know that you said going
in public school is stressful because, like I know, obviously
with the recent shootings of college, some of those people
at college, now we're in their school, in their high
school when it happened before, you know, Yeah, and it
happened twice in one lifetime. That's just unreal.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
We were actually talking about that on the way here,
that there's so many more stressors that all students have
to deal with, and so our school is very small,
we personalize it to the needs of each girl and
we support every single girl that's in our program.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
I think it's fantastic that you provide support for the girls,
but you know, sometimes the family struggles as well, because
I have friends that are parents and they're afraid to
let their kids go to school. So obviously that stress
goes and gets transferred to the kid unknowingly by them,
but it does correct.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
It's the entire system of care, and at pay Center
for Girls, we look at the entire care team that
is supporting that girl. So it's parents, other therapists or psychiatrists,
other tutors, anyone who works to support that girl. The
Pay Center for Girls becomes the hub and our team
(09:57):
of counselors, and I have one of our counselor's with
with me today. Our counselors have care team meetings on
a regular basis, so they bring together everyone who is
working on behalf of that girl, plus the girl is
in the room. Because we work with our girls and
teach them how to advocate for themselves, so it's really
a full system of care. We work with the families,
(10:19):
Our counselors, our therapists talk regularly with the families, and
so many times they need additional resources that we're able
to connect them to.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
Well, that's cool. So speaking of one of your counselors, Ms. Denise, Welcome,
good morning. So now you're actually one of the school counselors,
so you go to the schools and you also work
with the girls at the pay center. Rate.
Speaker 4 (10:42):
No, I'm actually stationed at the pay center and each counselor,
it's three of us. We're assigned a care load and
we're responsible for a certain amount of girls. So we
look into their academic performance, the mental health background, any
behavior issues in the school, and the family component, which
are the family stressors and or barriers that they're dealing
(11:04):
with that brings them to pace.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
Okay, yeah, because I know when I was younger, there
was a program called a Giranpen in Pennsylvania, and there's
a program called Upward Bound and it targeted at risk
youth and because my family was extreme poverty, I fell
into that part of that target range. So I got
to do some really cool programs. And then when I
got a little bit older, like they started in middle
(11:27):
school and then went continued in high school, but they
sent us a couple of summers to college for like
a six week session in college. They paid for us
to go and I was the only person in my
family who had any interest after that going to college.
So I paid my way, made my own way through it.
But it took a while, but I got there. So cool,
but that it opened up a lot of doors for
me that I didn't even know were closed because I
(11:47):
didn't realize they were there. So the opportunities were there,
and I know.
Speaker 4 (11:51):
At PACE we do have a college and career coach.
She assists with our girls going to different state schools universities,
looking at at the schools and even the trade programs
that they may be interested in. So Pace is pretty
much a one stop shop. Everything is right there for
the girl.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
Very cool, and I just have to say for folks listening,
if the girls are interested in like becoming an ac
person the HVAC plumbing, it's a good career of choice.
If people weren't interested in that, we.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
Like to bring the girls on different field trips and
bring in guest speakers because we want to expose them
to all the different industries that are available. So so
many times the girls think I'll just do what someone
in my family is doing, but they can do so
much more, and we want to expose them to different industries.
We take the girls to see throughout Palm Beach County
(12:42):
what's available.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
That's cool. That's a really cool thing to do, because
that's what you said. They get exposed to everything. I
think it's awesome. So, Leila, you're part of the school
that it's actually at the center, correct, Yes, how long
have you been going to school there?
Speaker 5 (12:55):
I've been going to school there for two and a
half years now.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
Oh that's so cool. Yeah. So now what is a
normal day like for you? You get out, you go
to school. What's like the first thing that happens.
Speaker 5 (13:05):
Oh, wake up pretty late, go to school, and just
we don't have science at the moment, or math, but
we do our best to move into each class back
and forth. I would say English is probably my favorite
because I love writing and just go to each of
(13:28):
the classes, have lunch, just spend time talking with my
friends and the staff, which I see once every week.
I see Miss Denise every Thursday, talk to her about
whatever I need to and then my other counselor, who
is similar to a therapist to me.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Oh that's good. So you have access to people, and
if you need to talk to Miss Denise more, you
could just reach out and should be there. Well, it's
good to know because like here at iHeart, for the
folks that work here, we have what's called an EAP
Employee Assistance program, so you can reach out to say
you have a legal question. They got a company that
does that for us. If you have a financial assistance need,
they have something for that. But then they also have
(14:08):
like the mental health component, so they'll have somebody that
can talk to you. And I was got up to
three so eight sessions for for a year and then
if you need more, you can get that. But it's
neat that that's available, and they make it easy because
you just call them and then you fill out the
onboarding online and then you just do like a zoom
call with them if you want correct. But you can
reach out to them and set it up any time
(14:29):
you needed correct.
Speaker 3 (14:31):
In public school, on average, it's one counselor to every
five hundred students. At PACE, it's one counselor to every
fourteen students. So, as Leila's explaining, she meets with Miss
Denise on a weekly basis, and on top of that,
if she wants to or feels like she needs to,
she can slip a note to her teacher and say
(14:52):
I'd like to see miss Denise, and at Denise's next
available slot, she will come and meet with with Laila
whenever she can, so that it's really hands in hand
the academics and the counseling services.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
Oh, I think that's fantastic. So now I know they
might be a fan of this. Do you have to
take those tests like everybody has to take in school?
LA's shaking her head. Yes, listeners can't see that She's
shaking your head. Yes, So even though you're at PACE,
you still have to do all those regular tests and everything.
Speaker 5 (15:23):
Yes, the recent one I just took with ACT just
for college purposes, which I will be hopefully graduating very soon.
I'm working on my GED But the studying and all
that whole big book of work.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Yeah, but it's a big book, but it's worth it, Yeah,
because then that opens up a lot of doors for
you to try other things.
Speaker 5 (15:48):
Yep.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
We're a regular school with the Palmage County School District.
On the school district's website you see all the elementary,
middle high schools, and then you see alternative education programs.
Pay Center for Girls is listed as one of thirteen
alternative education programs in Palm Beach County and we are
the only one that's exclusively for girls.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
Oh very nice, very nice. That also takes some stress off. Yeah, absolutely,
so you can focus on just being your best self.
I like that. So you do fund raisors throughout the year.
And I know you just finished the Baker one. Yes,
you have another one come up. Did you say it
was coming in the fall. Yes.
Speaker 3 (16:24):
We do a Believing in Girls Empowerment Luncheon every fall.
It's coming up in mid November, November thirteenth at the
Kravi Center, and we bring together hundreds of people that
come to support pay Center for Girls. We bring some
of our girls to come and experience it and speak
(16:45):
so that the audience can hear directly from our girls.
We've also brought an alumni in the past that have
been at PACE that then speak about their successes since
graduating from PACE. And it's an incredible luncheon. It's a
beauty full event taking place November thirteenth, twenty twenty five.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
And of course, so if businesses and people who are
listening want to become a sponsor for that, they can
reach out to you.
Speaker 3 (17:09):
Absolutely, we have availability for all different kinds of sponsors
for underwriters, lots of opportunities to get involved.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
Very cool. So when they go to the website or
give you a call.
Speaker 3 (17:19):
They can go to the website paycenter dot org. They
can also call me at the pay Center. We're at
five six' one four seven two one nine nine zero
and they can ask for me and we can get them.
Connected there's lots of ways to be involved at Pay
center For, girls whether it's supporting through sponsorships or, underwriting
(17:41):
attending our, fundraisers donating.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
Directly we love our.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
Volunteers we'd love for people to come and volunteer with.
Us there's lots of ways to connect with the girls through.
Mentoring we also have other opportunities that are more.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
Artistic and so they go to the website and find
the volunteer link. There, yes they, can, okay cool and
go through the. Process you're, black? Gotcha?
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Yes all?
Speaker 2 (18:02):
Right so miss teniees back to. You so you've been
At pace what you said about a year? Now, YES
i have so as a school. Counselor why did you Choose?
Pace why do you like working?
Speaker 4 (18:14):
There, WELL i come from the world of law. Enforcement
INITIALLY i was a law enforcement officer AND i got
tired of arresting individuals and it was mostly adolescents and
teenagers where more was going on and no one wasn't
doing anything to address the main, issue and they were
wondering why these kids were breaking the. Law so in
(18:38):
the interim also of me losing my own father to,
CANCER i had to make the decision either my career
or move into something WHERE i could be beneficial and
also help take care of my. Father so you, Know
i'm A. CHRISTIAN i prayed about it And god led
me into the field of prevention and. Intervention SO i
(18:58):
started in the school district as part of department Is
Safe schools where we would go into the schools and
we would help with the gang and the drugs and
the behavior stuff in the. Schools AND i found my
passion for mental health because a lot of the KIDS
i was encountering were dealing with substance use issues as
a result of mental health issues and it was going
(19:19):
undiagnosed and no one was paying attention to get them the.
Services so HERE i. SIT i saw an offer at,
pace and most of the girls were dealing with the
problems more so than the, boys AND i wanted to
help our girls get back on their feet BECAUSE i
am a mother of five and out of, five three
of them are. Girls SO i needed to do WHAT
i needed to, do not only for my, girls but
(19:41):
also to assist others in their. Girls so that's Why
i'm AT pace today AND i love doing WHAT i.
DO i KNOW i can't change them, all but IF
i can help plant the, seed they can warder their
flower and they can. Bloom And layla is one of
my girls on my care. Load and within the year's
time That i've been working With, LAYLA i have seen
her growth and she Has we're only a.
Speaker 2 (20:02):
Lot AND i like how you found a new. Path
SO i think most people have three or four careers
in your lifetime and different things lead you different. Ways
so when you were doing law, enforcement you recognized a.
Need then a family issue put you kind of on,
hold and you, know changing the perspective because being a
what three time cancer survivor definitely changes your perspective on
(20:23):
what's important is really what's important you, know and how
you can do. This so that's part of why the
talk show came to Be because WHEN i was, sick
there was a lot of programs that could have helped,
me BUT i was very. Young the doctors never thought
THAT i needed. HELP i didn't know to ask my.
Bet my friends were taking off work from their from
their jobs to take me to the, meetings into you,
(20:45):
know therapy sessions and to get treatments because you're not
allowed to drive afterward and all these. Things and there's
no oubu or uber or anything like that back. Then
so afterwards the doctor's, like, oh, well there's this, thing
and were, like where were? You why didn't you tell?
Us so started the talk show, too interview all the
different programs in the community shell let people know what
is out. There so how would somebody who who thinks
(21:09):
they might benefit FROM pace reach out TO pace to
become a member of the.
Speaker 4 (21:13):
School well they can, actually because we are an alternative
setting of the school. District the parents can go to
the child's guidance counselor and have a conversation with some
of the things that the child is. Experiencing and all
of the guidance counselor is a very aware OF, pace
and a lot of them have referred us. Girls we've
(21:35):
even had some girls reach out TO pace on their
own by googling different schools to help, girls AND paces
the first that comes. Up and also we have an intake,
Coordinator Mss maria who does a lot of the. Intakes
they can reach out to her as, well And Miss
mindy did give the phone number for them to reach
(21:55):
out TO. Pace and outside of, that law, Enforcement Palmbach
County sheriff works hand in hand with us, too and
they've referred us quite a few girls as. Well so
we get an influx from all of the, community from
the law enforcement, side to the school district, side to
just parents in general reaching out because their girls are.
Struggling and just As Ms mindy, said we are a
(22:17):
smaller setting and a lot of our high schoolers do
struggle with the social anxiety, piece especially the eighth graders
going into ninth, grade because they go from maybe at
the most twelve hundred students to almost three thousand plus
students and it's a lot to deal with and a
lot of them do, struggle and they struggle in. Silence
but the beauty of the school district now they're starting
(22:40):
to put professional behavior health counselors in the, schools but
a lot of the kids don't even know about the
bhps being in the school unless they have come in
contact with their guidance counselor and they've referred them. Over
so pace is really an alternative setting to help curb
the mental health stuff that's going on in the school.
Speaker 2 (22:59):
District, yeah WHEN i first moved To, FLORIDA i worked
briefly as a teacher and an alternative high school In, Leesburg,
Florida and a lot of the students going there were
in The Team mom program m and they worked with,
them the boys and the. Girls they could they, said tea,
mom but the teen dad was there, too and they
could go get their either their ged or their regular,
diploma whichever route they wanted to. Go lots of counseling
(23:22):
and they would actually have obgu i ns come in
with a little baby and teach them how to diaper the,
baby how to do all those, things and then they
to give them all the information so and work with
their families to make an informed. Choice do they want
to keep the, baby do they want to adopt the?
Baby how they want to, Go but in the, meantime
accommodate their schedule so they could continue to work to
(23:44):
get their. Degree. Correct really cool. Program SO i know
there's programs like, that so that obviously Like. Pace it's
not for tea, moms for, say but it's where people
need help and you're addressing, it WHICH i think that's. Cool.
Speaker 3 (23:55):
Correct and we go year, round so as summer is coming,
up we get some students that come just in the
summer because maybe their parents don't want them to have
nothing to do in the, Summer maybe they need to
catch up on their. Academics perhaps they need to be
off the streets and coming to a safe place every single.
(24:16):
Day SO pace is a great place for students to
be able to catch up on their studies in the.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
Summertime oh that's. Cool so there's no backsliding or any
of those kind of. Concerns. CORRECT i like the safe
space concept and they can come and be with other
folks and HAVE i think good friendships they. Develop, Yeah
So Miss layla back to. You so obviously you've been
there for a couple of. Years now you're getting ready to.
Graduate you're really working toward that. Goal what was your
life like before you Found? Pace, OH i was a
(24:45):
very shy.
Speaker 5 (24:46):
PERSON i was very, introverted AND i was doing online
school at the, time so of course, pandemic not being
able to really see your, friends not really talking to.
People for, me during that, TIME i was dealing with.
Depression that's WHEN i got a therapist and she Recommended
(25:07):
pace for. Me and ever SINCE i met one of
the staff that day and talked About pace and what they,
DO i was desperate to go, there, honestly because online
stuff is just not for.
Speaker 2 (25:20):
Me, WELL i think a lot of kids found that online. Stuff,
online when you're chatting with your friends is one, thing
but for school you can really struggle because you need
more of that. Interaction especially while being in your.
Speaker 5 (25:33):
Room you get very. Lazy you want to be on your,
phone WATCH, tv do anything else but your. Work so
WHEN i was doing, THAT i was just, like, OH
i don't, KNOW i don't feel like doing.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
This. Yeah one of my friends is a school, teacher
so DURING, covid she obviously was at home as well
teaching her, classes but she set very clear goals for
the kids to know what was expected of. Them but
it was very interesting because then later on when everybody
went back to, school because she taught middle, school those
kids were now like eighth graders in her, school and
they came to find her in person to give her
(26:07):
a hug and say hi because they actually wanted to
meet her in, person WHICH i thought that was so.
Cool but like you, said it is a lot of
people dealt with like depression other family stressors because DURING
covid everybody was, together and to be, honest that's a
lot of togetherness for some, people and, like you love your,
(26:29):
family but sometimes you love your family when they come
For thanksgiving And. Christmas SO i think the world as
a whole discovered that they needed a little bit of.
Help so the fact that you recognize that that congratulations
and that you found a place that's so.
Speaker 5 (26:43):
Cool, yeah social media was a really like big thing
at that, time especially because we couldn't see each, Other
so just going on that and you, know probably being
up all night just helped a lot with like how
you felt about the world at the. Moment but bullying
(27:06):
was definitely something that happened at that, time AND i
wouldn't SAY i got it as, much But i've heard
a lot of stories about my friends just conversations in,
general and it's definitely not. Okay AND i don't understand
what happens during that and what people are going through
as they do. That but, now at this time it
(27:30):
for my, generation bullying has in some ways become like a.
Joke so the way we insult people online and communicate
is basically through. Jokes if it's actual, bullying these are
the type of things that we don't hear about because
the person is either too scared to talk about it or.
Speaker 2 (27:53):
Just, yeah well if they even. Noticed like, myself online
people will comment things And i'm, like what exactly did
they mean by? That because if you're in, person you
can see their, expression you can see the body, language
you get that you get if it's a, joke if
they're being, mean they just don't, know you know What i'm.
Saying we had a coworker in our office many years.
(28:15):
Ago he's long. Gone he would come into people's office
and make the most, rude inappropriate, comments and he thought
he was being. FUNNY i reported him Because i'm, like,
dude not. Funny And i'll give you one time if
you think you're being. Funny but ONCE i tell you
that's not, funny AND i tell, you it took me
a lot to say that's not funny BECAUSE i don't
(28:37):
like to confront. People but he was. Bad he was
really was he was just, mean And i'm, like don't
like mean, girls AND i don't like me and grow
grown ups. Either so, yeah good for you for speaking
up for.
Speaker 3 (28:48):
Yourself we teach our girls and all the, time and
we talk to their families how important it is that
our girls advocate for, themselves.
Speaker 5 (28:56):
But in a way where it's not rude to the other.
Person over the, years the two years That i've been,
There i've learned how to not be so selfish while
talking to another person just Because i'm hurt about something
Or i'm angry over something that has probably nothing to
do with.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
Them and a lot of TIMES i think you. Haven't
think you're getting that perspective now where whatever they, say
you do your. Thing so like my grandma used to,
say what did she? Say, oh she, said there's four
kinds of people in the. World fifty percent are going
to love, you fifty percent are not going to like,
You so twenty five percent are going to love you
(29:33):
for the right, reason twenty five percent for the wrong,
reason twenty five percent are going to not like you
for the wrong, reason and twenty five percent for the
right reason to not like you because you did something they.
Didn't it was an Appropriate she's, like the only percentage
if you want to grow as a person to worry
about is that twenty five percent who don't like you
for the right. Reason what did you? Do can you be?
(29:54):
Better and she's, said don't worry about all the. Rest
So i've, always my whole life had tried to be
better and learn from. Things but getting that, Perspective i'm
a lot older they use it take me a lot
to get, There so you're way ahead of me on this.
Though good job on. That thank, you very. Cool so
you Love? English the? Writing is there a special kind
of writing you like a certain genre like fantasy? Fiction Or?
Speaker 5 (30:18):
OH i just write poems and songs BECAUSE i love.
Singing and whenever it comes to a project in My english,
CLASS i usually, LIKE i am very extra about it
and do ten times more than what they. Asked BUT
i do that because writing is very special to me
(30:40):
in a way that it brings me out of like
sadness almost and putting my mind to something very simple
in my in my, PERSPECTIVE i feel very proud of
myself in that. Moment soon there's an event That i'm
going to On saturday where it's a competition if you
(31:01):
win first, place you get one thousand dollars towards education.
Purposes so my goal is not to, win because you
can always never underestimate. Someone But i'm happy to just
go there and do WHAT i love to.
Speaker 2 (31:17):
Do that's so. Cool i'm glad you could to conview.
That so you share your poem with everybody and fingers
crossed you win because that'd be. Fantastic but just going
and sharing your poem with everybody, else that's gonna be so.
Cool m. H AND i KNOW i want to Say
Arts garage And Delry beach has open mic, NIGHTS i
Think tuesdays where folks can come and, share whether it's a,
poem if they have a comic, skit a comedy comedy
(31:39):
skit where they think they're. Funny the room can be
a little rough, people is that WHY I but you,
know bring your friends in that. Way but it's a
cool thing that there's lots of places in town where
you can do. THAT i think that's awesome and what
a cool.
Speaker 5 (31:52):
Skill my mom does encourage me sometimes to do open
mic in the way of singing and like just basic,
karaoke but we don't always have the time to ride
just working all the, time but for the TIMES i
get to speak at my school or maybe there's a
talent show or. Something Pay center has made me realize
(32:16):
that a very small crowd can lead to a bigger,
one and they have made me very comfortable with the
WAY i can perform in front of other, people whether
that's speaking or. Singing and it's because there's so smaller
girls than a normal, school so and it's all, girls
and Since i'm a, Girl i'm just, Like i'm very
(32:37):
comfortable with you. GUYS i may not get along with
all of you, guys because that's how girls, are But
i'm happy to just be able to share my moments
with you.
Speaker 2 (32:47):
GUYS i think that's. Fantastic as A, DJ i love
being in the room here talking with you. Guys but
IF i have to talk to more than twenty, PEOPLE
i get really. Nervous so you're already way ahead of
that because you're comfortable performing in front of a big
group and an even bigger, group whether it be doing
your poems or. Singing so public speaking or performing is
(33:07):
actually one of the biggest fears most people.
Speaker 5 (33:10):
Have, Yes AND i Mean i'm still very nervous even
speaking right now being in front of tons of people
on a stage. Wherever BUT i love the saying to
do it scared because then you're never going to be
able to do it and you never know what you
can accomplish later. On just by me being here right
now speaking to you, guys you're doing.
Speaker 2 (33:32):
Great thank. You maybe another future career for, you you never.
Speaker 5 (33:34):
Know, yeah anything and entertainment brings me.
Speaker 2 (33:38):
Joy very. Cool so singing? Podcasts is? There poem Podcast
let's look into. That that'd be.
Speaker 5 (33:43):
Cool i'm not, sure But I'M i got.
Speaker 2 (33:46):
That, Yeah google's our, friend, right all, right miss. Me
before we, go let's find out more about another event
you have coming? Up is, graduation, Right, yes we're really.
Speaker 3 (33:56):
Excited next month we have. Graduation we'll be graduating several
girls either with the high school diploma or they're working
towards their ged like Leyla, is and we celebrate all
of our. Girls we also will do a leveling up
ceremony for our eighth graders who will be going into high.
School so we celebrate the successes of all of our.
(34:18):
Girls and every single month we do something called The
growth And Change ceremony because we encourage development from all
of our, girls and so it's a behavioral modification program
where girls can level up and to move into the next.
Stage leyla came in and started where everyone starts at
the opportunity level and has now moved up to the highest,
(34:40):
level which is grace and. Beyond and there's ways that
our girls can level up and move up to the next.
Stage and so we celebrate growth and change every month
and we'll be celebrating that again at, graduation which is
an even bigger.
Speaker 2 (34:55):
Celebration well that's. Fantastic, Yeah so again before we go
at the phone number and website for folks to reach
out to, you whether they want to become a teacher or, instructor,
volunteer make, donations or if they have a daughter that
might benefit for coming by coming TO.
Speaker 3 (35:11):
Pace absolutely so pacecenter dot org is our. Website you
will see when you go to the website there are
twenty five locations all across the state Of. Florida so
you can go under locations and look For Palm beach
which services all Of Palm Beach county and our intake
counselor That denise mentioned, before she is listed there to
(35:33):
field any questions AND i can also be. Contacted the
phone number For Pace Palm beach five six one four
seven two one nine nine, zero and we are centrally
located in the village Of Palm. Springs we've had plenty
of people that have knocked on our door and, said
please help with my, daughter or my sister or my,
(35:56):
niece and we will do whatever we can right then
and there to support that.
Speaker 2 (36:01):
Girl oh that's. Fantastic thanks for coming in and sharing
your stories today and for doing such a cool thing
in the. Community it's very much needed and definitely. Appreciated
we need more. Information reach out to Me Palm Beach
perspective At iHeartMedia dot com And i'm happy to forward
on the details and don't. Forget you can always download
the shows a podcast on Our iHeartRadio. App hope everybody
has a wonderful. Weekend i'm Dev nev and this has
(36:24):
been my. Perspective remember life is, good so be your
healthiest view and let's get out there and live it
until next week.
Speaker 1 (36:31):
Enjoy I Heeart, communities the community engagement arm of the,
station champions critical issues and causes in the area of
health and, wellness social, impact, education, literacy and, music and.
Art join us next week For Palm beach treasure cost,
perspective
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