Yvette Walker
With 91.9 KVCR News, I'm Yvette Walker. This is IE Latino Voices where we invite representatives from Latino led and Latino serving organizations to share their stories and their impact in our region. Today we've invited Erlinda Rogers with San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, serving as Crime Prevention Program Coordinator. Thank you so much for being with us here today, Erlinda.
Erlinda Rogers
Thank you for having me. I'm very blessed to be here.
Yvette
Erlinda, please share what it is you do in the community.
Erlinda
So in my personal life, I was a volunteer girls softball coach with Blake Little League, which is now known as the West End. It’s basically, I coach girls from the Muscoy community and the west side of San Bernardino. My entire family has done it, we’re a very involved family. Unfortunately, since I've become a mom, I've had to put that on hold for a while. Which you understand because you’re a mom. Prior to motherhood, I was on a volunteer search and rescue team for the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. It's a passion of mine, which is on hold just for now. But as far as my career, and what I do for the community, I work for San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department as the Crime Prevention Program Coordinator for the entire county. So, I give presentations on various topics pertaining to crime prevention, for our senior communities and for the youth. And the presentations vary. Right now, for me, I'm pushing a lot of online topics with our youth just because, you know, kids are given a device and are just expected to follow the rules. And I work with a lot of school administrators. And there's a common trend, which is all relating back to online, whether it's gaming or social media. So that's what I'm really pushing right now.
Yvette
Beautiful. So please talk about those specific programs you're focused on today. What do those look like?
Erlinda
So again, I care about our youth, and with this new digital world that they're facing, none of us really understand it. And my main focus is an event called THAT which will be held in October. And that is an acronym for Teen Human-Trafficking Awareness Talk. It's an event for both middle and high schoolers to attend with their parents. It's to bring awareness to our youth about the dangers of the digital world and how everyday teens can fall victim to sextortion, exploitation, and things like online grooming, and unfortunately, many other internet related crimes. So that's really my main focus. Also, I will be pushing another event called Brave Kids. And Brave Kids is from an organization called The Joyful Child Foundation. So, this organization is all about empowering children ages kindergarten through sixth grade. It's a crimes against children foundation, so it gives them tools about what's appropriate, and what's not appropriate behavior. It's a really fun class because it gives them little moves that they can do just to give them a chance if, heaven forbid, they're ever in a situation. So those are the two things that I'm really pushing right now.
Yvette
Wow, that's remarkable. Erlinda, please share the feedback and response you have received to these programs today.
Erlinda
So far, we've been receiving a lot of really positive feedback from the community, because I think a lot of parents are aware that being a kid right now, in 2023, is nothing like when they were a kid. It's completely different. And so the fact that the sheriff's department is hosting events like this, to give parents the tools to just be able to handle situations and recognize situations, they're really appreciative of it. I know the Brave Kids, we just hosted an event for two days, and it went really well. And those parents have been reaching out just saying like to how thankful they were that we hosted the event out there.
Yvette
Erinda, please talk about what you're most excited about as you look into the future of your work with San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.
Erlinda
What I'm most excited about, I mean, I'm very, very blessed to be in this position. I'm extremely grateful because like I said earlier, I've always been a volunteer and giving back to my community because that's, it truly is a passion of mine with to work with my community. So now that I'm in a position for work, I can really go all in and so that's just very exciting for me, you know, doing programs like Brave Kids and hosting that event, and even just parent presentations at a parent workshop with the schools, that really gives me the opportunity to work with my community and give back.
Yvette
Beautiful. So how can the community connect with and support your efforts?
Erlinda
I can provide you with our public affairs, email and contact number. The email is publicaffairs3@sbcsd.org. Our contact number is 909-387-3700. Our division is the Public Affairs Division and it's dedicated to serving our community and building those relationships with our community partners.
Yvette Walker
Thank you so much Erlinda. Join us again next week for IE Latino Voices. You can find this story and others on our website at kvcrnews.org/ielatinovoices. IE Latino Voices is produced by KVCR Public Media and is funded by generous support from the CIELO Fund at IECF, uplifting and investing in the IE’s Latino community. For KVCR News, I’m Yvette Walker.
