Prevention Education
It is part of our mission to help eradicate violence in as many ways as possible. Our Prevention Educators and Trainers in our Community Impact Team operates from the knowledge that education and awareness can prevent or reduce violence in our communities.
More than 28,000 adults and children benefit from CEE education, training and outreach programs annually. Our programs are provided to a wide range of audiences, from pre-school children to senior citizens. All curricula can be modified to meet specific needs and customize programs to suit the age group and special interests of the particular audience. With the exception of professional trainings, all programs are offered at no cost.
All Prevention Educators and Trainers are certified domestic violence and sexual assault counselors in accordance with CT law CGS 52-146k. This gives our programs the added benefits, when necessary, of responding immediately to individual participants who are victims and facilitating a smooth transition for continuing services at our agency.
Youth Education Programs
Our prevention education programs aim to affect children’s behavior over the trajectory of their school years, beginning in Pre-K or kindergarten, and extending over multiple years of students’ academic careers. Programs are age appropriate, corresponding to behaviors and situations that commonly arise at predicted points of students’ growth and experience. Our goal is to provide multi-tiered programming for students, so that prevention education programs are ongoing throughout the academic year.
We focus our education efforts on younger populations where the greatest opportunity exists to prevent a child from developing a vulnerability of becoming either a victim or perpetrator of abuse, as well as providing education to teachers and parents, so they can reinforce concepts and help build protective factors in children.
Our curricula are designed to reach these goals:
- Build personal and environmental factors that protect an individual from ever developing the vulnerability to become a victim or perpetrator of abuse (primary prevention)
- Address the societal roots of violence
- Teach and build upon skills to create and maintain healthy relationships
Our education programs are 100% self-funded through various fundraising activities. To ensure these programs and services can continue, please consider making a donation. Thank you for your support as we continue “Working to end the violence.”
College Programs
In January of 2007, Western Connecticut State University and CEE solidified a partnership by signing an agreement for the Center to provide our comprehensive services to the WCSU community. Those services include crisis intervention, individual and group counseling, advocacy, education, training and outreach.
We are also proud to offer our services at Naugatuck Valley Community College at their Danbury campus.
We provide education programs to college students on topics ranging from bystander intervention to human trafficking, in addition to tailored programs for specific audiences. These include a program for nursing students on identifying interpersonal violence in healthcare settings, a program for business students on sexual harassment in the workplace, and a program for graduate-level mental health counseling students on interpersonal violence and trauma-informed practices. These tailored programs help to shape young professionals before they enter their field or practice to incorporate their knowledge of interpersonal violence into their roles and place of work.
We provide our education programs for classrooms, residence halls, WCSU Athletics, Greek Life and other clubs and organizations on campus. We also provide professional training to WCSU staff and faculty on understanding the dynamics of interpersonal violence and responding to disclosures in a sensitive and trauma-informed way.
Adult Programs
CEE provides programs to adults in our catchment area on topics related to interpersonal violence. This includes programs for parents and the general public on topics such as dynamics of domestic and sexual violence, identifying child abuse, identifying human trafficking, and understanding how to support a child who identifies as LGBTQ+. We believe that an informed community is a safer one and that these conversations can benefit folks from all walks of life.
We have been able to provide many of these programs virtually through Facebook Live so that folks from all over our catchment area can attend and even view and share the program afterwards. We’re happy to partner with your town’s mayor, police departments, or other groups that would like to host educational and awareness-raising conversations.
Professional Training
We are proud to offer a wide variety of professional training programs. These trainings aim to give professionals the skills to combat issues of domestic and sexual violence in their daily practice, including sensitively responding to victims, increased collaboration with the community safety net of victim services, and knowing how to make appropriate referrals to CEE.
Some of our most popular professional trainings include:
This training discusses the health impacts of domestic violence and the importance of universal screening by healthcare providers. Healthcare providers will learn about the specific health consequences of domestic violence, their role in responding to disclosures, and recommendations for patient screenings.
The cost of sexual harassment for victims is clear, but the economic burden for companies is often forgotten. In 2015, the EEOC recovered $164.5 million for workers alleging harassment. Training on such issues is critical to a productive, efficient, and safe work environment for all. During this training, participants will:
- Explore dynamics of harassment in the workplace and its impact
- Review the definition of sexual harassment & examples
- Review policies & procedures
- Discuss what to do if you are being harassed
- Resources and supporting victims
Employers will leave with an increased understanding of best practices for preventing sexual harassment in the workplace, as outlined in the EEOC Select Taskforce on the Study of Harassment in the Workplace. Additionally, we will work directly with each employer to include their specific policies and procedures to review with participants as part of this training.
This training will equip professionals with the skills and knowledge they need to supportively respond to students/children who disclose abuse. The training will include information about the dynamics of child sexual abuse, warning signs and identification, primary prevention strategies, and the impact of trauma on survivors during and after experiencing sexual assault. This training fulfills the requirement of providing instructional modules for teachers on child sexual abuse as per Section 17a-101q of the Connecticut General Statutes, A Statewide K-12 Sexual Abuse and Assault Prevention & Awareness Program.
This training explores the dynamics and impact of domestic violence and sexual assault, identifying and responding to a victim, and appropriate referrals. This training can be specifically tailored for social workers, counselors, health care providers, police, EMTs, lawyers, massage therapists, hair stylists, and other professionals. For hair stylists and massage therapists, research has highlighted these professions as likely to receive disclosures because of their intimate professional-client relationships.
Success Story
Mr. Deluco
While working with Mr. DeLuco’s (name changed for privacy) 4th grade class there was a brief moment between activities where a young lady came up to our educator.
