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TOPICS
1. Become a Paid Coordinator of Peer Volunteers
2. Opportunities for Creating and Strengthening Peer Programs
3. The Best Peer Conference
4. A Review of a Peer-Based Anti-Bullying Video
5. Three Key Studies from Peer Research
BECOME A COORDINATOR OF PEER VOLUNTEERS
Pregnancy can be a difficult and troubling time. But so also can be the period of time following pregnancy. The Faculty of Nursing at the University of Toronto has established a project to determine the effect of peer assistance to reduce the likelihood of postpartum depression among new mothers who are at-risk. The study requires a Coordinator of Peer Volunteers and a notice requesting applications has just been issued. The closing date for submitting applications is June 23, 2004.
Responsibilities include designing and running a recruitment campaign to locate peer volunteers, assisting with the creation of a training program and running regular training sessions to meet the needs of recruited peer volunteers, developing and organizing a system to match appropriate peer volunteers with new participants, developing a process to ensure intervention implementation by the peer volunteers, and providing support to peer volunteers as required and keeping them current on issues and maintaining their enthusiasm through newsletters, electronic listserv and meetings.
The salary for the position is $35,596 with an annual progress to $45,483. Minimum qualifications include a post-secondary diploma in a related field or equivalent combination of education and experience, a minimum two years of experience in marketing, including developing advertising strategies; experience in developing training programs and material; experience with adult teaching; demonstrated organizational skills; and experience with new mothers or young families. Computer knowledge: experience with IBM compatible computers in a windows environment, MS Office Suite including Excel and Access, Adobe Illustrator, and audio-visual equipment will be assets.
The candidate should have demonstrated communication (oral and written) skills in group settings; one-on-one and e-mail skill; excellent interpersonal skills; ability to attend to detail; and use of a car will be required to support recruitment activities and provide training in the GTA.
Submit a resume and cover letter to: Sean Suleman, HR Generalist, Professional Faculties South, Human Resources Office, 40 St. George Street, 8th Floor, Toronto, ON M5S 2E4; E-mail: pfshr.office@utoronto.ca; or by fax to: (416) 978-0381.
People often say that this person or that person has not yet found himself. But the self is not something that one finds. It is something that one creates.
~ Thomas Szasz ~
OPPORTUNITIES FOR CREATING AND STRENGTHENING PEER PROGRAMS
1. COMPREHENSIVE PEER PROGRAMS LEADER WORKSHOP (Level I)
The focus of this workshop is on developing high quality peer programs and recruiting, selecting, training, and supervising volunteers to provide peer assistance. Emphasis is placed on the key components of successful peer-based programs in schools, universities and communities. The use of peers as mediators will be included. The course will take place: July 5-9, 2004 in Waterloo, Ontario and July 12-16, 2004 in Victoria, British Columbia. Space is limited to sixteen participants. The fee for the workshop is $753.50 and includes all materials, nutrition breaks, post-session consultation and membership in the Peer Resources Network. Additional information and online registration as well as accommodation information is available at http://www.peer.ca/trng.html or by calling 1.800.567.3700.
2. ADVANCED TRAINING FOR PEER PROGRAM LEADERS (Level II)
An advanced course for persons who have completed a Level I course and have at least two years experience with facilitating peer programs. Emphasis on training skill development, coaching others to create successful peer programs, and the latest trends, issues and resources associated with peer work. The course will take place: July 7-8, 2004 in Victoria, British Columbia. Space is limited to eight participants. The fee for the workshop is $550.00 and includes all materials, nutrition breaks and post-session consultation. Additional information and online registration as well as accommodation information is available at http://www.peer.ca/trng.html or by calling 1.800.567.3700.
3. FIRST NATIONS PEER PROGRAMS LEADERS WORKSHOP (Level I)
The emphasis of this workshop is on First Nations, Aboriginal, Metis, Inuit and Indian communities and has been designed for adults working with youth. The workshop integrates First Nations customs and traditions into state-of-the-art peer training principles. The merging of the Medicine Wheel with the Experiential Learning Cycle benefits any peer training program. The course will take place July 12-16, 2004 in Victoria, British Columbia. Space is limited to sixteen participants. The fee for the workshop is $753.50 and includes all materials, nutrition breaks, post-session consultation and membership in the Peer Resources Network. Additional information and online registration as well as accommodation information is available at http://www.peer.ca/trng.html or by calling 1.800.567.3700.
4. FIRST NATIONS PEER PROGRAMS LEADERS WORKSHOP (Level II)
An advanced workshop for persons who have taken the Level I workshop training and have at least one-year experience in facilitating peer programs for youth in First Nations communities. Emphasis on improving training skills and the use of peer work for community development and healing. The course will take place July 8-9, 2004 in Victoria, British Columbia. Space is limited to ten participants. The fee for the workshop is $550.00 and includes all materials, nutrition breaks and post-session consultation. Additional information and online registration as well as accommodation information is available at http://www.peer.ca/trng.html or by calling 1.800.567.3700.
All seminars are based on principles of adult learning and use experiential skill-building exercises and activities; builds on participant experience and ideas; provides focused input from the workshop leader; encourages sharing learning experience; provides a library of relevant resources; and provides a notebook and take-away trainer materials for each participant. Participants who complete any seminar will receive a Certificate of Completion and be eligible for Continuing Education Unit (CEU) credit. Additional information and online registration is available at http://www.peer.ca/trng.html. Or call 1.800.567.3700.
The key ingredient in giving feedback is making a point without making an enemy.
~ Grey Owl ~
PEER CONFERENCES AND EVENTS
National Peer Helpers Association 18th Annual Conference
Pre-conference Institute: June 24-26, 2004
Conference: June 27-29, 2004
The Hilton Hotel, Austin, Texas
Tel: (877) 314-7337; Fax: (866) 314-7337
www.peerhelping.org/
Compassion is about stepping outside yourself. It means acknowledging that you're part of something larger by finding a way to be of help, aid, and support for those we share the world with, even animals.
A REVIEW OF A PEER-BASED ANTI-BULLYING VIDEO
Common to several generations is the experience of bullying others, being bullied, or observing bullying. But never before has as much attention been paid to this form of deliberate, willful, and hostile action. It is no longer acceptable to consider bullying just a stage of growing up, a phenomenon limited to disturbed individuals, only associated with physical acts of aggression, or something only associated with boys.
While bullying is most pervasive in the elementary school years, it continues to occur throughout adolescence and into adult years. At first glance bullying may appear to be mostly physical, but students report many more cases of verbal bullying, including name calling, teasing, taunting and exclusion tactics such as ignoring, isolating, and emotional harassing. In addition while boys may engage in more physical types of bullying in the early grades, girls are equally likely to be involved as bullies but with an emphasis on using emotional bullying tactics.
To combat this phenomenon, which occurs with much more frequency than drug and alcohol problems, schools have developed anti-bullying programs, created zero-tolerance policies, and have established a number of prevention strategies.
Yet these approaches often lack two factors that are essential for a comprehensive system for reducing or eliminating bullying. The first missing ingredient is attention to the role of peers in assisting each other to deal with bullies and bullying. Too few schools have established programs engaging peers in the delivery of anti-bullying strategies and practices. When peers are available to provide support, practical ideas, and encourage referrals to adults, bullying is much more likely to be reduced or eliminated.
Another missing ingredient is helping students learn what to do when all other attempts to deal with aggression have failed to reach the desired response. Most anti-bullying programs typically rely on teaching students verbal skills or other escape tactics to reduce the likelihood of a bullying encounter. In many cases these are highly successful, but if they should fail, a student may be exposed to even more intense bullying and possibly tragic consequences.
Instead what is needed is a way to teach students how to physically defend themselves when other practiced methods fail. What is needed is a way that students can reduce the likelihood of being hurt or hurting someone else as they deflect the power of the bully.
The Bully Factor, a new 25-minute video, starring 12-year old and 2nd degree black-belt Patrick McKay, makes up for both of the missing ingredients in anti-bullying strategies. Speaking directly to the viewer, Patrick invites young people to join him as he demonstrates a number of defensive tactics to deal with the most common forms of physical assault. In several realistic enactments, he shows what bullies typically tend to do and then he details how to practice simple moves to thwart the aggressive actions and stop the physical encounter. He then replays the bully's attack and shows how the moves actually work.
All the "actors" in the video are young people, most of them much bigger than Patrick. His confidence, easy-to-understand moves, and youthful enthusiasm make the video highly engaging. In preparation for this review, we showed the video to a range of young people from 7 to 11 years old. They all thought it was great and particularly appreciated the parts where Patrick says, "Let's break it down" as a way to show each move in a step-by-simple-step fashion and in both slow-motion and real-time.
The video also includes comments by adult experts, other young people and even some fun "pop quizzes." The adult comments were not lost by our youth viewers in favor of the more physical and spectacular moves illustrated by Patrick. All the youth viewers recognized the importance of trying to work out a non-aggressive way to stop bullying, including contacting an adult for help, and agreed that defensive physical moves were a last resort.
One of the youth viewers we showed this video to even emphasized one particular move that he thought would be especially useful because of the number of times others in his class have used one of the bullying tactics depicted in the video. After just watching one showing of the video all the youth, with minor prompting, were able to reproduce the several moves shown by Patrick.
Another bonus of the video is that parents can benefit from watching as well. Without seeing the video parents might mistakenly think it encourages young people to engage in physical aggression as a way to cope with a bully. Instead the video promotes a method to reduce bullying and stop the bully from hurting others or hurting him or herself. Parents who are strongly against violence of any kind will likely see this video as a way of extending a non-violent way of reducing aggression against their own children.
The only thing missing from this video might be a "user's guide" that could help teachers and students learn even more actively how to integrate the lessons learned in the video. Because this video (1) uses student peers to show how to reduce the impact of bullying, (2) integrates the physical techniques shown into the context of effective bully prevention methods, and (3) provides youth people with specifics skills to defend themselves when other methods fail, we can highly recommend this video to any school or organization that wants to truly stop bullying from interfering with safe learning environments.
Purchase this video online from Revelation Martial Arts or call 1-888-BULLY95. This review was adapted from a series of reviews of the best peer-based resources at http://www.peer.ca/helping.html.
Good listeners are not only popular everywhere, but after awhile, they know something.
~ Grey Owl ~
WHAT'S NEW FROM THE PEER ASSISTANCE LITERATURE
Peer Resources continually scans the professional and popular published literature to find articles of interest to people involved in peer assistance. Three of several hundred recent additions to the searchable, annotated bibliography at www.peer.ca/SearchB.html are:
Latkin, C.A., Sherman, S., and Knowlton, A. (2004). HIV prevention among drug users: Outcome fo a network-oriented peer outreach intervention. Peer Facilitator Quarterly, 19, 3, 111-123.
This study was originally published in the 2003 issue of Health Psychology and the researchers found that a psychosocial intervention emphasizing prosocial roles and social identity, and incorporating peer outreach strategies, reduced HIV risk in low-income, drug-using communities. What makes this reprinted article stand-out is that it is followed by an analysis by Dr. Barbara Varenhorst, considered to be the founder of peer work, as to the degree to which the peer outreach intervention matched the standards for peer program delivery created by the National Peer Helpers Association. This is the first critique of its kind and is highly instructive in assessing whether peer programs described in research studies are truly peer programs.
Bell, M.L., Baker, T.K., Bliss, K., Jones, K., and Falb, T. (2004). Protecting You/Protecting Me: An alcohol prevention program for elementary students taught by peer helpers. Peer Facilitator Quarterly, 19, 3, 126-135.
High school students enrolled the peer assistance leadership program (PAL) in Orange County, California used a prepared curriculum to teach alcohol prevention to classrooms of elementary students. Peer helpers showed improved perception of alcohol risks, and improved their teaching skills as well as their understanding of children and brain development. The elementary students made significant improvements in media literacy, vehicle safety skills, and brain development.
Taub, D. (2002). Student leadership training: A workbook to reinforce effective communication skills. Blue Ridge Summit, PA: Scarecrow Press.
The best student workbook to accompany any peer training program that includes communication skills as a core focus. Designed by experienced students and one of North America's most accomplished peer trainers, this workbook provides exercises, activities, and information that will accomplish two major school-based peer program goals: (1) provide proven, high quality experiential training for students; and (2) serve as a credible and tested curriculum guide for peer programs that give student volunteers credit towards graduation requirements. Available from Amazon.com.
The Peer News has been provided by Peer Resources <www.peer.ca/helping.html>. To become a member of the Peer Resources Network and receive a similar monthly publication as well as a print magazine on peer assistance, mentorship and coaching, visit <http://www.peer.ca/PRN.html> or call 1.800.567.3700 in North America or 1.250.595.3503 outside of North America. To be removed from this mailing list send an email to <info@peer.ca>.
~ WISHING YOU A JOYOUS HOLIDAY SEASON ~
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