The Anti Violence Advocate Society (AVAS) say they are thrilled to be announcing the Respectful Relationship Program “will finally be implemented in Barriere schools in February”.
“It has been a long time in the works, and we have definitely had our share of hurdles to overcome,” said an AVAS representative in a press release, “Our partnership with TRU has provided the expertise to advertise and hire our instructors, Alysha Piva and Dustin Doherty. They are already in training and are anxious to start working with the students.”
The support of the Barriere community has been instrumental in getting the Respectful Relationships Program to this point. Funds were raised to pay for training the instructors and to cover salary costs for the first two years.
The Respectful Relationships Program is a four year program that starts with the basics in grade 7, then the curriculum builds each year for grades 8, 9 and 10.
Topics covered range from bullying, to signs of dating violence, setting personal boundaries, domestic violence and all other aspects of interpersonal relationships.
“We strongly feel that by giving our youth the tools to help them recognize and deal with these issues it is an important step to reducing/eliminating violence in our community,” said the AVAS rep. We need to keep this program in our schools if we want to make an ongoing difference.”
AVAS also asks local ladies to please mark your calendars for Saturday, Feb. 25, for the organization’s Ladies Night. Put on your best hat and turn out to “Take the Reins” for their Kentucky Derby race night. Tickets are on sale now at Armour Mountain Office Services, Barriere and Area Chamber of Commerce, the District of Barriere and Estylo Hair Design.
For more information, call Barb Gordon at (250) 672-2111.
