I am starting this page to share comments we receive from police officers about the importance of our bears or how they have been used. I will be adding to it as we receive more.
- Having a teddy bear to comfort and occupy the child while we are intruding into their personal space and possibly taking mommy or daddy (or both!) away in handcuffs is a great idea!
- Our domestic violence investigator, Sasha Smith, loves them. She probably gives out more than anyone else because she deals with children who witness violence in the home.
- Just wanted to let you know that yesterday, 4-14-10, we received a shipment of 32 bears. Two of the bears are already on their way to family members of a recent homicide victim here in Philadelphia. These bears are really nice and a special note is attached to each one. Our Victim Assistance Officer, Catherine Battle, will be distributing many of the bears to children of homicide victims.
- We were dispatched late at night for a domestic dispute and verbal argument over child custody. Turns out a husband and wife were on the front lawn screaming at each other about their children (who were left in the car in the driveway by themselves, crying) within earshot of mom and dad. Upon arrival, we separated them and sorted everything out. In between the chaos, I was able to get two bears that I had stashed in my patrol car to give to the 3 and 5 year old that were still crying in the car. As soon as they saw the bears, and I mean LITERALLY as soon as they saw the bears, they both smiled and put their hands out and immediately stopped crying and squirming in the back seat. It was actually almost comical how fast their emotions changed and their minds focused on something entirely different. While we snuck daddy around back in handcuffs to my car, the kids had a short discussion about who got the red one and who got the orange one and what their names would be.
We were able to avoid having the kids see their dad in handcuffs, make them smile while their parents were freaking out, and got their minds completely off of the current situation.
Absolutely invaluable…I am 100% certain it changed the outcome of their night…
-Just wanted to let you know of a story from earlier tonight. We were dispatched to a residence for a three year old girl that was choking for approximately 10 minutes. Upon arrival, the girl seemed to have dislodged whatever the obstruction was, however, she was still extremely upset (as were her parents, as you can imagine). She was crying and holding her throat as if in pain. EMT’s arrived and confirmed her lungs were clear and it did not appear that she had anything stuck in her airway. While the EMT’s were assessing her, I was able to go to my patrol car and grab a bear. The EMT’s cleared the scene and I gave her the bear. She instantly went from crying, scared, and overwhelmed to smiling. Like I said in my last “bear story”, it was almost comical how fast she went from absolutely terrified to perfectly calm and content. I also noticed that as soon as the little girl started playing with the bear and breathing/speaking normally, the parents were immediately relieved. In this case, one bear was able to immediately put everyone at ease. These bears are like flipping a switch on these kids, it’s amazing. Thanks again for all you do…it is appreciated more than you know. I will be submitting an application for more bears later tonight.
-I wanted to again thank you for the bears. They turned out very nice and we appreciate your kindness very much. I also wanted to let you know that a bear has already made a 4 year old little girl very happy. There is a 4 year old girl that attends day care at the high school in which I work. She recently was subjected to an inquiry from Division of Children and Famililies. Although it turned out she was not abused, (thank God) she went through a lot with all the questions! I thought she deserved the 1st bear. She loved it!!!
-I had the opportunity to give out another bear this afternoon. This time, to a 2 year old kid who had just suffered from a temperature-induced seizure. He was stable after a few minutes, which allowed me to run to the car and bring him a bear. He obviously still felt pretty lousy, but he held the bear with all his strength and hugged the crap out of it while he was being loaded into the ambulance and transported to the hospital. Considering what he had just gone through, I wasn’t expecting a smile, but his actions absolutely showed his appreciation and I know it made it an easier experience for him.
Blake, the effect of these bears never cease to amaze me. It is such a simple idea, but it means the world of difference to the child, not to mention the parents in this case. After having witnessed their child nearly lifeless, they were thrilled to see their child do something child-like by grabbing the bear.
I cannot thank you and the organization enough.
