Outreach
WCRI would be happy to participate in a health fair, conference, or other forum where we can reach out to men and women in Providence and East Providence. We can also drop off resource materials to your organization, office, or school. Contact Sheila at 401.861.2761 x125 or at sjohnson@womenscenterri.org for more information.
Please visit the DELTA page to learn more about community
participation opportunities.

Violence Prevention Education
WCRI's educational programs provide youth with the knowledge and tools necessary to recognize and avoid harmful behaviors that can lead to dating abuse. Children who participate will explore healthy relationships, conflict resolution, communications, what it means to be a man, and the pressure girls have to act and look good.

The overall goal of the education program is to teach youth to think critically about the social norms that create and support negative images of men and women that contribute to dating and domestic violence. In order be truly effective, we need to saturate youth with prevention education therefore we require you to invite us from a minimum of three sessions.

Education classes are not limited to school. We will also present at youth centers, places of worship, neighborhood associations, etc. We can also prepare a presentation for parents to learn about dating abuse warning signs and resources for help.

To schedule a class, contact the education department at 401-861-2761 or education@womenscenterri.org.

All workshops are free. Some workshops are available in Spanish.

Workshops

Healthy Relationships
3 sessions
ages 8 and up
People in healthy relationships respect each other. They can talk honestly and freely to each other and share decisions. In this class, youth will identify the qualities that are most important to them in their relationships with dating partners, friends, family, and teachers. The class will teach youth to think critically about how they want to be treated by others and how they want to treat others.

Communication
3 sessions
ages 8 and up
Assertiveness is the ability to express one's feelings and assert one's rights while respecting the feelings and rights of others. In this class, youth will learn to use communication skills to express feelings and resolve conflict. Kids will have the opportunity to practice skills through role playing activities.

Girl Positive
minimum 3 sessions, maximum of 10
ages 10 and up
One in 5 high school girls has been physically or sexually abused by a dating partner. In this course, girls will think critically about what it means to be a woman and how to manage the pressure to be perfect and make other people happy, including men. One of the most important protective factors to help avoid future domestic violence victimization is positive-self esteem which is often connected to body image. Therefore, the course will examine
body image and eating disorders. This class will be taught by female educators and audience will be limited to girls and women.

Guy Talk
minimum of 3 sessions, maximum of 10
ages 10 and up
In this class, boys will discuss what it means to be a man. Aggressive or delinquent behavior increases men's risk for domestic violence perpetration so the class will teach boys how to be masculine without being aggressive or violent. The workshop will explore feelings, teach men how to express feelings, and talk about the need to respect girls and women. It will also discuss men as victims of dating violence. This class will be taught by male
educators and audience will be limited to boys and men.

Bullying
3 sessions
ages 8 and up
Almost 30% of youth in the United States are estimated to be involved in bullying as either a bully, a target of bullying, or both. This class outlines the ways people bully, why they bully, and how victims can stop bullying through conflict resolution or reaching out for help. Participants will explore past behaviors and identify ways that they have been bullied or bullied. They will learn to rethink the way they communicate feelings and learn how to communicate without aggressive behavior. We will also discuss the bully's feelings and the importance of having friends and staying connected to others.

Media Literacy
3 sessions, maximum of 5
ages 8 and up
Children who understand the motivations and production techniques of media are less likely to adopt the destructive attitudes and behaviors that are depicted in the media. This course teaches kids to think critically about the message about violence found on television, films, videogames, and in music. It also addresses the ways media creates and supports negative stereotypes about race, gender, and people living in poverty. Youth will be encouraged to rethink their entertainment choices and find entertainment that is
respectful of all people and violent-free.

SAFE DATES
Dating violence is a pattern of controlling behavior that someone uses against a girlfriend or boyfriend. It can cause injury and even death, but it doesn't have to be physical. It can include verbal and emotional abuse - constant insults, isolation from family and friends, intimidation or threats, name calling, controlling what someone wears - and it can also include sexual violence. Safe Dates is a nine-week evidence-based curriculum that teaches youth to recognize abuse, help friends, communicate feelings, and avoid violence relationships. Ideally, schools will invite us for all nine sessions. The outreach and education department supervisor can work with you to mix and match the sessions to best meet your needs. Providence schools are required to provide prevention education to middle and high school students.

Safe Dates is an approved evidence-based curriculum that meets state requirements.

Defining Caring Relationships (SD1)
Before we can have healthy relationships, we need to know what they look like. Participants will identify the qualities that are most important to them in a dating relationship and identify actions that are caring and supportive. We will explore how they want to be treated by a dating partner and how they want to treat a dating partner.

Defining Dating Abuse (SD2)
This workshop will identify harmful dating behaviors and define physically and emotionally abusive behaviors. Participants will learn how to recognize normal relationship and how to avoid harmful ones.

Why do people Abuse? (SD3)
This class will describe the controlling and manipulative functions of dating abuse, identify abusive behaviors as abusive. Participants will learn to choose not to believe common misperceptions of why dating abuse happens, believe that dating abuse is a serious matter, and believe that abuse is not the victim's fault.

How to Help Friends (SD4 & 5)
This class will describe the complexity of the decision to leave an
abusive relationship and the many different options that exist concerning when one should leave. It will identify the difficulty and fear that a friend in an abusive relationship may have in reaching out for help and describe the variety of ways to support a friend who is a victim of dating abuse.

Gender Stereotypes (SF6)
In this class, kids will understand that people hold images of dating
relationships and explore the specific images they already have acquired. The class will identify the harmful consequences of gender stereotyping and explain the role that gender stereotyping plays in dating relationships.

Equal Power through Communications (SF7)
This class will describe eight communication skills for resolving
conflict, which can be used with any relationship not just dating partners.

How We Deal/How We Feel (SD8)
In this workshop, teens will understand the importance of feelings and identify ways to express intense feelings, from love to anger. Teens will have the opportunity to express a difficult feeling through drawing exercises.

Preventing Sexual Assault (SF9)
This workshop explains the different types of sexual assault. Participants will learn how to avoid assault by staying in tune with their partners' feelings and choices. Boys and girls will learn how to best protect themselves in a harmful situation and learn tips to reduce their chances of being a victim or a perpetrator of sexual assault.

To schedule a class, contact the education department at 401-861-2761 or education@womenscenterri.org. For more information, contact the supervisor of the community outreach and education department, Sheila Johnson, at 401.861.2761 x125 or at sjohnson@womenscenterri.org.