Adults got a lesson in bullying.
A two-day Beyond the Hurt Adult Training course was held in Humboldt last week to help educate adults about bullying and harassment prevention.
Fifteen registrants from throughout the region participated in the course, hosted by the St. Dominic School Community Council through the Building Bridges Program.
"The St. Dominic School Community Council (SCC) has been trying to implement some sort of anti-bullying program to supplement what the school staff do," said Shari Hinz, SCC member. "So we decided to develop our own initiative with local agencies."
Grant funding approved by the Community Initiatives Fund allowed the school council to bring the Red Cross to Humboldt to facilitate the anti-bullying course.
Participants from Humboldt, Viscount, Watson, Nipawin and other communities attended the session, in efforts to gain the skills and knowledge necessary to lead their own anti-bullying prevention strategies within their respective schools and communities.
"This (course) is to educate adults about how to go into their communities and schools and talk to people about bullying prevention - how to create safe environments, how to bring awareness to the issue and how to create better, safer communities," said Jillian Cowen, RespectEd trainer with the Canadian Red Cross.
"Working as a group they get a chance to share ideas and share stories," she said of the training course. "It's a networking opportunity as well because they can learn what people in other communities are doing to prevent bullying."
The anti-bullying and harassment training was designed for parents and adults who work with children and youth.
The Beyond the Hurt program examined all types of harassment and bullying and discussed a variety of topics including how interpersonal power issues are expressed by young people, cyber bullying, intervention and prevention issues, proactive strategies for preventing harassment, abuse and bullying and how to work with youth in developing risk management strategies.
Hinz said the information learned would be brought forward by the St. Dominic SCC and applied to new anti-bullying programming and education for the students.
"It's an ongoing issue and as much as our staff try to give education there are still instances where bullying is happening," said Hinz. "Education is really key."
Cowen echoed the same sentiment and said it's important adults take a proactive stance against bullying and harassment.
"It's a whole community issue and it requires a community solution," said Cowen. "If somebody is being bullied in school that can be carried through into the rest of their lives, so in order to really educate people about it and to put a stop to it requires a whole community approach."
The Red Cross RespectEd program originated in 1984 and, in the last few years, has put great emphasis on anti-bullying and harassment prevention education.
