09/25/2026
21 squad cars left today with Meet Me Where I Am kits. 💙
Today I had the opportunity to bring Meet Me Where I Am to our police department, and I’m leaving really proud of what happened in that room—and with a lot to think about for where this initiative could go next.
For many of the officers, this was their first time seeing visual communication supports like these, let alone actually trying them out.
So we practiced.
I had officers pair up, gave them scenarios based on common police encounters, gave one person a communicator profile, and asked them to use the tools in their kit.
And then I got to listen.
One officer pointed out that kids who use visual supports at school may already be familiar with communicating this way. If an officer approaches them with something they recognize, they may be more comfortable responding that way.
YES. That’s what we want.
We want communication skills to transfer. We don’t want someone to only have access to the way they communicate in a classroom, therapy room, or at home. We want our community to recognize and accept different ways of communicating, too.
Another officer looked at the body outline and immediately recognized how helpful it could be for someone who had experienced sexual assault or another traumatic event and was having difficulty explaining what happened or where they were hurt.
Someone else picked up the erasable writing tablet and said, essentially, someone might need to draw it. They could write something, draw a picture, communicate what they needed to communicate—and then erase it.
The writing may disappear, but the message was received.
And honestly, one of my favorite parts was watching them find uses for these supports that I hadn’t even explicitly taught.
Then someone said something that gave me another direction to think about:
What if Meet Me Where I Am reached other businesses and organizations in our community, too? What if people had more understanding and tools to support someone in an everyday interaction—before a situation ever became an emergency?
I’ve always thought about Meet Me Where I Am as a community initiative. And what that looks like for law enforcement is naturally going to be different from what it looks like in a restaurant, church, business, library, recreation program, or community event.
It isn’t about teaching everyone emergency response or de-escalation.
It’s about helping our community understand that communication can look different. Support can look different. People need different amounts of time, space, information, sensory support, or help. And belonging requires us to be willing to meet people where they are.
That’s an opportunity I’m excited to explore.
At the end of today, 21 squad cars now have Meet Me Where I Am kits with visual communication supports and simple sensory/fidget tools. More importantly, the officers carrying them have actually seen the supports, held them, practiced with them, and thought about how they could use them with real people.
That feels like a really good start.
If you’d like to know more about Meet Me Where I Am, reach out. And if you’re interested in bringing training to your department, organization, business, or staff, I’d love to talk about what support could look like specifically for the people you serve.
Really proud that Spesh got to be in that room today.
Really excited to see where this goes next. 💙
Building a stronger, more inclusive community—together.
