Programs for High School Students:
Strategies for Safe Living
IMPACT training addresses a broad range of personal safety. Some scenarios simulate imminent danger while others equip teens to communicate assertively in daily interactions with peers and strangers. Through realistic role-plays with trained instructors, students have the opportunity to practice resisting peer pressure and bullying, refusing unwanted attention from adults and peers, and communicating their needs and feelings to people they know. Mastering physical self-protection techniques and facing fears head-on gives teens the confidence to handle other difficult situations effectively.
Physical self-protection is always a last resort. Students are taught a variety of verbal strategies to deescalate a potential threat.
IMPACT teaches viable safety skills in a fun, interactive environment.
Age-appropriate safety skills include:
- Deescalating potentially threatening situations
- Responding to peer pressure, bullying, and strangers
- Effective self-protection strategies for sexual assault scenarios
- Essential self-protection skills
- Empowerment and self-confidence
- Specific content focused on date/acquaintance rape is available upon request.
Classes are taught by two instructors. One teaches physical and verbal skills; the other takes on the role of an assailant or a person who can’t be trusted. He wears a full suit of protective body armor so that students can physically defend themselves using the same amount of force they would need in an actual attack. Instructors stress that physical self-defense is always a last resort, and students learn numerous verbal strategies to avoid an altercation.
Scheduling
Programs range in length from 2- or 3-hour introductory workshops to full 20-hour courses. All programs can be tailored to fit the schedule of your school or youth group. Instructors are available to travel nearly anywhere in New England.
