It’s not all that uncommon for Freddy Barton to spend part of his weekend working — heading out to talk to people in the community.
If he’s headed out from his Lutz residence on his motorcycle, chances are he’s going to go hang out with some kids — to find out what’s on their minds.
“I’m talking to kids. I’m trying to probe their mind, to figure out, ‘What does it take to make you feel that you can have a chance in life?’” he said.
Barton recently was named one of six “Community Champions” across the state by Molina Healthcare of Florida at the organization’s eighth annual recognition event. The awards dinner was held at Busch Gardens.
Over the course of his life, Barton has done volunteer and professional work aimed at helping youths to avoid violence, helping both youths and adults to develop job skills, and helping those who have been incarcerated to make successful transitions into society after their release.
While working with incarcerated men, he created relationships through mentoring that continue to this day.
The Community Champions program celebrates the vision of Dr. C. David Molina, the founder of Molina Healthcare, as well as community partners who work together to care for society’s most vulnerable individuals.
Each Community Champion was nominated by a community-based organization.
Recipients received a $1,000 grant to give to a deserving nonprofit organization. Barton chose to donate his to the Corporation to Develop Communities of Tampa, where he previously worked.
Barton said he was nominated for the award by two professional colleagues and by one of the men he mentors.
He was gratified by the recognition.
In his current role, as executive director of Safe and Sound Hillsborough, he works in a collaborative that aims to prevent violence.
Safe and Sound is the outgrowth of a think tank pulled together by Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner in 2013, in response to the Sandy Hook shooting deaths.
“When that happened, it was like a national wakeup call to everyone,” Barton said.
“You can’t do anything to stop the random shooter, but you can do something to address the community violence that occurs,” he said. “We look at violence as a disease, something that is preventable.
“My role is to work within the communities in which we serve, tie together elected officials, public agencies, private sector, residents, youths, adults — all together — to find out what do we need to do to address the factors that contribute to violence,” he said.
The work includes looking at issues such as truancy, mental health needs, job opportunities and re-entry after incarceration, Barton said.
Before taking his current job, he worked for Corporation to Develop Communities of Tampa, which built homes, built commercial development, had a workforce development team and created a vocational school.
Currently, he said, he’s out in the community, working to discern what the problems are and how they can be addressed.
“How do you stop violence? We’ve been trying to stop violence since Cain killed Abel.
“It’s not going to stop overnight. It didn’t start overnight,” he said.
But, there are some steps that can help, he added.
“I’m focusing on out-of-school-time opportunities for kids,” Barton said. “If we don’t find something for kids to do, they’re going to find something to do. And, it’s not going to be what we think.”
For instance, Barton was instrumental in getting Hillsborough County to unlock a recreational center that had not been used for several years.
“With The Children’s Board and the county’s (Hillsborough County) help, we started up a camp. We said, ‘Let’s only have about 30 kids, let’s run a test. Within a day, we had 54 kids signed up.
“Now, it’s an afterschool Safe Haven for kids. We’ve got all types of programming,” he said.
Kids need to be engaged, and they need opportunities, Barton said.
“We look at spring break, we look at summer break, we look at over the winter break — whenever the kids are out of school,” he said.
It’s also important for youths to understand the repercussions of their actions, he added.
“They’re living out fantasies that they see in video games,” he said. Often, they don’t realize the serious consequences that can result,” Barton said.
Baron and his wife, Denise, have two sons, 14-year-old Tahj and 11-year-old Cameron.
Published January 10, 2018
