BE SAFE: The Movie Chronicling a Mother’s Mission

In the September issue, we introduced readers to Thomas Iland, a man with autism who found great personal and financial success through love and support from family and friends.  Eventually, Tom changed course, motivated to help others like him, and has dedicated himself to aiding others with developmental disabilities.  This month features his greatest ally, mother, supporter and passionate advocate, Mrs. Emily Iland.
Perhaps a natural parental response, Emily’s primary focus is safety, first for her son in his youth, and now extended to others with exceptional needs.  This concern drove her to professional advocacy, with emphasis on the interactions between individuals with disabilities and law enforcement.
Emily’s first action was co-founding CLEAR: the Community and Law Enforcement Aware Response.  The CLEAR Committee established the Special Needs Registry, a free secure online tool that allows Santa Clarita families to provide critical information to deputies at the local Sheriff’s Station prior to an emergency.  Today clearscv.org hosts the award-winning registry in partnership with the City of Santa Clarita.
Emily then began educating police about autism, and has trained approximately 4,500 officers to date.  She also developed the Experience Autism Program, a more in-depth learning experience that helps officers better understand the features of autism.  Results have shown that officers participating in the program gained knowledge and felt more prepared to properly engage with those with autism.
Convinced that training officers was not enough, Emily wanted to create a film teaching youth with disabilities how to respond to police.  Pursuing a long-held dream, Emily collaborated with Joey Travolta, fellow advocate and founder of Inclusion Films, which helps youth with disabilities develop skills for the movie industry.  In 2013, Emily’s dream became reality, with the one-hour film “BE SAFE: The Movie.”  BE SAFE shows viewers how to safely interact with police in seven episodes; topics include: following the law, staying calm during an encounter, and being aware of one’s rights should they ever be arrested.  Supplementing this, Emily created a companion curriculum to reach a wider range of learning styles.
Emily then created a safety event called the BE SAFE Interactive Movie Screening, which brings youth with disabilities and local police together to watch BE SAFE and participate in safety activities.  Both sides get to meet and learn from one another.  Emily has been all through the country with the Interactive Screenings since 2013, and now Tom has joined in this work.  Recently the San Antonio Police Department in Texas took part in this “eyes-on” event, along with officers from four other departments.  Even Chief William McManus participated in the exercises alongside youth with disabilities, learning to interact with one another.  The response was “very enthusiastic and very positive.”
“BE SAFE: The Movie” is available through www.besafethemovie.com for $24.95 and includes five free self-disclosure cards, which help those with disabilities communicate their needs to officers, along with emergency contact information.  Be SAFE Teaching Edition features the movie plus a 300-page CD guide with activities and resources for home, school and community programs for $74.95 and includes 10 free cards.  BE SAFE The Movie also has a Spanish edition, matching the lessons with Spanish subtitles, called Cuídate Guía de Enseñanza, available for $50.
These accomplishments can be considered a great success for anyone fighting for a cause and are amazing milestones for an advocate whose motivations stem from a mother’s love.