Kevin Mondy of Project Still I Rise featured on Cheryl Smith's DFWiRadio.com Show This Week

Kevin Mondy, Executive Programs Director of Project Still I Rise joined Beverly Levy, Executive

Director of Dallas CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) on Cheryl Smith's DFWiRadio show

yesterday morning.  The two shared a common thread - helping those in the community, particularly the midrepresented and at-risk youth in underserved areas throughout Dallas. 

Levy spoke of the 2,000 abused and neglected children in foster care who receive services from CASA. CASA provides powerful voices as advocates to speak on their behalf - to provide protective care and security for these young victims.  She made a plea for volunteers to support the programs that serve all of Dallas County in this capacity - but also a plea to increase the awareness of the need for such services.  She cited the high number of African-American males trapped in the foster system and the low rate of adoption of these young boys.  Sad, but true...

Mondy chimed in, reflecting on his previous career in social work as a mediator for Dallas County Child Protective Services.  He attested to these harrowing statistics, and how it ultimately led to founding Project Still I Rise, but also how his experiences prompted development of programs to aide these youth with compounded issues as a result of their circumstances.  "Trapped in a cycle" was how they described it.  Mondy went on to describe in detail the proven methodologies that PSIR has adopted to successfully pull these at-risk youth into a different direction - a direction of empowerment, opportunity, and positive change.   

Ms. Smith gleaned from the discussion that each agency plays a different role that complements one another in the process of assisting those who are underserved throughout Dallas.  She ended the show with a final plea for resources - both human capital and financial contributions - in order to continue the plight of service through both CASA and PSIR.  With PSIR's recent launch of its "25:1" campaign - giving is easier now than ever.  Will you step up today to help the cause?