Prevention Though Education

Community Education:
The Community Education department at VIBS consists of professional staff with extensive experience in providing preventive education and professional trainings. Raising awareness through education and outreach are essential to preventing domestic and sexual violence and in changing the way the public views victims.

VIBS provides:

• Educational presentations on the dynamics of dating violence, domestic violence, rape and sexual assault (including "date rape") and sexual harassment.
  
• Presentations to schools, community organizations and faith communities
• Training to professionals
• Brochures and literature
• Public awareness campaigns
• Participation in health fairs and conferences
• Long term Primary Prevention programs

What is Primary Prevention? Primary Prevention is educational programming that takes place before domestic and/or sexual violence has occured. The focus of these programs is on working with smaller groups of students for longer periods of time with the goal of changing the long-held beliefs, attitudes, and norms that contribute to gender-based violence.

VIBS offers the following Primary Prevention programs:

Safe Dates: A highly interactive and engaging program for middle and high school students ages 12-18 that helps teens recognize the difference between caring, supportive relationships and controlling, manipulative, or abusive relationships. it is during the critical pre-teen and teen years that young people begin to learn the skills needed to create and foster positive relationships. With Safe Dates, young people are given the tools needed to build these skills. The Safe Dates program includes a curriculum with 50-minute sessions, a 45-minute play to be performed by students, and a poster contest. Program goals are to:

• Change adolescent dating violence norms
• Change adolescent gender-role norms
• Improve conflict resolution skills for dating relationships
• Promote victim and perpetrator beliefs in need for help and awareness of community resources for dating violence
• Promote help-seeking by victims and perpetrators
• Improve peer help-giving skills

To learn more about Safe Dates visit
http://hazelden.org/web/public/safedates.page

Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP): A gender violence, bullying, and school violence prevention approach that encourages young men and women from all socioeconomic, racial and ethnic backgrounds to take on leadership roles in their schools and communities. The training is focused on an innovative "bystander" model that empowers each student to take an active role in promoting a positive school climate. The heart of the training consists of role-plays intended to allow students to construct and practice viable options in response to incidents of harassment, abuse, or violence before, during, or after the fact. Students learn that there is not simply "one way" to confront violence, but that each individual can learn valuable skills to build their personal resolve and to act when faced with difficult or threatening life situations. This program is appropriate for high school students. It consists of 90 minute sessions in which scenarios are presented and discussed with the group. This program is based on active participation of the students, and typically 6-9 sessions are required to work through the program. It is also possible to arrange a mock-trial for the students to participate in after they complete the sessions. To learn more about MVP visit http://www.jacksonkatz.com/mvp.html

Girls Circle: The Girls Circle model, a structured support group for girls from 9-18 years, integrates relational theory, resiliency practices, and skills training in a specific format designed to increase positive connection, personal and collective strengths, and competence in girls. It aims to counteract social and interpersonal forces that impede girls' growth and development by promoting an emotionally safe setting and structure within which girls can develop caring relationships and use authentic voices. To learn more about Girls Circle visit http://www.girlscircle.com/GC.aspx

If you are interested in having a VIBS' presenter speak to your organization, please contact Lindsay at 631-360-3730 or by email at lschoenig@vibs.org.