Palo Alto resident Julie Lythcott-Haims had seen the track guard standing watch at the Caltrain crossing near her house many times, but it took a dark and rainy night to make her really stop and notice him. “I usually rolled down my window and said thanks for being there, but that night I suddenly realized what a difficult job he had in the wet and cold,” she explained. “I decided to do something to recognize how important his work is to the community and show our appreciation to him and the other track guards, especially during the holidays.”
Julie Lythcott-Haims
Many community members are unaware that the Palo Alto Police Department pays for track guards to stand watch at the Caltrain crossings at Charleston Road, East Meadow Road and Churchill Avenue from when the first train comes through at 5am until the last one completes its route at 1:15am. There are 11 guards in total that work shifts seven days a week, contracted through Val Security in San Jose. While the track guard program was started several years ago, the City of Palo Alto extended the hours in November.
A former dean of freshman at Stanford, an author and board member of Challenge Success, Julie spends much of her time thinking about how to support youth to find an authentic path to happiness. She is also a parent to two children who are going through Palo Alto public schools and has seen the impact of the youth suicides in the community.
Julie Lythcott-Haims presenting Derrick the track guard with a thank you letter and gift card.
Using her large Facebook network, Julie put a call out to gather funds for a holiday gift on December 15th and was blown away by the response she received. Despite the busy season, within a few days she received donations via cash, check, Square, Venmo and Paypal for $3850 from 74 people, many of whom she did not know but heard about the effort through social media. Julie believes the outpouring of support for the guards is related to the community’s desire to respond to recent youth suicides.
“People feel helpless and fearful about the tragedies that have happened in our community this year,” Julie said. “The guards are a sign that our youth are still vulnerable and people want to do something to acknowledge and thank them. A check came in after the fact with more than the donor pledged, saying it was to cover the gap in case anyone failed to give what they promised. This kind of thoughtfulness has characterized the whole effort.”
On December 22, Julie presented the guards with Target gift cards for $350 each, and hopes that this holiday effort will
Thank you letter and gift card
lead to a larger conversation about the working conditions for the guards. “I’d like to see us take this energy and use to improve access to bathrooms and shelter during bad weather for the guards. Now we understand how important the guards are for our young people, we should support them however we can.”
To learn more about Julie, visit her facebook page.
