On Friday, June 19, 2020 the residents of Ashler Manor’s Group Home and Life Readiness program attended an all-girls prom on campus at the campus Activities Center, escorted by the Mayor of Williamsport and local police officers.

This year, the girls were escorted to the prom by two Lycoming County Sheriff deputies, Chris Warden and Deputy Luke Motter, along with Muncy Township Chief of Police Chris McKibben and the mayor of Williamsport, Derek Slaughter. Derek Slaughter went out of his way to stay and interact with the staff and the girls. He took the time to get to know them one on one. The girls not only felt empowered, but they felt special as well. “The fact that law enforcement and the Mayor went out of their way to participate in something that was important to our girls shows that the officers really care about the members of our community, not just about enforcing laws.” stated LaTricia Scutching, Residential Therapist at Ashler Manor.

Prior to the prom and during this difficult time in the world, Ashler Manor staff and residents got together to have a diversity meeting to discuss and process the recent racial tension and police brutality issues and how it has been affecting our girls.

“During the conversation, I realized that our girls have not had an opportunity to engage with law enforcement and public officials in a positive way. Most of our girls are from big cities where they only interact with police officers when “something bad happens” stated Scutching. One resident disclosed “I’m nervous to be escorted by the police because I have never had a good experience with them, the only interaction my family has had with them is when “bad things” happen”. Yet, she said she would still be willing to give it a try. That same resident walked up to the Dorm Supervisor, Kamisha Leonard, CEO, David Spring, and myself and stated “ I have been in a lot of placements before but this

is the place where I feel as if I can get the help I need and be more at peace with myself”. “I didn’t just want the girls to interact with law enforcement, I wanted the girls to be empowered by them. Our officers don’t regularly have the opportunity to get involved in these types of events, but it’s important for this to happen if we want to build and maintain lasting relationships and community trust.” Scutching said.

The girls at Ashley Manor had a night that they will remember forever. The staff at Ashley Manor would like to thank the following businesses who contributed to make the night so special: Cheri’s House of Flowers in Hughesville, PA, for providing us with Sun Flowers, Laurie Farrar, an anonymous donor for providing funding for a D.J., iHeart Radio for providing the actual D.J., the American Rescue Workers for proving dresses from their thrift store for our girls to wear to prom, Chris Warden, Luke Motter, Chris McKibben and Derek Slaughter. They also thank our amazing resilient young women at Ashler Manor, these girls are special and loved.

The residential program is just one of many programs that Families United Network, Inc (FUN) provides to children and families. In addition to the residential program on the Ashler campus in Muncy, they also have residential programs in the York and Lancaster area. FUN also provides foster care and permanency services to over 60 counties in the state of Pennsylvania as well as an Adult Day Service and Early Learning Child Care Center in Muncy. For more information on any of the services Families United Network, Inc. provides, please contact them at 570-546-6777.