The Zebulon Police Department is launching a new CARE program to help children and teenagers impacted by trauma, including juvenile offenders.

The CARE (community advocacy and resource enhancement) Unit employs two graduate students from North Carolina State University and North Carolina Central University.

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Sarah Jump and Kayla Hawkins are not patrol officers, but they hope their work will change lives and directly support young people experiencing trauma in Zebulon.

"It's been in my heart to serve children," Hawkins said. "I have a background in working with youth in juvenile justice, [and I] wanted to show up for our youth in a different capacity. This program serves as a liaison for youth and their families and the struggles they are going through."

The social worker interns will work with Zebulon officers, who were trained to refer any children who have experienced trauma or are a victim, witness or offender in a crime to the CARE Unit.

Jump and Hawkins will then reach out to the parents of those children, providing mental health resources, support and continued care.

Detective Kerry Burke said she designed and created the program after looking at several other models across the country. She said the program in Zebulon is the first of its kind in Wake County and possibly beyond.

"I always like to take a proactive approach to policing," Burke said. "If we can get ahead of issues people are dealing with, it's a win in my book. Children are the most vulnerable in our community, and to give them extra help and to support families means a lot to me personally."

The goal of the CARE Unit is to lower juvenile crime rates, create a safer community, reduce recidivism and break the cycle of trauma at the root all while building community trust.

The program is aimed at offenders, too.

"It's designed to help with reducing recidivism rates, to get them the resources they need," Burke said. "This program will help them and guide their parents as well."

Data shared by the Zebulon Police Department shows nearly two-thirds of children will experience at least one traumatic incident by the time they reach 16 years of age.

Trauma has been linked to poor performance in school and juvenile crime. According to police, 90% of juvenile criminal offenders are reported to have experienced a traumatic event.

"When officers goes to a house with a social worker, the families can see [officers] in a non-enforcement capacity," Burke said. "This is the first of its kind in Wake County [and] we are excited to be the forefront and blueprint for this."

The program is already active. Patrol officers have created a database of youth in the community and have already had several meetings with juveniles and their families.

"We have done some ride-alongs with officers," Jump described. "It's just going to the source and intervening and help them cope with the trauma while they are at a crucial time in development."