The Battered Women’s Shelter has developed a set of two free programs, each two hours long, called The Early Intervention Program and Stop the Cycle. These two courses are designed to educate those who take the courses on domestic violence and to help break the cycle of domestic violence and abuse for future generations to come.

The Early Intervention Program (EIP) course is designed to educate on domestic violence. This course not only defines domestic violence but gives statistical data about how our society is plagued with it. The EIP course then goes over the different types of abuse providing examples for each. This course also uses an important tool to help those taking it to be able to identify what an unhealthy abusive relationship looks like compared to a healthy relationship. We also teach different ways to identify anger along with other ways to cope with that anger instead of being abusive.

The Stop the Cycle (STC) course is that is designed to help show how the effects of domestic violence and growing up in a home with abuse can effect children. This course starts off by showing a 45-minute video about 4 different stories of 4 children who have grown up in homes of domestic violence and how it has affected them. After a discussion of the video, the course then goes on to look at how a child at different ages from birth to 18 can be affected by growing up in a home with abuse. We look at how it can affect their behavior, their physical development, their mental development and how those children often grow up to repeat the cycle of domestic violence/abuse by either becoming victims or abusers in future relationships. This course also provides information on healthy disciplining and parenting styles.

Both of these courses also provide resources within the community that can be utilized by those who need it.

If you are interested in signing up for these courses or would like to refer someone to take them please call 330-375-2679 or 330-375-2247 for more information on how to sign up. These courses are free.