More than 90% of the youth served through Partnership for Families, Children and Adults’ HOPE Initiative have experienced the incarceration of a parent or guardian. For many of them, the police uniforms, flashing lights, and badges are tied to fear, loss, and instability. But where many see a barrier, HOPE Initiative Program Manager, Michelle Howard, sees an opportunity to build a bridge.
Through HOPE Initiative, Chattanooga police officers volunteer, not as enforcers, but as mentors, showing up at each event to provide Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs) for youth whose lives have often been shaped by trauma. Research shows these positive interactions mitigate the long-term impact of traumatic events. One of these police officers is Dresdyn Johnson (DJ) who began volunteering for HOPE Initiative during their week of “away” camp called Camp Hope.
For DJ, Camp HOPE arrived at a breaking point in her career. Working patrol in Alton Park, she spent most of her days responding to crises, often involving children.
“When you’re in patrol, you only see the worst moments,” DJ said. “It’s always the crisis.”
Just weeks before her first Camp HOPE, two teenagers she knew were killed in a shooting. The weight of that loss left her questioning whether change was possible.
At camp, DJ encountered a group of older boys she’d been warned about—kids labeled as troublemakers the year before. Instead, she watched them protect the culture of camp. When a younger camper began acting out in a way that mirrored violence he’d seen, one of the older boys stepped in.
“He said, ‘We make people feel safe here,’” DJ recalled. “And instantly, the boy stopped.” That moment restored something DJ thought she had lost.
“It made me hopeful again,” she said. “It pulled me back to why I became an officer in the first place.”
At first, DJ and other counselors chose not to tell campers she was a police officer. Camp was meant to be a safe place for kids, not a symbol of authority. But over a camp dinner, her job title was shared. DJ felt the tension immediately. Instead of withdrawing, she leaned in. “I told them I was a cop, I was proud of it, and I was there because I cared about them,” she said.
“If any of you have questions, ask me.” What followed was a late-night conversation that stretched until nearly three in the morning. Girls shared painful experiences with family trauma and grief. During the conversation, DJ realized one of the girls had performed CPR on a boy DJ later responded to in a fatal shooting. In that moment, the girl’s negative association with DJ’s badge disappeared.
DJ tells us that HOPE Initiative reshaped how she shows up; on and off duty. She has learned she can have compassion and accountability at the same time. “You can want the best for people and still uphold the law,” she said
