Submitted by Cricket Hawkins
Breckenridge
Mountain Communities
The Mountain Communities hosted IMPACT Personal Safety Colorado for a two-day training at Summit County’s South Branch Library in Breckenridge. IMPACT’s Empowered Family: Child and Caregiver Safety Program is a strength-based, primary prevention, program that focuses on skills and topics appropriate for each participant or group including boundary setting, bully and abuse prevention, self-advocacy, and personal empowerment.
“I found tremendous value in it for my 2 daughters ages 7 and 9, and me. My girls learned how to stand up for themselves to children in bullying situations and how to stand up to an adult if that adult were to do something that made them uncomfortable. Most importantly they learned how to tell a parent about it. These are situations that are sometimes hard to talk to your children about without scaring them. Impact provided training that made my daughters feel strong and confident, not scared and fearful. One of the most important things that was taught to the girls was to trust their instinct if something doesn’t feel right (or if they get “bad butterflies”) and to listen to it. My daughters and I were taught how to fight off an abductor, which was empowering for all of us. This training was a thought provoking (and sometimes emotional) experience and the things that I learned will make me more aware of my surroundings, a better listener, and ultimately, a better parent. I would recommend this for any mother that has children, and any child (boy or girl).” “This experience was beyond words! I went through every emotion as the team set us up and trained us for situations that we hope will never happen to us. My 7 year old daughter and I learned how to use our verbal language, body language, and finally how to fight back to protect ourselves. I feel that this training has changed my life. I am not afraid to stand up for myself and my family if ever anyone tries to hurt us. Impact Colorado is an amazing group of people!”
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