Real Talk: “Y’all Don’t Wanna Hear This!” with Guests Quillie Coath & Martina “Coach D” Dunford

Episode 16: Real Talk - “Y’all Don’t Wanna Hear This!” with Guests Quillie Coath & Martina "Coach D" Dunford We’re excited to welcome our last guests of the year to the show this week! Martina “Coach D” Dunford and Quillie Coath join us to discuss trauma informed community building and their work with disenfranchised kids and families in our community. After meeting our guests and learning about their backgrounds, they discuss ideas for how things could change to help law enforcement and communities work together; not to defund the police, but to increase social services and improve their relationship within the community. Our guests also touch on their new project, Parents Matter, that addresses the issues of generational trauma that affect the kids in our community, and how to break that cycle, starting with the parents. Among other issues, they touch on the importance of addressing mental health in kids and parents, as well as ideas for how to reform the community while simultaneously reforming law enforcement. PROUD Program: Quillie’s nonprofit organization Parents Matter: more information coming soon for the launch in 2021! We also added an extra section to the end of this episode so BJ could discuss a recent incident involving police use of force on a young Black male in Texas on Nov. 5th. Since You & Five-O emphasizes Comply Then Complain and the importance of getting home safely, BJ felt the need to address the actions of this teen’s instinct to run, as well as the police’s handling of the situation. She shares her opinion about what happened, as well as suggestions for how others can avoid situations like that and increase the chance of everyone getting home. KENS 5 News Video More info about Quillie Coath: Quillie Coath, Jr. was born in Kansas, the fourth of four boys to a Military Father. He grew up and got his education in South Carolina before attending college at St. Augustine’s University in Raleigh, NC. While there, he received a BS in Criminal Justice in 1991, and was a member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. He started working in the field while at St. Augustine with the Partners Mentor Program in Raleigh as a volunteer mentor. After graduation, he was employed at Haven House Inc. He also worked at Wrenn House (a runaway crisis shelter for youth) as a counselor. While at Wrenn House he was trained in Reality Therapy by Mrs. E. Perry Goode and Dr. William Glasser. During his professional career Quillie has worked for Family Services of Raleigh as a Domestic Violence Counselor and court screener, The Durham Service Corp, a work-education program for young people 18-21 as an Intake Counselor, and ReEntry Juvenile Restitutions program as the Life Skills Coordinator. In January 1996, he returned to Durham to help start The Durham PROUD Program where he is currently The ED to this very day. More info about Martina “Coach D” Dunford: Coach D grew up in Virginia Beach, before moving to Durham in 1991 to attend college at Norfolk State University, where she received a degree in Health and Physical Education. Although she intended to return to Virginia Beach after graduation, she stuck around Durham and has been here for 24 years. Coach D holds two Masters from North Carolina Central University - in Family and Childhood Development, and in Adaptive Physical Education for Children with Mental and Physical Disabilities. In 1996, she created New Horizons Character and Leadership Academy, serving long term and 365 day suspended students who were not allowed on any of Durham Public Schools property. She served the gang affiliated students, suspended students, court involved students, and more in a one room building called the REC in Few Gardens Housing Development. From the time the doors opened until it's recent closure for lack of support, the number of young people assigned and/or requested to enroll increased 100% every year. In addition to creating New Horizons, some of Coach D’s accolades include Spectacular Woman of the Year, Women Leading from the Heart, Campaign for Change Lifetime Mentor Award, Faith Assembly Christian Church Woman of the Year, and the Ebonette Club, Inc. Making a Difference Award. For 24 years, she has served some of Durham’s most disenfranchised youth and families. She has been able to move many from a life of despair to a life of hope, and opportunity, with the philosophy "We can't fix the outer; until we fix the broken inner".