Meet Jen Coats of LBC Hero Squad in Long Beach

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jen Coats.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Jen. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My son Nolan was diagnosed with autism at age two. I was a full-time mom for over seven years and his advocate and voice. My main goal was making sure he was getting the right services he needed to thrive and succeed. When he turned four, it was time for him to go into kindergarten. His teachers at Buffum (Pre-K school for kids with special needs), recommended Cubberley for SDC (Special Day Class). Instead of doing school of choice, we decided to sell our first home in Alamitos Beach because the school in that area received a 4 out of 10 rating therefore; moving to the East Side of Long Beach. This move was a major transition for him. New school, teachers, and friends. It was all too overwhelming for him that he started having severe anxiety and blackouts. Kindergarten was rough, adjusting to a new schedule and friends but his SDC teacher, pushed him and got him where he needed to be in order to be successful and independent, which led to him being full time mainstreamed during the 2nd quarter of first grade. It was during his first grade year, I started sharing autism stories on Cubberley’s Facebook page. A mom saw my post and reached out to me. She was a member of the Foundation team at Cubberley and encouraged me to start an autism awareness group. The Foundation team gave us a booth at their annual fall carnival so we can raise money for our group. Then they became our fiscal agent and organization to hold autism awareness week during April which was encouraged and supported by our Principal, Cathleen Imbroane, Student Council, Foundation, and PTA.

We started the group in 2016 and in 2017, our first autism awareness week became an inaugural event which led to 3 autism awareness weeks. In October of 2018, Councilwoman Stacy Mungo and Mayor Robert Garcia invited us to City Hall to speak where we received a proclamation for our autism efforts. Each year we would come up with a theme, motto, new tee shirt design, decorate the school in blue with mindful banners on campus, and creative ways to promote our small but mighty group. We were also invited to Stacy Mungo’s Annual Giving Gala raising money for our squad among other nonprofits. We would provide literature about autism, books, videos, guest speakers, swag, and host activities about autism, mental health, and being kind to over 1,000 students, K-8 and 100 faculty and staff members. Every classroom would “light it up” blue while playing a song we chose to go with the theme. This would kick off our first day of autism awareness week. We would also have on the agenda, yoga day, free ice cream from Ice Cream Ian, post it activity where kids would write what they’ve learned about aut week and post it in the schools office. Just to name a few…Our theme this year was, “Hey What’s Your Story (as everyone has a story to tell and tied into the school districts theme). Our motto was, “Hey! You’re Rad”, designed by our friend Tyke Witness from AWR, NASA. Our new tee shirt design for 2020. Unfortunately, we had to postpone our autism awareness week due to school closure caused by COVID-19. Because of our movement, we have been invited to speak at the LBUSD’s CAC and Harbor Regional Center. A few schools in our district have started their own autism/acceptance week with the help and inspiration from our squad. Our goal as a squad is to become a community organization where we can help other schools start their own autism/acceptance week, create events and activities, and be a guide/resource for families.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has been both. We started off with no income and had to raise money in order to start our group/nonprofit. When we held our first Autism Awareness Week, I relied on our friends and school to use their computers to print and make copies of the agenda and literature. We were a group of 3 that is now a group of 18. We are a family. Because, my son is on the autism spectrum, he was perceived as different due to his behaviors and speech, therefore; being bullied. He had a split IEP so he was in SDC and mainstream classes. He became mainstreamed in first grade. One of the main reasons why we started the LBC Hero Squad, was to educate students and staff about our kiddos with special abilities. Most importantly, to be kind to others by celebrating our differences. Again, we are a small team so every little bit of money helps us continue to spread autism awareness and acceptance. We volunteer our time and passion into this because every parent that is on our team has a child(ren) on the spectrum. We are constantly advocating for them so they can be accepted and be in an inclusive environment.

LBC Hero Squad – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
My husband, Scotty Coats and I are the founders of the LBC Hero Squad. I specialize in merchandise marketing in apparel. I used to work for major design companies for over 12 years before becoming a full-time mom. I recently went back to work three years ago and got laid off due to COVID-19. I specialize in marketing and the creative side of the Hero Squad, meeting people in the community that we can help. We all wear many hats and all share great ideas as a team. I am most proud of our team and all the hard work and heart they put into our squad every year, four months prior to aut week, two weeks prior, one week prior, and during as it is a lot of work, staging, organizing, and planning to make it successful, The most rewarding, is to see the faculty, staff members, and kids come together spreading kindness. You can literally feel the positive energy and hope during that week. And when the kids talk to their parents about what they learned about autism, we know we have done our job, right. I believe the LBC Hero Squad is special because, we are all supportive and passionate parents making a difference not only for our child but for all kiddos with special abilities. We are the first school in the Long Beach Unified School District to implement a full week of literature, resources, and activities about autism in a school setting. We also get full support from our Principal, Foundation, PTA, Student Council, Teachers and Staff. With out our schools support, the CAC, and our community, we couldn’t continue raising awareness and acceptance about our kiddos with special abilities. #lbcherosquad #lbcherosquadcelebratesdifferences #hibekind #heyyourerad #dontgetweirdudeitsjustautism

Squad Members:
Scotty and Jen Coats (autism child)
Jamie and Chuck McDonald (autism child)
Nancy and Brad Simons (autism child)
Stephanie and Aaron Cornell (autism child)
George and Kat Cota (autism children)
Chris and Cris Nieratko (autism children)
Jodee and Andy Gossett (autism child)
Sumer Temple (autism child)
Tam Myers (typical kids/supporter)
Jessica Dotts (typical kids/supporter)

We also have friends at Emerson Elementary that are affiliated with the squad and that we help out/support with their acceptance week.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Being invited to City Hall and receiving a proclamation from our Mayor Robert Garcia and Councilwoman of District 5, Stacy Mungo.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lbcherosquad.org
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @lbcherosquad
• Facebook: @lbcherosquad

Image Credit:
Councilwoman, Stacy Mungo. District 5/ City of Long Beach (City Hall and a picture with the Mayor)

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