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Program
Components
The Safe Harbor program has five core components or strategies intended
to address one or more of these levels:
- A victim assistance/violence prevention curriculum that includes 10
core lessons. These lessons are interactive and explore topics such
as the impact of violence and victimization on individuals, families,
and communities; the influence of peers, family, and culture on attitudes
and beliefs about violence; and the development of safety strategies,
communication, and support skills. Seven modules address topics such
as dating violence, sexual harassment, family violence, and the impact
of bias crime and gang violence on individuals and communities. Through
role playing and modeling, young people examine their experiences, learn
to identify their choices, and practice new skills that can be transferred
to real-life situations.
- Individual and group counseling that offers additional support to
victimized youth by providing followup to students who want to discuss
issues raised in the curriculum classes. Counseling helps youth explore
the impact of violence in their lives, work through conflicts, and cope
with other difficulties they may experience. Safe Harbor staff work
closely with—or are themselves—school social workers and counselors
and, when necessary, refer students to clinical services both inside
and outside of the school.
- Parent involvement and staff training that enhances students’
relationships with the adults in their lives, further buffering youth
from the effects of exposure to violence. Parent and staff training
not only helps adults understand the violence youth face but also teaches
them ways to cope with their own experiences with violence and victimization.
Trainings and workshops may address topics in the curriculum such as
the impact of violence and victimization or may explore other topics
such as parenting or stress management.
- Structured group activities that include focused group discussions
and skill-building sessions to promote positive peer relationships.
These activities provide young people throughout the school community
with the chance to identify problems and create solutions, to explore
topics in depth, and to learn how to channel stresses and anxieties
through other outlets such as artistic activities, physical games, or
relaxation activities.
- A schoolwide antiviolence campaign that aims to build a cohesive culture
of nonviolence in the school and provides youth with meaningful opportunities
for leadership. Examples of schoolwide campaigns implemented in Safe
Harbor schools include poster campaigns, an assembly with a speaker
on victimization issues, and a quiltmaking project in which every class
contributes a square.
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“Before
we had the Safe Harbor program, our attendance was basically
about 78 percent of children coming to school every day. Since
we’ve had the program, our attendance rate is now 91
percent of our children attending school. If you feel safe,
you come to school.”
—Middle
School Principal,
Brooklyn, New York |
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The centerpiece around which the core Safe
Harbor program components revolve is a “safe room” in the school
where students can receive support throughout the schoolday in an environment
that is both physically and emotionally protective. Any student or member
of the school community is welcome in the room, particularly witnesses
to violence, students who are fighting, and victims of bullying. The students
create a code of conduct for the room and ground rules, and they establish
chore lists and schedules for taking care of the room. Establishing rules
and monitoring the room gives students a sense of ownership, pride, and
empowerment and promotes partnership between youth and adults. The room
serves as a hub for Safe Harbor services. It can become a place where
school personnel refer students throughout the day for conflict resolution,
counseling, or time out to discuss what is on their minds. Ideally, the
safe room is large enough to accommodate comfortable sofas, a TV/VCR,
and games. A large room is preferable because it can accommodate Safe
Harbor curriculum classes and parent and teacher workshops in a place
where comfort, safety, and trust have been developed.
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“Safe
Harbor is a place you can go to when you have problems. Safe
Harbor is also a nonviolence plan. It means to me, do not
be a bully.”
—Willie,
7th grade,
New York City |
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Schools have limited resources available for additional programming such
as the Safe Harbor program, but limited resources often result in creative
program structures. Schools that have replicated the Safe Harbor model have
had different-size rooms and a variety of teams of school personnel operating
the room and conducting the different program components. For example, some
schools have a team of teachers facilitate the curriculum in their classrooms
and use the Safe Harbor room for counseling with a fulltime Safe Harbor
counselor. Other schools have established the room as the umbrella under
which their existing social services fall and integrated the program components
into that system. All of the program components are essential to providing
a comprehensive violence prevention and intervention program.
| Safe Harbor: A School-Based
Victim Assistance/Violence Prevention Program |
January 2003 |
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