The V.I.B.E program β a three-person violence intervention and prevention team at Sto-Roxβ stands for Violence Intervention Building Empowerment, but Hassain Estes, the leader of the program, likes to sometimes refer to them as something else.
βPersonally, I feel like weβve got the dream team,β Estes said. βWe work together well, and that builds everything else around us.β
The V.I.B.E team started at Sto-Rox in February and is funded by the Project SEEKS SES grant, a partnership between the Allegheny Intermediate Unit (AIU) and the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) that addresses trauma, behavior and mental health issues in ten school districts. In a short period of time, Estes said theyβve made great headway.
βI feel like weβve made a big dent in what we do here. The kids have connected with us, and they understand that this isnβt just a job, itβs like a lifestyle for us. Weβre really doing everything we can to push a better influence on them and create better mindsets,β Estes said.
βI think the program has made a big impact. Teachers have come up to me and said, βsince youβve been here, thereβs been so many fewer fights and situations.ββ
The V.I.B.E team consists of Estes, Ronesha Stephens and Ed Pierce. Estes grew up in the East Hills and has regularly spent time in McKees Rocks taking pictures and shooting videos. Stephens owns Just Jemini, a clothing and accessory store in McKees Rox. Pierce is a Sto-Rox graduate and has spent years coaching football and baseball in the area.
While Estes, Stephens and Pierceβs backgrounds are all a bit different, they share a common ground of genuinely caring about the kids and their future.
βI personally feel like Iβm talking to myself when Iβm talking to the kids. We really relate to them and know where theyβre coming from. We understand the help that they need. We understand the issues going on at home and that some might not have certain resources,β Estes said
βI feel like because we understand that we know how to talk to them, and really move around the issues that they have. We just know that gap that we need to cover. Itβs a natural thing.β
The V.I.B.E team regularly spends time in the school district and in the community. Collectively, theyβve become familiar and friendly faces. But simply being around hasnβt been the catalyst for this groupβs success. As Estes said, their ability to relate to the kids has been key.
As a student, Estes said he was oftentimes angry and misunderstood. In Stephensβ words, βthereβs not too much that I havenβt been through.β Life experience has taught this group a lot, and they now want to pass on life lessons theyβve learned.
βWe understand that bad days can come from things at home and certain traumas that we go through in life. Most times, they just need a little love,β Stephens said. βWe just love how open the kids are. If there is an issue with a child that day and weβre securing the hallways or cafeteria, theyβll come straight to us and weβre ready to mediate.β
Estes, Stephens and Pierce have very much embraced a team mindset since coming into their roles. They each might know and relate to a different group of students, but theyβve tried to bring those groups of students together.
That team mindset has stretched onto the Sto-Rox staff. Estes said that the V.I.B.E team tries βto build relationships with everybody here because they complement us and we complement them.β
A strong example of that collaboration has been the teamβs relationship with the districtβs security, who Pierce said will now relay to him when a situation might be bubbling.
βThe security will come to me like, βEd, I think you need to talk to them, instead of just trying to restrain or pull them out. They know thatβs what weβre here for,β Pierce said.
βWe talk to them, but donβt talk down to them. Even when they make a mistake, we still treat them like young adults. We know that we have to treat them with respect to get that respect back.β