Safe Shores’ prevention efforts are rooted in the belief that adults are the first line of defense in protecting children from abuse. Utilizing evidence-informed curricula, including Stewards of Children®, Safe Shores provides adults with information about the impact of child abuse and child trauma and equips them with skills to recognize, respond to and prevent abuse. Our Prevention and Outreach Program also hosts a Caregiver Support Group for non-offending caregivers looking for information and peer support while caring for a child that has been sexually abused.
Darkness to Light’s Stewards of Children® and other Supplemental Trainings
These trainings teach adults how to prevent, recognize and react responsibly to child sexual abuse. Beginning with Stewards of Children® adults learn the facts about child sexual abuse, and best practices for recognizing, responding to and preventing abuse in their communities and organizations. For those that have completed Stewards of Children®, supplemental trainings take a deeper dive and further develop skills and challenges adults face when navigating abuse prevention in the real world.
Evaluation of the school-based Healthy Relationships Project
In fiscal year 2022 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) awarded a grant to fund a rigorous evaluation of the efficacy of The Healthy Relationships Project©, a school-based program for children in Pre-K through 5th grade. Developed by Prevent Child Abuse Vermont, The Healthy Relationships Project© is a primary prevention intervention that is deployed within school systems to prevent child sexual abuse. Over a two-year period, Safe Shores will lead the implementation of the program at 16 DC Public Schools and Public Charter Schools in wards 4-8 across Washington, D.C., and provide outcome data for this scientific evaluation.
Read more about Safe Shores’ involvement in this project here.
Community Outreach and Tabling
Child maltreatment is a complex issue that requires the cooperation of multiple organizations, service providers, and communities to address it appropriately and ultimately, to stop it. Safe Shores welcomes the opportunity to partner with local organizations and groups that are working to protect and improve the health and safety of DC’s children. If you would like a Safe Shores representative to be present at a community fair event, please contact Sheryldine Samuel (ssamuel@safeshores.org) for more information.
Upcoming Trainings
Support Safe Shores
Children need us around the clock. That’s why Safe Shores’ services are available 24/7, 365 days a year. Your contribution will help us provide our signature, child-friendly services — always free for clients.
