Avoiding Violence: Early Intervention Programs
I've spent the last few weeks writing about violence: how to prevent it, how to avoid it, and how to handle situations where violence actually arises.
Ironically, just this morning I received a press release about how the deeper roots of violence can be addressed -- in childhood.
As it turns out, there's an international outfit called Success for Kids that is devoted to helping children develop just the kind of emotional resources that help prevent them from becoming violent as adults. "The recent tragedy in Tucson, Arizona," reads the release, which was sent out yesterday, "underscores the urgent need for early intervention programs for children and adolescents whose daily circumstances cause anguish, inner turmoil and feelings of hopelessness and isolation.
SFK’s mission specifically focuses on "children and adolescents who lack proper social emotional skills, coping skills, and the tools to productively manage personal challenges and conflict," specificaly the kind of people who can end up feeling disconnected, isolated, and angry as adults. And those adults are more likely to commit crimes, abuse substances, and, yes, get violent.
“We are all affected by any hurt being inflicted on others, which is why reaching children and adolescents as early as possible in their lives with social emotional learning is key to their ability to adopt essential skills in communication, and problem solving, as well as a positive outlook in the face of life’s challenges,” Dr. Heath Grant, CEO of Global Education and Outreach for SFK-Success for Kids, Inc., says in the release. “When children develop a sense of responsibility, empathy and respect for others, it significantly impacts the course of their lives through the choices that they make.”
SFK is not the only company out there providing curricula on emotional intelligence, community building, and anti-bullying, of course. In fact, having participated in the search for such materials for my local public school district, I can tell you there are a LOT of them out there, with varying areas of focus and level of quality. But I like the way this press release frames the issue of why people become violent. In some cases, of course, the violence is due to a mental illness with at least some genetic components. In some, it's rooted in deep pain that started in childhood. And in many, it's due to a combination of both.
