Having "The Real Talk" - Teaching Your Kids How to Interact With the Police

As parents, we are responsible for teaching our children about the world. We teach them about the world. We teach them how to cross the street. We teach them about how the world works. We teach them about the birds and the bees. Now as our kids go out in the world on their own, it's time for a new talk.

Of the many conversations you should have with your children, talking to them about how to interact with the police is probably one of the most important conversations a parent can have. Every 23 seconds, a child or teen in this country is arrested. Furthermore, this could be a life or death matter. Over the past five years, approximately 100 children have been fatally shot by police.

Having "The Real Talk", is a child safety workshop for parents. This workshop will give parents techniques that will help prepare their children for interactions with law enforcement. Valentine's Day Campaign and Peace Economy Project will host specialists in child psychology, law enforcement, and communications. In this day and age, children need to learn how to handle themselves when they are around law enforcement. This workshop will talk about how children can protect themselves legally, emotionally and physically.

Workshop Participants

Yan Goldshteyn is a California full service attorney and the founder of Spartan Law Corporation. Mr. Goldshteyn’s accomplishments also reflect in his leadership roles among various professional organizations including, but not limited to, being the Ex-Officio President, Beverly Hills Bar Association’s Barristers, serving as an active member on the Board of Governors, Beverly Hills Bar Association, Chair of the Immigration Section of the Beverly Hills Bar Association, Co-Chair of the Diverse Business Affiliations Committee and Executive Committee member to the Beverly Hills Bar Foundation Board. While on the Barristers' Board of Governors for the Beverly Hills Bar Association, he was a speaker and moderated a series of continuing legal education programs, asked to present on immigration topics amongst colleagues, consulted troubled clients at the Roxbury Park Legal Clinic, served meals at Samoshel Homeless Shelter in Santa Monica, California and taught elementary school children tolerance through education. In addition, Beverly Hills Bar Association has bestowed upon Mr. Goldshteyn the “President’s Award” for dedicated service in 2017-2018 Annual Installation and Awards Dinner at the Four Seasons Hotel.

Kathy Garcia Egan is a Clinical Social Worker, licensed in the state of California. A graduate of UCSD with a degree in Experimental Psychology, she completed a Master of Social Welfare degree at UCLA in 1981. Her postgraduate training includes Structural Family Therapy (Philadelphia Child Guidance Clinic) and Substance Abuse Counseling (Rutgers School of Alcohol Studies). Her professional experience includes work as a psychotherapist, group facilitator, and organizational consultant. The clinical foundation of her practice is based in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, with an emphasis on teaching the tools of Mindfulness Relaxation to facilitate change and promote well-being. For over 35 years, she has provided compassionate, nurturing intervention in many different settings. As of 2018, her practice evolved to include services via a virtual Telehealth platform. She and her husband (a retired LAPD Captain) have raised two amazing daughters, many adorable dogs, and they currently spend most of their time living a life of Aloha on the island of Oahu.

Christine Elow became the highest-ranking female officer in the history of the Cambridge Police Department in 2017, when she was appointed the department's first female Superintendent. She is currently in charge of the Support Services Division having administrative oversight for the entire investigations section as well as the Community Service Unit.

Superintendent Elow has been with the Cambridge Police Department for more than 20 years. She previously served as Deputy Superintendent for Day Patrol and Community Services. Prior to assuming her duties in the Operations Division, she was the commanding officer for the department’s Professional Standards Unit.

Raised and educated in Cambridge, Superintendent Elow is dedicated to the City continuing to be a safe and healthy community for its residents and visitors to live, work and study. She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice Administration from Curry College, holds a Master of Arts Degree in Security Studies from the Naval Post Graduate School and the Center of Homeland Defense and Security and served in the United States Navy between 1987 until 1991. Today she balances her career in policing with her role of mother to fifteen-year-old twin sons, Justin and Jordan.

Katerina Canyon is the Managing Director of the Valentine's Day Campaign is a poet, journalist, child welfare specialist, and human rights activist. She sits on the board for Peace Economy Project. Ms. Canyon is an experienced strategist with a bias for action. She has organized protests, human rights forums, and arts events. She is an internationally published prize-winning poet. She has published articles and essays in the New York Times and Huffington Post. Her latest human rights articles can be found on Medium. Ms. Canyon holds a Bachelor of Arts from Saint Louis University, and a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

Adrienne Klein is an advocate for access to justice and remedy in situations of violence. She currently works for the NYC H+H department as a Public Health Advisor assigned to the COVID-19 response efforts. Previously she has worked in international humanitarian response and human rights advocacy in Argentina, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, El Salvador, and Mexico. She focuses specifically on marginalized groups living in transitional states and societies from the perspectives of human security, international law, violence reduction, and public health. Adrienne holds a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School, and a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from Smith College.