Avalon Elementary School staff visits The Shelter

Fifty teachers, counselors and school leadership from Avalon Elementary School in East Naples toured The Shelter on Friday, August 11, to learn more about the facility and the many services and programs offered to the public free of charge.

Shelter Executive Director Linda Oberhaus greeted the group and discussed The Shelter’s role in preventing, protecting and prevailing over domestic violence and human trafficking. Outreach Manager Danielle Paez also addressed the group.

The visit was organized by the Principal Jessica Campbell and Assistant Principal Melissa Stamper to create an open and consistent line of communication between school personnel, Shelter staff and Shelter families. In addition, AES staff learned about domestic violence and how to identify and communicate with students and families dealing with domestic violence situations and what it is like for children living in the emergency shelter.

Below: AES teachers complete an exercise where participants work together in groups to prioritize examples of domestic violence from worst to least offense. They learned that this task is much more difficult than one might think.