Law Enforcement Programs
we value the importance of relationship building
At Gaining Ground Youth Services, we believe that the best way to keep our kids safe is to build a relationship and rapport with local law enforcement. Dale Ray Smith has spent years cultivating relationships with Police and Sheriff departments in San Francisco and in the Houston area. Our goal is to offer programming that facilitates the bonds between local law enforcement and community members. Gaining Ground Youth Services offer both hands on activities within the community as well as internal law enforcement training to improve and grow strong relationships between the community and local law enforcement.
Bridging the gap
Our mission is to create and improve communication and interactions between law enforcement and the community. Through police training and education, with an emphasis on improving relations with people of color, we build better communities.
Gaining Ground Youth Services offers professional development and training to law enforcement personnel with the following objectives:
Initiate methods to defuse potentially volatile situations with the community and with people of color
Techniques to avoid escalating situations and negative profiling
Conflict resolution and how to properly interact with the community, diffusing and avoiding dangerous confrontations and/or violence.
Establish norms for both caring and confrontation with the community and with people of color
Improve compassionate listening between law enforcement and the community, with an emphasis on compassion for people of color
Facilitate a constructive dialogue between law enforcement personnel and the community to help mitigate issues that contribute to a poor climate between the two bodies
the boots project
The Boots Project is based on the kindness and generosity of two police officers who changed the life of a homeless crack addict who was living on the streets of San Francisco. That homeless crack addict is Chaplain Dale Ray Smith, founder of Graining Ground Youth Services. Officer Matt Goodin and Officer Andy Mehan spent 7 years providing clothes, blankets, food and encouragement to Dale Ray Smith. One day, Officer Matt Goodin noticed Dale Ray had no socks or shoes on his feet. Someone stole the socks and shoes right off Dale Ray’s feet as he lie passed out, in the gutter, in the pouring rain. Officer Matt went back to his police locker to fetch a pair of his own police boots and socks to put on Dale Ray’s feet. This simple act of kindness and love, along with the prior 7 years of care and support, changed Dale Ray’s life forever.
Dale Ray was so moved by Officer Matt's gift of his own boots that he decided to get clean and sober. The gift of the boots showed Dale Ray that the officers truly cared about him no only in words but through their good deeds.
For the past 20 years, Dale Ray Smith has served as a Chaplain, award winning community leader, life coach, mentor, motivational speaker, radio podcast host (Keep It Real) and CEO of Gaining Ground Youth Services.
One Officer’s kindness of giving a homeless man his own police boots has made a difference that has impacted future generations. Tragically, Officer Matt Goodin took his own life in 2010. Fast forward ten years later and Dale Ray Smith is currently serving as a mentor, life coach, and surrogate father to Officer Matt Goodin’s own son, Ryan. No one could have predicted that the homeless crack addict, encouraged to get clean and sober by two police officers, would now be housing and mentoring one of their very own sons.
Our Mission at Gaining Ground is to repeat this story in as many communities as possible by improving the relationships between police officers and the communities that they serve.
Our goal is to build trust between law enforcement and the community by facilitating activities that allow Police to serve as mentors, positive motivators, and sources of help and resources to the community and to people of color.
We offer professional development to law enforcement on how to avoid escalating situations and negative profiling.
We mentor youth to teach them the importance of respecting authority, how to avoid negative situations, and the importance of excellent speech and diligent action.
We envision creating a new normal:
Positive interactions between police officers and youth in the community
Negative stereotypes disappearing as members of law enforcement get to know people in the community through sports, recreational activities, mentoring, tutoring, and community seminars
Police sharing their wisdom with youth in a positive way and hearing the concerns of youth in an open dialogue
Conflict Resolution on how to properly interact between parties, diffusing and avoiding confrontation and/or violence.
Youth who are thankful and respectful towards authority