Prevention - Violence and Injury

School violence, terrorism, and natural disasters are all crises that have the potential to affect school-aged children. With advanced planning, schools and communities can actively prepare to respond quickly to catastrophic events, and in many cases prevent them from ever happening. To help with this process, EDC’s National Center for Mental Health Promotion and Youth Violence Prevention (NCMHPYVP) is working with its school- and community-based grantees to create the systems and infrastructure to prevent, prepare for, and respond to crisis situations.

Violence, substance abuse, unprotected sex, and related risky behaviors take a tragic toll on the lives of individuals and their communities. To prevent these risks, we must first understand the factors and circumstances that contribute to risk-taking. EDC’s Center for Research on High Risk Behaviors (RHRB) conducts a variety of research projects that develop, evaluate, and disseminate effective interventions for reducing health risks.

Most of the 80 percent of teens who work enjoy a positive and enriching experience. However, teenagers in the workplace may be at risk for injuries on the job due to inadequate safety training, unsafe equipment, and stressful environments.

Adolescents living in high-poverty urban settings face complex challenges to their health and futures.

Responding to new data that reveals “deep and troubling” findings about dating abuse among U.S. teens, Senators Mike Crapo and Hillary Rodham Clinton are joining with Liz Claiborne Inc. Chairman and CEO, Paul R. Charron to announce the national distribution of the curriculum, Love Is Not Abuse, developed with EDC. The program is designed to help teens understand and prevent teen dating abuse and violence. During the week of April 24th, Love Is Not Abuse will be taught in over 365 schools in 37 states reaching more than 33,000 students.

Too often, pedestrian injuries are seen as “unavoidable accidents.” But Manténganse Alerta/Stay Alert aims to show children, their caregivers, and drivers how and why pedestrian injuries and deaths are preventable. Program materials are in the form of a “photo novella,” or a brief story with photos, and were developed for the Latino population of three Massachusetts communities—Holyoke, Chicopee, and Springfield—with funding from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

In September 2004, a 22-month-old boy climbed into an unlocked, parked car. The boy’s mother left for work, thinking he was playing next door. The outside temperature was 86 degrees, and the child died of hyperthermia.

Increasing numbers of people in different walks of life and professional roles are being confronted with the need to help others who are contemplating or attempting suicide as awareness and understanding of depression and suicide is growing. Friends, family members, teachers, and mental health and health care professionals are among the many people who are concerned about how they can prevent the suicide of someone they know.

In response to the prevalence of teen dating abuse and the importance of the issue described by teens themselves, Liz Claiborne, Inc. has funded EDC to create a high school curriculum, the Love Is Not Abusecurriculum, to educate and provide support and guidance to teens.