NATCHEZ — A non-profit Washington, D.C.-based program will break ground on a bridge construction project in two weeks at the Natchez Convention Center — that is, a metaphorical bridge to fill the conversation gap between local law enforcement agencies and today’s youth.

Adams County Sheriff Travis Patten said several different agencies are on board with the program, including his office, the Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office, the Natchez Police Department and other surrounding agencies.

Since last month, these agencies have worked closely with organizers of the non-profit Police Training Institute, Fight Crime: Invest in Kids program and approximately 20 teens and young adults selected by the Adams County Court Appointed Special Advocate Program, the Natchez-Adams County Chamber of Commerce and Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Natchez to develop a training course specific to the needs of the local community, Patten said.

Starting at 5:30 p.m. on April 9, a free community event in the Natchez Convention Center will open up this training to the public, and food and refreshments would be provided to those who register, Patten said.

“We want to show people how better off we’ll be if the community and law enforcement work together,” Patten said. “We encourage everyone to come out and participate on April 9, parents and their children. You never know if what you learn from this may save your life further down the road.”

Juan Cloy, the deputy director of Community Outreach and Training in the program, said the program was founded in 2016 and has since been hosted in more than a dozen areas throughout the nation, gathering involvement with the surrounding law agencies as they went.

Cloy said he has 20 years of experience as a former police officer with the Jackson Police Department and worked as the former Assistant Police Chief, former Jackson Police Department Union President, a former FBI Task Force Agent, a Master Law Enforcement Instructor and a former SWAT Team Leader.

More recently, Cloy said he has spent the bulk of his time training law enforcement agencies in the art of communication and de-escalation of dangerous circumstances with youth and young adults.

“We’ve partnered with CASA and Co-Lin and asked them to provide us with 20 youth and young adults between the ages of 14 and 24 and asked them multiple questions. … We call this a listening session … because they do most of the talking. We have also done ride-alongs with the departments we’re working with, including Adams County and Concordia Parish.”

After familiarizing themselves with the officers and the younger generation in the local area, Cloy said his team is returning on April 9 to the Natchez Convention Center for an evening forum or “Town Hall” meeting, in which the entire community is invited to participate.

“The Town Hall is designed for the entire public to come out and build a communication bridge between the community and law enforcement officers,” Cloy said. “We’ll also have a panel with four to five police officers and youth who’ve spoken to us through the community groups that we’ve partnered with.”

Cloy said those who would like to participate in the Town Hall meeting on April 9 should register at adamscounty-townhall.eventbrite.com to ensure that enough food is prepared.

The following Thursday and Friday after the meeting, the officers would return for a two-day training session that includes lessons on youth brain development, contemporary issues in law enforcement and with young civilians, listening skills, de-escalation and emergency responses and a host of other topics, Cloy said.

These officers would later be joined by the 20 youths and young adults, who will interact with them first hand, practice role-reversals and receive training themselves, Cloy said.

“The benefit is that it develops an open line of communication for the community to hear directly from the police officers and officers to hear directly from these youth in ways that they might not otherwise be able to,” Cloy said.