Ep. 17: Human Services Co-Responders: “We want to change the world”

Agriculture supports one in ten jobs in Pennsylvania, according to the PA Department of Ag. In Bucks County, Delaware Valley University is training the farmers and ag. Professionals of the future. In this episode, you’ll hear about the changes the county has gone through when it comes to agriculture from William Penn to Del Val, and in between we learn about Commissioners Bob Harvie and Diane Ellis-Marseglia’s family roots in the county.Special thanks to Pennsbury Manor and Delaware Valley University. Follow us: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram   Check us out online: BucksCounty.gov Music credit: Sunrise Serenade by Umasha Pros from Pixabay Epic background piano by Maksym Dudchyk from PixabaySakura Mediate Beat by Vlad Krotov from Pixabay

Some 50 years after the Vietnam War, the Bucks County Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge Program is giving families a chance to honor their fallen heroes in a permanent and special way. Bucks County, in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (PAVVMF), is working to dedicate county-owned bridges to the 136 county residents who died in the Vietnam War.     In this episode, you’ll hear from Matt Allen, Director of Bucks County Veterans Affairs, Ed Preston, PAVVMF Chairman, and Jetta Erkes Lapore, the sister of a fallen Vietnam Veteran.  To learn more and view an interactive map of dedicated bridges, visit BucksCounty.gov/MemorialBridges.   Follow us: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram  Check us out online: BucksCounty.gov Music: Whip by Praz Khanal and Eco technology by Aleksey Chistilin from Pixabay  

Bucks County was the first county in Pennsylvania to enact a comprehensive plan in 1961. At that time they were planning for 1980, now they’re planning for 2040. In this episode, Evan Stone, Executive Director of the Bucks County Planning Commission and Mike Roedig, Director of Planning Services, break down what exactly a comprehensive plan is, specifically Bucks2040, and why it's needed. Margie McKevitt, the county’s Chief Operating Officer, talks about top priorities from the plan and how the department we think has an obvious name actually does a lot more than you may think. Follow us: Facebook, Twitter and InstagramCheck us out online: BucksCounty.gov *Want to create music for Bucks County Conversations??? Email: [email protected] for more information. 

In 2023, the Bucks County Government broke ground on three huge projects, expanded existing programs and kickstarted new initiatives. In this episode of Bucks County Conversations, Commissioners Bob Harvie, Diane Ellis-Marseglia and Gene DiGirolamo will tell us how the year went and what they are looking forward to in their second term in 2024.Follow us: Facebook, Twitter and InstagramCheck us out online: BucksCounty.gov

In Bucks County, Co-Responders assist officers in 18 police departments as of 2023. Co-responders are social service professionals who work collaboratively with police to divert people in need of social services away from the criminal justice system. The program aims to decrease the time law enforcement spends responding to situations involving social service needs to provide a more effective emergency response. Since the program launched in 2020, the co-responders have received more than 1,100 referrals. In this episode of Bucks County Conversations, we talk to co-responders Cara Gadzinski and Christopher Doheny to hear about their experiences on the job. Follow us: Facebook, Twitter and InstagramCheck us out online: BucksCounty.gov

Bucks County officials, police officers and community members have been painting murals with a specific purpose for the past couple of years. The purpose is L.O.V.E. Is The Answer, a movement started by A.J. Ali whose goal is to improve community-police relations. The movement began when A.J. was stopped “one too many times” by police and decided to make a movie, ‘WALKING WHILE BLACK: L.O.V.E. Is The Answer.’In this episode of Bucks County Conversations, you’ll hear from A.J. about his journey to finding L.O.V.E. and creating a movement. You’ll also hear from Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia and District Attorney Matt Weintraub about how the movement started in Bucks County and why we use paint to spread the word.Follow us: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Check us out online: BucksCounty.gov

The African American Museum of Bucks County (AAMBC) is bringing a new purpose to Boone Farm, a centuries-old property located in Langhorne, Bucks County. The soon-to-be permanent home of the AAMBC is intertwined in history, once a beacon to African Americans fleeing oppression during the Great Migration.In this episode of Bucks County Conversations, we catch up with President and Executive Director of the AAMBC Linda Salley to discuss her journey with the museum. And we also meet Patricia Mervine, author of the book "Boone Farm: Its People and Place in Middletown History," to talk about her research into the farm, and how her work is helping to benefit the museum. Follow us: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram  Check us out online: BucksCounty.gov

Throughout the U.S., approximately 95 percent of incarcerated individuals will inevitably return to their communities, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, but a person's successful reentry is not as sure to happen. The Bucks County Reentry Coalition is a group of more than 50 agencies looking to break barriers for justice-involved individuals by offering the resources and support needed to stop the revolving door of recidivism. In this episode, you’ll hear from Michael Harrison, chair of the coalition and deputy chair of Bucks County Adult Probation and Parole, and Megan Cohen, a sub-chair of the coalition and founder/executive director of The Grace Project, a non-profit built on the hope that everyone is good and capable of being saved. Follow The Grace Project on Facebook and Instagram. Follow us: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok  Check us out online: BucksCounty.gov

The Bucks County Commissioners and county residents will ring in the new year with a balanced 2023 budget with no tax increase. But before the new year begins, the Commissioners look back at some accomplishments of 2022, as well as ongoing projects and initiatives that will continue into 2023. For example: the expansion to the Bucks County Emergency Operation Center (EOC), and the groundbreaking at the future site of our county's African American History Museum, as well as the Newtown Rail Trail grand opening and the various human services expansions. And more! Follow us: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTokCheck us out online: BucksCounty.gov

There are several departments within the Bucks County Government that recommend its staff work well under pressure. Then there’s the departments that require it - and they fall under the Bucks County Emergency Management Agency (EMA). Audrey Kenny, Director of EMA, joins us to talk about the eight departments she oversees and how the team develops plans and responds in the face of hurricanes, snowstorms, tornadoes, a pandemic and, well, just about anything else thrown their way. And later, we talk to Rob Kay, Sr., a 911 dispatcher supervisor  and the current chair of the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC). Follow us: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTokCheck us out online: BucksCounty.gov