For Ellen Reddy, the work of making children feel safe and valued began long before there was a Nollie Jenkins Family Center or a Mississippi Coalition to End Corporal Punishment. The Center is named for Reddy’s grandmother, Louetta Nollie Jenkins Reddy, whose home was a place where children and extended family were cared for and knew they belonged. Ellen and her twin sister, Helen Johnson, sought to create that same kind of space in Holmes County when they launched the center. It’s a place grounded in community, advocacy and the belief that children deserve adults who will stand up for them.
That belief eventually led the Nollie Jenkins team to prioritize ending corporal punishment in the Holmes County schools. Reddy remembers visiting schools and hearing children crying while teachers and administrators carried paddles. The experience also brought back a childhood memory of watching a principal paddle Helen for something Ellen had actually done. Years later, Nollie Jenkins helped young people petition parents, speak before the school board and advocate for change. The work was about more than changing one policy. It was also about helping families and young people understand that they had rights and could influence the systems that affect their lives.
Today, Reddy sees ending corporal punishment as only part of the work. Children sometimes arrive at school carrying anger, fear and pain that punishment will not resolve. On the morning of her conversation with Families as Allies, Reddy encountered a young boy entering school, visibly upset and tried to help him settle himself before going to class. That experience reinforced an issue she believes schools need to take seriously: Children sometimes need a safe place and a trusted adult who can help them regulate their emotions before they are expected to learn. “There needs to be spaces inside of our classrooms, inside of our schools, that allow children to decompress,” Reddy said.
The focus on healing is becoming increasingly important in the work of Royalty Grace, Nollie Jenkins’ community and partnership engagement coordinator. Grace described programs that give young people opportunities to learn by doing, from preparing food and exploring healthier eating to reading, practicing environmental justice and learning conflict resolution skills. She also spoke candidly about a summer program that had to end early after some young people became volatile. Once the immediate emotions subsided, Grace said the experience became an important reminder of how much anger and pain some children carry and how intentional adults must be about meeting them where they are.
The work also reflects a relationship between generations. Reddy and her sister spent decades building Nollie Jenkins and advocating for children, while Grace represents a younger generation that will carry that work forward. Reddy talked openly about stepping back over time and making room for new leadership, while Grace described what she has learned from watching Reddy continue despite setbacks. Their approaches may sometimes differ, but both see young people not simply as children who need services, but as people who need opportunities to develop their own voices, understand their histories, resolve conflict and become leaders in their communities.
Families as Allies applauds this work, beginning with Helen Johnson’s involvement in advocacy for children with disabilities and continuing today through our relationship with Nollie Jenkins and the coalition. The next phase is about more than removing paddles from schools. It is about asking what should take their place: relationships, resources, conflict-resolution skills, spaces where children can calm themselves, and communities that recognize the pain children may be carrying.
For Grace, the direction is clear. “Healing has to be at the center of what we’re doing,” she said. “Joy has to be at the center of what we are doing.”
