Child Assault Prevention Project (CAP)

Children Speak Out

Emily, a 7th grader, felt threatened when an older boy on the bus put his arm around her shoulders and said things that made her feel uncomfortable. Emily's school had offered the CAP program to the 8th and 9th grades, so she was unaware of the message, "Safe, Strong and Free." She didn't know that she could ask for help and tried to handle the situation alone.

When two 8th grade boys noticed what was happening on the bus, they approached Emily and said, "You don't have to take that. We learned in CAP that you have the right to say, NO, to move away and ask for help." The boys offered to go with Emily to the principal to report what happened on the school bus.

Upon arriving at school, the three students went directly to the principal. Later, the police were contacted, as well as the child's parents. All the school personnel involved in the incident were not only pleased that the students had advocated for the younger girl, they were amazed.

Initiating Change

Following one of our CAP workshops, a teacher told the CAP presenter about Teddy, a child in her 5th grade class who no one wanted to play with and who often proved difficult in the classroom.  She thought about how she had also never had anything good to say about Teddy.

She decided to find a positive comment and approached Teddy while he stood in line.  As she began to talk with him, the child's first response was, "What did I do now?"  As the teacher continued to compliment Teddy on a recent activity, his attitude slowly changed to one of shy pleasure.  The teacher said that the CAP workshop had a powerful effect on how she thought about each child in her class and her role in being supportive.

Finding The Right Words

A kindergarten teacher in a local school shared that after the events of Sept. 11, she was searching for the right thoughts and words to reassure her students. She

remembered the CAP staff in-service she had attended and thought "Safe, Strong and Free" - our message, was exactly the right one to use.

She incorporated the phrase into her daily discussions with both her students and her own family. She credits CAP for giving her the resources to deal with a situation beyond any she had ever imagined.

*Names used in success stories were changed to protect the identity of our clients.