Inside Harlem’s Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Memorial Center on Tuesday night, the eight-week program known as “Healthy Humor” ended as one might expected it would from the title: with laughter.
While Healthy Humor is usually implemented in hospitals around the five boroughs in order to promote healing through laughter, the new pilot program has seen officers from the 32nd Precinct join with performers from Healthy Humor to help play with, mentor, and even learn from at-risk youth in the Harlem area.
Each two-hour session consists of fun and games that pit the officers alongside the kids that include whimsical takes on Simon says to juggling, officers and children could be seen falling over one another in a heap of uncontrolled giggles.
“I personally witnessed a moment where at one of the sessions, a child, at the end of the session, had started leaving and they walked back and high-fived and hugged the officer they had been working with that they’ve just met that afternoon. It is amazing,” Dina Paul-Parks, founder of Healthy Humor, told amNewYork Metro.
Funded by the Altman Foundation, what started as a way for cops to interact with youngsters in the community turned into a blossoming friendship. The thin blue line appeared nonexistent as the adults and kids sat together and joked, discussing work and school.
For the commanding officer of the 32nd Precinct, moments like these are not just reserved for helping keep children off the streets and out the ensnaring maws of gangs, but it is also equally important for the men and women in blue to learn from the youth in order to better serve them on the street.
“All of us as we become adults forget how it was to be a child. But what we try to do as officers is we have to police with empathy, this program actually blends right into that. It should actually shows us how to use empathy, listening to another person’s body language, listening to their tone, seeing how they play, and learning through play,” Inspector Amir Yakatally told amNewYork Metro. “It’s always a benefit. It’s always a plus.”
While the previous two months had been a joyous journey, May 16 served as a bittersweet moment since the program was coming to an end. To mark the occasion, both the officers and the youngsters were presented with certificates for completing the program, with gift cards being included for the kids as a reward for staying the course.
The final hurrah was also marked with a pizza party. Both Inspector Yakatally and Paul-Parks found the program to be such a success that they said they are looking to expand it to other precincts in the future.
