Parents & Teachers

How to schedule a presentation:

Peers Building Justice is a program through which trained teams of high school students, Peer Educators, give presentations on interpersonal violence prevention in middle and high schools in the Boulder Valley area.

Our program is driven by the young people we seek to both teach and inspire. Over the years, our Peer Educators have come into your middle and high school classrooms, teaching students how to understand and prevent dating abuse, sexual harassment, and sexual assault. The Peer Educators and adults in the program have found through doing this work that it is impossible to ignore the interconnectedness of interpersonal violence to all forms of violence and oppression. In our Peer Education meetings, we explore these connections and seek to become stronger advocates and allies within a social justice framework.

In order to schedule a Peers Building Justice presentation, please contact either of the Program Coordinators, at your earliest convenience. It is advisable to schedule a presentation at least one to two months in advance if possible. In order to help defray costs, we would like to ask if copies can be made of materials for each class session as needed (this may mean 7-10 handouts total for all six sessions); donations are always welcome.

We also offer a range of services beyond our presentation package to meet the needs of schools or students experiencing sexual harassment, sexual assault, or dating abuse. We will custom-design and tailor interventions and/or support for your students. These services are offered on a case-by-case basis, and may require a nominal fee. Please contact us for further details.

We look forward to working with you, and hope to hear from you soon!

Contact information:

	Safehouse Progressive Alliance for Nonviolence Teresa Hernandez – Youth Educator and Organizer 835 North Street Boulder, Colorado 80304 teresa@safehousealliance.org (303) 449-8623
	MESA – Moving to End Sexual Assault Davian Gagne – Prevention Education Coordinator 2885 East Aurora Avenue Suite 10 Boulder, Colorado 80303 davian@movingtoendsexualassault.org (303) 443-0400 x105

Parents/Guardians: How To Support Teens/Youth in your Life
Adapted from Helping Teens Stop Violence by Allan Creighton

• Listen. SHOW that you understand.
  
• Be a model for openness, respect, and trust.
  
• Boundaries are key. Disclose information that feels comfortable to you. It is okay to have privacy.
  
• NORMALIZE experiences. Bring out the common features that all teens share (embarrassing experiences, self-consciousness, peer pressure, etc.).
  
• Encourage and offer positive feedback. The little steps need acknowledgment too.
  
• Respect everyone's intelligence.
  
• Value teens' fears and problems as genuine.
  
• Encourage teens to identify personal beliefs and solutions.
  
• Provide options and information when needed.
  
• Recognize the mixed cultural messages that teens receive.
  
• Never force change.
  
• Prevent rudeness, judging, blaming, or lecturing; teens get enough of this elsewhere.
  
• Allow teens to utilize their own problem solving skills. Do not rescue, but DO step in with resources, referrals, and information when necessary.
  
• Understand and be sensitive to the systematic mistreatment that young people receive in this adult defined world.
  
• Laugh, be yourself, and learn to lighten up!