At PEACEMAN, we believe that positive youth and parenting development is vital in providing our young people with the skills and tools that can ultimately translate into more positive social behaviours and reduced risk-taking behaviours. Here you will find a number of programs that are designed to bolster safety and strong leadership as assets of positive youth development in our communities.
Hit the Road: ESCAPE to Safe Driving Habits
“Hit the Road” is a novice driver’s program that will prepare the young driver to work to overcome the lifestyle identified as the most at-risk for driving related danger. Motor vehicle collisions remain elevated among novice teen drivers for a least several years after licensing. Licensing policies and driver education are the two primary countermeasures employed to decrease young driver collision risks. This program is instructed by an experienced traffic enforcement officer and former firefighter and Emergency Medical Responder. Years of patrolling Alberta highways and communities and responding to traffic collisions resulting in both injury and fatalities, we believe that the earlier intervention in early driving experience puts the driver ahead of the game in understanding the reality of driving, both the advantages and the risks. Knowledge is power! Topics include impaired and distracted driving, learning about driving with courtesy, respect and patience while behind the wheel, learning about common offences, traffic stops and the traffic court process.
The First Few Steps: Developing Emotional Intelligence in Youth
The youth version of PEACEMAN’S “The First Few Steps” program provides training in leadership development designed especially for youth to create an understanding the role of the intricacies of the self and social effects on leadership; understanding the necessity of effective communication in order to effectively market one’s self in the social world and the upcoming workplace; and understanding the options available in order to effectively manage conflict. “The First Few Steps” Leadership Program approaches leadership development from an Emotional Intelligence perspective, allowing participants to explore both interpersonal and extrapersonal qualities necessary in order to lead the self and others.
Cyber Bullying: The New Sticks and Stones
This program is designed for parents who want to learn more about cyberbullying, and what they can do in the event that they’re child is a victim or perpetrator. Cyberbullying involves the use of communication technologies such as the Internet, social networking sites, websites, email, text messaging and instant messaging to repeatedly harass someone. Cyberbullying has become a damaging activity from which there really is no escape, as no longer is bullying contained within the school, or on the playground. Technology now allows for 24 hour a day harassment not only in school and on the playground, but also in the living room and the bedroom.
Stranger Awareness
Research has shown that children can be trusted to know dangerous situations and how to appropriately respond. Stranger awareness helps prepare children to recognize a stranger as a person who is not a trusted adult and to encourage children to remove themselves from the situation. Knowledge is power!