Too Good for Violence™

Building Family & Community Involvement

Students are influenced by all of the environments in which they live. Although classrooms are the logical place to concentrate prevention efforts, they do not exist in a vacuum. To be truly effective, prevention programs must reach beyond the school, into the home and community.

According to many experts, the greatest obstacle to safe and drug-free schools is community norms that favor violence and/or alcohol, tobacco and other drug use. Too often, young people get the message from adults in their communities that fighting is a "rite of passage," something to be expected of children, especially boys. Too often, they get the message from the media that violence is glamorous, sexy and fun. Too often, they get the message that entertainment is violent, and violence is entertaining.

One of the greatest benefits of community-wide prevention strategies is that they can create environments that promote healthy choices and discourage problem behaviors. Around the country, many community and parent organizations are mobilizing to change community attitudes. They are creating media campaigns and establishing community policies to let young people know violence is unacceptable, and that it is not glamorous, but deadly.

The most successful of these organizations enlist the participation and cooperation of family members, religious and community leaders, school board members, health experts, legal and medical professionals, business men and women, volunteer and service agencies and civic groups. By involving representatives from the entire community, they are able to exert pressure on the local media and advertisers to present a peaceable message.

Remember to involve young people as well. Being valued by the community is a protective factor and developmental asset for young people, and community groups are stronger when they regard their youth as resources, rather than problems.

To promote bonding with the community and a sense of belonging, to raise students' awareness of community needs and resources, and to encourage community service, Too Good for Violence includes suggested community activities in the Looking for More? section at the end of each lesson.

Proactive prevention groups usually begin by identifying the needs of their own communities and setting priorities. Their specific objectives are unique to their own communities, but they generally involve shaping new community norms, sponsoring drug-free social activities, providing positive peer relationships for young people, and sending a healthy message to the entire community.

Tips for Establishing Community-Wide Prevention Programs

. Identify a strong leader.
. Establish a community-wide task force.
. Conduct a needs assessment.
. Formulate a mission statement.
. Set goals and objectives.
. Use the media to advocate for prevention.
. Raise public awareness of the need for prevention.
. Build support for institutional and/or policy change.
. Promote positive family and community norms.

The strongest school prevention programs are those which are an integral part of a well-planned community prevention effort.

Resources for Building Community Support

Communities that Care: Action for Drug Abuse Prevention, J. David Hawkins, Richard Catalano, et al., San Francisco: Josey-Bass Publishers, 1992.

Educating for Health: A Guide to Implementing a Comprehensive Approach to School Health Education, by Eva Marx and Daphne Northrup, 1995. This manual, which includes samples of a letter to parents, an invitation to join a community task force, an organizational meeting agenda, a press release, etc., may be ordered from the Education Development Center, 55 Chapel St., Newton, MA 02158-1060.

Healthy Communities-Healthy Youth: A National Initiative of Search Institute to Unite Communities for Children and Adolescents. Search Institute has identified a research-based framework of "developmental assets-factors that are critical for young people's successful growth and development." For a chart describing the 40 Developmental Assets, and for information about Healthy Communities-Healthy Youth, visit www.search-institute.org or call (800) 888-7828.

Prevention Plus II: Tools for Creating and Sustaining Drug-Free Communities. US Dept. of Health and Human Services, Office of Substance Abuse Prevention, 1989. Distributed by the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information, PO Box 2345, Rockville, MD 20852.

Youth to Youth, 700 Bryden Road, Columbus, OH 43215, (614) 224-4506. Youth to Youth offers resources and training programs that help young people develop their own programs around specific community needs.

Creative Partnerships for Prevention: A Drug and Violence Prevention Resource for Schools provides current information, ideas and resources on how to use the arts and humanities to enhance drug and violence prevention programming, foster resiliency in youth and implement collaborations within communities to strengthen prevention programs for youth. See the website at www.cpprev.org for more information.

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