Jeffrey Natalie is CEO of ErieKIDS, a non-profit organization that provides community education and information services in a culturally relevant way to promote the mental, emotional and social health and wellness of children and families. I’ve been following their work and they’re doing great stuff in the community as well as in social media spaces like YouTube and Facebook.

I was interested in learning more about ErieKIDS and they work they’re doing, but Jeff went a total different direction and he totally hits it out of the park. Without further ado, here’s Jeffrey Natalie…

Last year I was asked to do an Op-Ed piece for the Times News. I struggled with the topic for a while; “What do you think Erie needs?” Then I thought, “The reason I’m struggling is because I’m thinking about it all wrong”. I was taking the “what’s wrong with Erie” slant. In the end, I kept coming back to “I love Erie!”

Now, Mike Richwalsky asked me to consider writing a piece for ErieBlogs, he’s given me permission to speak about the organization that I founded, ErieKIDS. What a terrific opportunity to get preachy about who we are, what we’re doing and our passion and commitment to kids and family.

But strangely, I find myself thinking about Erie again. So here it is, the sometimes crazy inner-workings of my mind.

I love ErieKIDS; I love my board, I love my wife who, like all women, was/is the real mind behind the organization. I love my father and mother, who were the true visionaries following in their parent’s footsteps. But in the end, what I love most is what all of those people represent. They, and everything about them, represent a commitment to family that has not been seen in generations.

In these economic times, statements like “a financial crisis unlike anything we’ve seen since the great depression” are being thrown around. Believe me, as new patients flood my voicemail with requests for marriage counseling and family therapy, I’m well aware of the reality of the crisis. But money is not the only crisis. In fact, I wonder if the loss of community whether on the world stage or in our backyard, is somehow a contributor.

One of my favorite stories to tell the kids I serve is, once, when I was a kid living on 18th St. one of my hoodlum friends told me about a house fire up on 19th. Of course, I was trying to be a bad kid like most of my friends and so we went off to watch the firemen. I was probably 8 or 9 years old. After about 10 minutes, I felt a yank on my hair. I spun around and it was my father. He literally dragged me home by my hair…two blocks on your tip-toes seems like a very long time, believe me.

Now, I need to say that I’m not trying to glorify a father’s rough handling of his son. But what was really terrific, was that it was because of a caring neighbor, that my Dad knew where I was and could come and get me. I have a number of stories like that to tell, all of them ending with someone who knew and respected my father telling him what his son was doing.
18th Street was no picnic and I wonder how I might have turned out if I didn’t have a father who cared and neighbors who seemed to care just as much.

So, here’s the point. Even on 18th Street in the late 60’s, 70’s and 80’s people were looking out for each other. People were parenting each other’s kids through concern and attention. It wasn’t viewed as being a “busy-body”. No one was told “It’s none of your business how I raise my kids.” In fact, as a kid, if you were bad enough to get yelled at by a neighbor, you got disciplined at home again for bring shame to the family.

How do we bring that back, is my question? Some cultures and smaller sub-communities still do, but what about the rest of us? I can’t raise my son and daughter alone, I just can’t. I need their teachers, their friend’s parents, my friends, my neighbors…my family to pitch in. I can’t save them from this world by myself. The world is too big and I’m too small. I need your help…and frankly, you need mine.

That’s it. Honestly, that’s the fix.

Stop saying “no” or “I’m not interested” or “it’s none of my business”. Which kid aren’t you saving if you aren’t trying? Next time some tells you to “mind your own business”, tell them “you and your child ARE my business”. Tell them that you care whether they’re ok or not. It’s easy to not give a damn…really easy. Believe that you have something to offer and offer it. Tell people you care BEFORE there’s a problem. I do, I care about how your kid turns out. I know a whole bunch of people who share my feelings too.

It all boils down to this…

Stand up and give a crap. That’s the goal.