Advocates for Victims of Assault, Inc. has recently developed what we refer to as our “Peace Maker Campaign”. This program was introduced to the Summit County School District during the 2005-2006 school year.

Thus far in 2007 we provided our Peace Maker Campaign to every class in every Elementary school in the Summit School District. As a result of our program, we received an award from the Summit County Optimists Club for providing excellence in education to the Summit School District.

The Peace Maker Campaign was initially created based on the principal that children live what they learn. Lundy Bancroft, an author and expert in treating violent offenders states, “An abuser is not born; he is made.” Similarly, non-violent and respectful citizens can be developed out of a culture of respect, tolerance and empathy; characteristics of a peace maker. We believe that characteristics that are modeled and publicly rewarded in our schools and community become important in the lives of our children.

In an attempt to create a culture of peace in our community we proposed our Peace Maker Campaign to the school district and were received enthusiastically. The Peace Maker Campaign has been introduced in a variety of ways. Developmentally appropriate activities were conducted at the elementary schools (in English and Spanish) and the Middle School. We began work on the creation of a student driven extracurricular group at the high school that will focus on peace making activities which model respect for the community and for each other. Finally, we were invited to be part of the Summit Education Celebration and presented an award to someone in the educational community who had demonstrated those leadership qualities that build a safe and supportive school through the prevention of violence and the healthy resolution of conflict.

In 2006 we received 6,177 calls for assistance. We sheltered 42 women, 4 men, and 30 children for a total of 714 nights of shelter. We provided housing to 3 women and 7 children in our Transitional Housing Unit. Also in 2006, twenty nine clients attended our free legal clinic. We responded to 28 sexual assault calls and 16 death calls. Our staff provided 75 outreach and education presentations to a total of 1,903 participants. Thus far in 2007, we have received over 2,560 calls for crisis response, counseling, emergency financial assistance, information and referral. We have assisted 59 clients with protection orders, safety plans and other legal advocacy. Our Clinical Services Coordinator has provided 40 free therapy sessions to 18 clients.

It is evident that our services are a necessary resource in summit County. The Peace Maker campaign is unique from the traditional work that we have done and will continue to do in the middle school and high school. Historically, we have concentrated our efforts on helping young people to identify unhealthy dynamics in relationships and provided them with crucial resources. While we believe that emphasis is valuable, the Peace Maker Campaign focuses on identifying, modeling and reinforcing healthy, peaceful communication and behaviors throughout the lifespan. The question we ask children and ourselves on a daily basis is,

“What can you do to be a peacemaker in your home, your neighborhood, your school and your community?”