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July 2002Vol. 3, No. 6National Resource Center Helps Families Cope with Violence in Their Communities

Many young children and families are faced with ongoing violence in their communities--in schools, on playgrounds and in their homes. With assistance from the National Child Welfare Resource Center for Family Centered Practice, the Safe Havens Training Project--a unique video-based training program--provides caregivers and families support to help children feel safe. The Resource Center's partners in this endeavor are Family Communications, Inc., the New York Head Start Collaboration Project, and the New York University Region II Head Start Quality Improvement Center.

The three videos are mini-documentaries about children and violence and also contain workshops. The workshops are for trainers training adults who interact with children who have witnessed violence in their community; the workshops provide insight about children's responses to violence and strategies to support children and staff. The project videos include the following topics:

  • The Violence the Children Can See--identifies the impact that witnessing violence has on children and offers strategies to communities in working together in support of children coping with violence
  • The Power of Our Relationship--provides examples of language, limit-setting, and relationship-building between the adult (parent or teacher) and child that enable children to gain trust and self-confidence
  • The Need To Be Heard--explores ways to create a more supportive work environment for staff affected by violence.

For more information about the Safe Havens Training Project, visit the website at http://www.fci.org/early_care/violence_main.asp

Related Item

Read "Children's Exposure to Violence Associated with Academic, Health Problems" in this issue of CBX.