June’s Citizen of the Month: Jill P.

Published 9:30 am Thursday, June 30, 2016

No one should feel fear, frustration and sadness living in a place they call home.

But this is how Jill P. (who requested her last name not be included for safety reasons), Erin Herringshaw and Vonda Kelsey felt living in Federal Way in the wake of heavy violence, even among youth, beginning with a murder of a 16-year-old in mid-February.

Still, the trio didn’t let fear and sadness overwhelm a bigger emotion — a determination to see progress in preventing continued violence. With that passion driving them, the Violence Prevention Coalition was created and bore fruit at its first community meeting on June 2.

For this refusal to be silenced, Jill — in conjunction with Herringshaw and Kelsey — have been selected as June’s Citizen of the Month.

“Jill is the one person in our trio who wasn’t going to let this go,” Kelsey said in an e-mail. “No matter what was going on in her life, she was the one who would keep bringing our attention back to this issue.”

So what were the goals associated with this Coalition?

“To begin a discussion… [and] take a multi-pronged approach to the safety and well-being of our community, especially in respect to the youth,” Jill said in an e-mail.

The discussion began in large part thanks to Jill, Herringshaw and Kelsey’s ability to motivate other concerned community members also interested in seeing violent crime cease. Their efforts caused nearly 500 people to show up and speak out at a May city council meeting.

“We got angry because we felt [violence] could have been prevented if the system worked better,” Kelsey said. “We really wanted to fix the system to protect other kids from things like this.”

As for the multi-pronged approach, it entails communication and cohesion among police departments in Federal Way, Auburn, Kent, Des Moines and other departments nearby. The hope is one department’s information can benefit another’s in connecting and stopping crime. Building off that, the trio of women envisioned law enforcement and city officials working alongside others with vested interest in the community — concerned citizens, social services, etc. — in order to bridge a gap between all parties.

“Let’s at least communicate,” Herringshaw said. “We should be able to live freely in our community without worrying about violence.”

Although the coalition’s work is in its infancy, Jill said immediate response to it has been encouraging.

“I have seen action on behalf of the school district to put certain practices in place now and implementing plans for the future safety and well-being of students,” Jill said. “The city has been very responsive to community feedback and has taken action such as holding meetings and making plans for future meetings. Law enforcement presence has been increased as well, which can lead to overall public safety.”

The three women had been in contact with the Federal Way School District, the City Council, Mayor Jim Ferrell, Chief of Police Andy Hwang and other influential community leaders as far back as two years ago. In March 2016 they finally were able to meet and discuss their multi-pronged approach, creating the coalition — which the City Council approved at its May 17 meeting.

In the coalition’s inaugural meeting, a steering committee of 9-13 members was created to foresee long- and short-term strategies to ensure the multi-pronged mission becomes reality. Separate subcommittees will seek to tackle the roots of violence, why it exists and how it can be alleviated.

When it comes to the roots of something, it’s clear to Federal Way City Councilwoman Kelly Maloney that Jill, Herringshaw and Kelsey are using their vision and tenacity in speaking up to uproot the bad and instead plant something much better.

“There are no easy answers to what our city has experienced lately,” Maloney said in an e-mail. “These three caring women — moms, wives, business and health care professionals, community and school volunteers — approached the situation with an idea to work collectively to gain a clear understanding of the reasons and to devise a clear path toward success.”

Ferrell, Hwang, Federal Way Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Tammy Campbell and Crime Prevention Program Coordinator and crime analyst Michelle Roy spoke at the Coalition’s first meeting.

Jill said she hopes to get additional meetings for the Coalition in July, August and September.

Nominate a Citizen of the Month for July by sending your name, contact information and why your nomination deserves to be recognized to editor@fedwaymirror.com.