Helping Hands to prevent domestic violence
By Liz Keller
Abuse can take many forms—physical, emotional and even digital.
Anti-domestic violence advocates agree that learning to recognize abuse early is key to combating it. Children often emulate what they see in their homes, in the media and among their peers, said Giselle Perez, a prevention supervisor for The Shelter for Abused Women & Children of Collier County.
For this reason, the shelter is working to raise awareness through several education programs in Collier County Public Schools, reaching students in Pre-K to high school.
“We prevent the cycle of domestic violence and human trafficking in age-appropriate ways,” Perez said.
Hands are for Helping not for Hurting, an interactive program required for all Collier first graders, is also offered in many of the county’s private preschools. Children are presented with nonaggressive methods to express anger and other emotions and focus on positive ways to use their hands. Students also create a banner with their own handstamps to display in the classroom and complete a pledge activity.
In the 2022-2023 school year, the program reached 100% of Collier’s public school first graders, Perez said, and is on track to do so again this school year.
The shelter also has programs for middle school and high school age students.
At the middle school level—which includes seventh and eighth grade—students learn about building healthy friendships and setting boundaries. In high school, the focus is on dating violence and human trafficking, as well as setting boundaries.
Those can include mental, emotional and physical boundaries. For many middle and high school students, digital abuse is an increasing issue, so the shelter also discusses setting digital boundaries.
“Digital abuse can be seen as controlling your partner’s location, constantly checking up on them,” Perez said.
The shelter also hosts Teens Against Dating Violence clubs at Immokalee High School and Lorenzo Walker Technical College. The extracurricular clubs offer students a chance to gather and learn more about dating violence from their own peers.
“We understand that your friend is more likely to go to their friend,” Perez said.
The shelter’s website reports that in 2022, there were 1,963 reported domestic violence incidents in Collier County. The real number is likely higher—more than 3,600, according to the shelter. The shelter estimates that those incidents are likely to have cost more than $31 million, dollars spent in law enforcement and medical bills and represented in losses to local businesses.
Perez said she has seen how the shelter’s early intervention efforts are benefiting local students. Several, especially at the high school level, have approached her to share their experiences. Some become emotional during the presentation.
“I’ve had students come up to me and say, ‘I went through this and thank you for being here,’” she said.
