Prevention - Violence and Injury

Through rigorous research and data collection, our programs have helped to identify some of the complex social and behavioral factors that underlie injuries, violence, and suicide. We work to transform this understanding into effective policymaking, social marketing, and environmental programs that prevent violence and injuries.

Liz Claiborne Teen Dating Violence Curriculum

EDC is developing a teenage dating violence and abuse curriculum, Love Is Not Abuse, that will be taught in grade 9 English and health classrooms. Unlike other curricula on the subject, Love Is Not Abuse’s entry into the issue is unique; it will use brief, engaging texts (e.g., poetry, short stories, excerpts from screenplays, and theatrical plays) as a springboard to build young people’s awareness of how to make healthy choices in relationships and what to do if they are in abusive ones.

Child Rear Seating Among the Hard-to-Reach

EDC is launching a new initiative with the goal of increasing child rear seating in a low-income, ethnically diverse community (Brockton, Mass.) with a substantial Cape Verdean population. The project, a community-based intervention and evaluation, builds on EDC’s successful community-based Niños Atrás program.

New Resource for Preventing Child Deaths in Overheated Cars

No one knows how frequently children are left unattended in vehicles, but each year, several dozen young children across the U.S. die in parked motor vehicles from heat-related causes. There is no typical family affected by these tragedies. They occur to children whose parents are wealthy, and those who are not. They affect two-parent families, and those in which a parent is in jail or deployed overseas. Many of the children were strapped in their child safety seats when they died, indicating that parents were compliant with laws intended to protect their children.

Reading the Signs

With school shootings, prescription drug abuse, childhood depression, and other signs of youth distress making headlines, schools are grappling with mental health issues in ways they never have before. As director of the National Center for Mental Health Promotion and Youth Violence Prevention at EDC, Deborah Haber helps districts across the country develop effective health programs and policies.

Changing the Rules of the Game

A staggering number of children are involved in bullying. The EDC project ‘Eyes on Bullying’ helps adults develop new knowledge, skills, and strategies to prevent and address the issue.

Campus Security Begins with Caring

EDC’s Mort Silverman of the Suicide Prevention Resource Center authors this piece on the one-year anniversary of the mass shootings at Virginia Tech.

A Tireless Advocate

Larry Lewis rarely appears in the limelight. Sometimes he gets written up in a local Michigan newspaper, but he certainly doesn’t seek it out. Ask him about his work, and he’ll tell you that the truly inspiring work is being done by his wife, who has been a clinician for as long as he’s been a community organizer. Try to steer him back to his work, and he names everyone on his team and describes them all as indispensable.

Implementation Experiences of School and Community Violence Prevention Grantees

The purpose of this project is to identify and document implementation issues experienced by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration community and school grantees who received support to implement and evaluate youth violence prevention efforts.

Building Safe Communities

The “Building Safe Communities” newsletter promotes and guides the implementation of community-based traffic safety programs. Each issue contains case studies of local programs, information on initiatives by federal agencies and national organizations, descriptions of new resources, and a calendar listing conferences and other events.

Breaking Barriers . . . Rompiendo Barreras

In collaboration with community-based organizations, EDC improves the education and employment of Latina women and their families, and supports economic and community development in Waltham, Mass. Participants take courses in English, GED preparation, and computers, while developing life skills in the areas of child care, family advocacy, and community activism. They also explore career opportunities, moving into first-time jobs or improving their career prospects.