Public health and public safety are deeply connected. That was the message at the center of a recent Flint community webinar panel discussion with the Community Safety Collaborative, hosted by the Michigan State University Division of Public Health and moderated by Dr. Jennifer Edwards-Johnson.

Crim Special Projects Manager Theresa Roach joined fellow Community Safety Collaborative members for the conversation, which focused on the community-driven work taking place in Flint to address safety, violence prevention, and healing.

For Crim, the connection is clear: people need to feel safe in order to be well. A community where residents feel unsafe is also a community where it becomes harder to walk, run, play, gather, connect, rest, and experience joy.

“Wellbeing goes beyond physical activity. Wellbeing is having a strong social support system, wellbeing is having healthy coping mechanisms for managing stress, wellbeing is knowing where to go for resources,” said Roach. “When these are lacking in individuals, families and communities, that’s when we can see crime and violence rise.” 

That broader view of health is one reason Crim is part of the Community Safety Collaborative. If residents do not feel safe in their neighborhoods, parks, and public spaces, opportunities for movement and social connection become harder to access. Safety becomes a foundation for everything else: mental wellbeing, community health, nutrition, family programming, youth development, and social well-being.

The Community Safety Collaborative, led through the Community Foundation of Greater Flint with a broad network of community partners, is working to address violence through a public health lens. The collaborative brings together data, resident voices, direct service providers, law enforcement partners, youth advocates, neighborhood leaders, and organizations already doing violence prevention and intervention work.

Throughout the panel, speakers emphasized that prevention requires the full community. Moses Bingham of the Community Foundation of Greater Flint described the collaborative as a space where partners align resources, build relationships, and support evidence-informed strategies that reduce violence and improve quality of life. Other panelists spoke about the importance of investing in prevention before harm happens, connecting families to resources, and making sure community organizations are working together rather than in isolation.

Roach brought an important layer to that conversation: the role of stress, trauma, and nervous system regulation in community safety.When people experience ongoing stress or live in environments where they do not feel safe, the body can remain on high alert. Roach described this as a kind of community-wide survival mode, where stress affects not only individual health, but also the way people relate to one another.

That is where mindfulness becomes more than a personal wellness practice. It becomes a practical tool for safety, connection, and prevention.

“Mindfulness is a tool to learn how to regulate your nervous system. It is a tool to learn how to talk to each other and how to have difficult conversations,”said Roach.

During the webinar, Roach guided participants through a short breathing practice, inviting them to pause, notice what was happening in the body, and ask, “What would be of service right now?” The exercise demonstrated how even a few minutes of mindful breathing can help people slow down, reset, and choose the next right action.

That kind of pause can matter in many settings: before a difficult conversation, during a stressful workday, while supporting a family member, or in the middle of a community crisis. Roach reminded participants that mindfulness does not remove challenges, but it can help people work with emotions and stress more skillfully.

The panel also highlighted how many different kinds of work are needed to build safety. Community advocates spoke about youth programming, neighborhood relationships, shared resources, anonymous reporting, victim support, data mapping, and cross-sector collaboration. Together, those efforts point to a larger truth: violence prevention is not the responsibility of one organization or one system. It requires shared commitment.

Crim’s role in that work reflects its broader commitment to physical, mental, and social well-being. By bringing mindfulness, movement, trauma-informed practices, and community connection into the conversation, Crim is helping expand what safety work can look like.

Public safety is not only about responding after harm occurs. It is also about creating the conditions where people can feel grounded, connected, supported, and able to thrive.

The full panel replay is available below, and community members can learn more about the Community Safety Collaborative here.  Learn more about the mindfulness work Crim is doing here.