SCY

For You

Act as a role model and take a non-violent approach to solving conflicts.
Follow the 3 R’s: Respect yourself, respect others, and take responsibility for others.
Surround yourself with positive influences and choose your friends wisely.

Teach yourself and other young people anger management techniques so that they learn to recognize and prevent violence in themselves and others.

Some basic techniques include: recognizing the physical signs of anger (such as tension/stress), learning to take a “time out” and walk away, and figuring out the ways to calm yourself when you feel anger arising.

Use free time to find activities that help you develop a sense of belonging in your community.
- Join a sports team or an after-school music or arts program at your school.
- Check your local school and community groups about club and activity offerings.
- Join your local Boys and Girls Club (www.bgcc.org)
- Join the youth group of a religious association in your community.
Engage in community service—find ways to volunteer and give back to your community.
- Become a tutor for younger kids in your community.
- Organize a community-wide cleanup of a local site, such as a playground.
- Plant flowers in a public area for the whole community to enjoy.

Speak Up

Voice your concerns about guns to law enforcement by showing up at a sentencing or talking to police and prosecutors
Help make gun violence a priority and motivate the proper agencies to bring intervention and prevention programs to the forefront
Step Up, Speak Out (www.stepupspeakout.org)

Take advantage of the resources already existing in your community, as well as the knowledge and power of those actively involved in your community.

Spearhead efforts to help mobilize the community, such as organizing a day to pick up trash or plant trees in a central location.
Ask the local library to provide you with space for a peace exhibition or ask friends to draw, write stories and poems regarding different things that could be done to prevent violence in your community.

Lead and encourage efforts at school to have an awareness campaign regarding youth violence prevention. (for example, the National Youth Violence Prevention Week is funded by the National Association of Students Against Violence Everywhere, and is organized with the Guidance Group and the National Youth Violence Prevention Campaign. The campaign involves challenges and activities to promote peaceful approaches and safe behavior in violent situations.)
Join a youth city council and work against youth violence, or if there is none, ask the local council to form a youth council to actively work and combat youth violence.
Mobilize different agencies in the community to coordinate their programs to prevent gang involvement. These programs might include: at-risk youth education, training and employment programs to deter gang involvement, actively reaching out to gang-involved youth and their families.
Explore local opportunities to learn and participate in the ongoing conversations and programs that address violence prevention

Encourage positive communication and support within the family.
Communication is key, so agree on rules and decisions together as a family. Assign responsibilities to every member of the family.
Make family time a priority – try to have family dinners at least once a week, or set aside free time to have a movie night or game night with the entire group.

Take the time to talk and listen to your child and teach them to respect and trust others, while also teaching them to be careful and aware of those around them.
Help your child become a good friend and member of society.

Teach your child how to ACT calm:
- Acknowledge: angry feelings/changes in their bodies
- Calm down: breathe deeply, count to 10, walk away, or find an escape mechanism (punch a pillow, run, play music)
- Think and Talk: figure out ways to fix the problem; talk about why you are mad and how to fix the problem without fighting
If someone tries to start a fight, your child can be the one to stay CALM:
- Calm down: keep a safe distance from the other person, take slow, deep breaths, stay alert and stand tall
- Avoid: name calling/insulting and avoid other kids who may want to fight
- Listen: calmly and figure out what the person really wants
- Move On: find ways to solve the problem without fighting (such as through humor, reasoning, or walking away)
In the case that your teen gets into a fight:
- Find out what happened and encourage open communication about it.
- Help your child resolve the problem rather than allowing them to provoke further fighting.
- Develop a safety plan for the future.
- Support your teen in the aftermath of the violent episode by spending time with them and making yourself available to them if they’d like to talk about their feelings or concerns.

Engage in conversation on a daily basis and familiarize yourself with your child’s life (ask them questions about their friends, school, and other activities).
Set up positive communication with clear limits and expectations.
Recognize warning signs in the case that your child might need help or is at-risk.
- Some warning signs include changes in school performance, skipping school, or a change in communication style.
Keep your teen safe:Start or join a parents’ support group.
- Know where he/she is after school (as the highest levels of violence occur the two hours following the end of school hours)
Join the PTA or parent’s council at your child’s school to get involved in their academic life.