Providing A Safe Environment: Identifying At Risk Students,

Employees, and Citizens(Violence Prevention)

Presented By

Sherry M. Wilson, LCSWExecutive Director, UTEAP & WorkLife

Services

Your Local Fire Department

Efforts & Energy Expended: - 05% Extinguishing Fires- 95% Devoted to Prevention

The 4 C’s of Violence Prevention

• Commitment

• Culture

• Collaboration

• Communication

Commitment

• Everyone’s responsibility - Executive Leadership must lead the way

• Zero tolerance: implementation is key

• Make funding available to provide a safe environment

Culture of Safety & Respect• Environment of safety and respect for others• Differences and diversity are respected• Communication is encouraged and supported• Conflict is managed constructively• Emotional intelligence is encouraged as much

as educational & intellectual pursuits

Culture, con’t.

• Policies in place:– include all forms of violent behavior

– authorize designated personnel to meet and discuss identified “at-risk”persons

– conduct threat-assessment inquiries if necessary

– outline procedures for dealing with at-risk persons, breaking confidentiality and sharing information, when/how to refer to community resources, falsely accusing others

Culture, con’t.

• Maintain safe environment(including facilities, adequate security, phone zones,etc.)

• Adequate technologies to alert others of a crisis

• Culture that supports listening and encourages others to speak up if they have concerns about others

Collaboration

• Violence Prevention is a joint/collaborative initiative

• Use expertise of all major departments--HR, Facilities, Environmental Safety, Public Affairs, Telecommunications, IT, etc.

• Include students when possible/peer support

• Educate faculty, staff, and students with training

Collaboration, con’t

• Create a committee that is composed of critical representatives across campus--HR, Public Affairs, Facilities, etc., that meets regularly and has the authority to discuss identified “at-risk” persons and if necessary, conduct a threat-assessment inquiry

Communication

• Must first communicate to all faculty, staff and students about school’s commitment for a violence-free workplace and learning environment and that it is every person’s responsibility to help create that environment and culture.

Communication, con’t.

• It is better to over-communicate than under-communicate

• In collaboration with major departments, your primary communications department is critical in getting the word out regarding your initiative, policies, trainings and dates, etc.

Communications, con’t.• There must be a process whereby every

faculty, staff member, and student knows how and where to go to get information in times of a crisis.– School’s home page– brochures available in key locations– wallet cards– phone stickers

Communications, con’t

• Training on how to identify “At-Risk” persons and how to refer them for help must be made available for every faculty member, staff member, and student

• Involve your student association groups to help support involvement in initiative and in getting the training out to students

Communications, con’t.

• Some schools are asking for waiver from students to investigate a student’s behavior if behavior becomes a concern by others

• Many schools are “beefing” up their trainings on:

– conflict management

– emotional intelligence

– communication and listening skills

Communication, con’t

• Research reveals that every “attacker” interviewed has stated that they felt they had no one to talk to about their problem and saw no other choice to resolve their problem

• Positive mentoring program and supervisory/managerial relationships are the most critical tools in violence prevention

Identifying “At-Risk” Persons

• No specific profile; however...

• What is observed from other “attackers” are some common characteristics

• Common characteristics are same for students as they are adult co-workers, including faculty, with a few exceptions

• Only 1% of mentally ill use violence to resolve their concerns/conflicts

Identifying “At-Risk” Persons

• “Loner” behavior--old or new

• Most engage in some behavior that leads others to suspect or wonder….

• History of difficulty coping with losses

• May have had a recent loss or personal failure that they feel is “the last straw”

• Many have history of being bullied or feel persecuted or injured by others

Identifying “At-Risk” Persons

• Students usually more “overt”

-May hear conversations about weapon use

-May hear fantasy stories of harming others

-May be warned about target day

-May see excessive preoccupation with

video games, violent movies, etc.

-May see less personal hygiene

Identifying “At-Risk” Persons

• Faculty or staff usually more “covert” in actions, seldom signaling their intentions like students often do.

• Anger and/or rage “seething” below the surface, so often seem “touchy”, “irritable”, etc.

• May see more “overt” symptoms of depression--poor work performance, etc.

Identifying “At-Risk” Persons

• Motivation– Revenge for perceived injury or grievance

– Yearning for attention, recognition, or notoriety

– A wish to solve a problem otherwise seen as unbearable and/or unsolvable in any other way

– A desire to die or be killed

Helping “At-Risk” Persons

• Let the person know you are concerned about him/her.

• Never confront or deny their perceptions; try to support their feelings without necessarily agreeing with them (I am sure that must feel terrible for you.)

• Encourage and support them in looking into options for help.

Helping “At-Risk” Persons

• “You must be feeling terrible about this. I know I would. What options have you considered?”

• “I want to help but don’t feel I am expert enough. How about we think about the Counseling Center..They do more than therapy, you know. They can coach you on how to solve this problem”.

Helping “At-Risk” Persons,

• “Well, I know you aren’t too keen on the Counseling Center, but I really have been helped by them/know students, etc. Help me understand why you don’t want to make an appointment.”

• You may be able to reduce their resistance enough to get him/her to the right resource for help.

Helping “At-Risk” Person

• Goal is not to “solve” the problem

• Goal is to get this person to the appropriate resource

• Always make sure this “at-risk” person has been reported to the team meeting regularly to watch out for “at-risk” persons.

Questions?

Thank you for coming!

Sherry Wilson

713.500.3327