Education

Be the change our community needs

Community Safety Network volunteers are referred to as advocates and our volunteer training is called “Advocacy Training.”  

 Training is split into two sections. Advocacy 1 is for any and all community members who are curious to learn more about the dynamics of abuse and how they can advocate for a culture without gender-based violence. If you desire to volunteer alongside clients, then you can continue onto Advocacy 2, which focuses on direct-client service, therapeutic support tools, and helpline scenario practice. Each section is a total of 18-20 hours, and mostly virtual. Training is free and offered a couple times a year. 

Fill out our volunteer interest form in order to be notified of our next advocacy training. 

[Notify Me: https://www.volgistics.com/appform/1804017250] 

Building a local support network 

In November 2021, the Jackson Hole Behavioral Health Needs Assessment results indicated that Latina women experience higher rates of intimate partner violence than their white peers. 

 In January 2023, the Community Safety Network partnered with Voices JH, Teton Behavioral Health, and Teton County Public Health to create a new pilot program, the Latina Empowerment Circle. Utilizing the Si, Yo Puedo curriculum by Catherine Fuchsel (2018), the program is a 9-week-long learning experience promoting education on domestic violence, consent, self-esteem, parenting, and healthy relationships using a culturally relevant, strength-based framework. 

 The response to the pilot was profound, with a waiting list for the first course. Participants reported an increased awareness of the dynamics of domestic violence and where to seek community resources. They experienced personal growth and established support networks, praising the accessibility, clarity, and cultural relevance of the program.  

The Latina Empowerment Circle expanded in 2024 to include a second session for the first two cohorts. The third cohort will begin in February of 2025. If you are a Latina woman in the Teton area and interested in joining the third cohort, please email adrian@csnjh.org. 

Creating workplaces that do not tolerate violence 

CSN offers sexual harassment prevention training with a focus on prevention and tailored to your unique workplace environment. Check all the best practice boxes while also inviting your employees to take ownership over the culture of your workplace through comprehensive prevention discussion. 

In addition to sexual harassment prevention, CSN offers workplace trainings in the style of “lunch and learns” on the dynamics of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking, and how to support survivors both within the workplace and in every-day life. For our community partners, we offer workshops on our services and systems in order to keep our working relationships across the community as successful and smooth as possible.  

CSN is more than happy to build custom presentations for any group on our work, the dynamics of abuse, how to support survivors, and/or violence prevention. If you have any request or question, please reach out to adrian@csnjh.org.  

Empowering service industry staff to make a difference  

Safe Bars is an organization that helps bar and restaurant staff create a safe and welcoming environment for patrons, and safe and respectful workplaces for staff. Whether between customers, staff members, or between staff and customer, Safe Bars provides alcohol-serving establishments with the tools to prevent and address sexual assault and harassment.  

Thanks to generous funding from the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole, CSN brought the Safe Bars experts to our community to offer their train-the-trainer program to local individuals and businesses. Now, Jackson has a team of Safe Bars trainers that are available to train staff of any alcohol-serving establishment in sexual violence and aggression prevention. 

Why is this important? 

1 in 4 women will experience some sort of sexual violence in their lifetimes. 

50% of sexual assaults involve alcohol 

1 in 6 men will experience some sort of sexual violence in their lifetimes. 

Rates of sexual assault are highest for young adults up to age 34. Approximately one in four women and one in six men will experience some sort of sexual violence in their lifetimes. Jackson Hole has a large population of young people, a thriving bar and restaurant scene, and a high level of transiency. Sadly, sexual violence happens everywhere, and Jackson is no different. With Safe Bars, we can empower folks to make a difference addressing a problem that often seems overwhelming in scope. 

From active bystander skills to de-escalation techniques, Safe Bars trains service industry staff in keeping alcohol-serving establishments safe and violence-free. 

Please reach out to adrian@csnjh.org to schedule a time for your bar/restaurant staff to receive the 2.5-hour training to certify your establishment as a Safe Bar. 

Raising awareness about healthy and unhealthy relationships 

The Peer Advocate program, a longstanding collaboration between Teton County School District and Community Safety Network, has been active for over a decade. Meetings occur about every other week at Jackson Hole High School. The club comprises 9th-12th grade students who are committed to enhancing community safety.  

Our primary focus lies in raising awareness about healthy, unhealthy, and abusive relationships, as well as consent. We conduct awareness campaigns and educational events within the school community. Additionally, we strive to reassure survivors within the school that there are individuals dedicated to creating a better world and that they are not alone. We firmly believe in and support survivors. 

Each year, CSN selects one student who has gone through the Peer Advocate training to receive the Peer Advocate Scholarship, a financial award towards college tuition in partnership with the Fund for Public Education. This year, the winning student will receive $2,000 and be honored for going above and beyond in their support and advocacy among peers of CSN’s mission. 

Introducing healthy dating and relationships in middle school 

Dating 101 is a middle school club that focuses on respect in relationships. Though the discussion of romantic relationships is the exciting stuff that gets them in the door, the tenets of healthy relationships are actually the same for both friendships and romantic relationships. In this club, we discuss the foundations of healthy relationships: trust, respect, communication, fun, kindness, vulnerability, honesty, etc. We create an honest, frank, and age-appropriate space to answer questions about dating. We play games, we eat candy, we watch videos, we do skits, and we talk about (and eat) FRIES. (link to blog article) 

 Our goal with Dating 101 is normalize the often nervous, awkward, and inaccurate information around dating relationships, and establish an everyday culture of consent where everyone feels safe, respected, happy, and healthy in all of their relationships.   

Facilitating athlete leadership and empowerment 

Athletes as Leaders is a national violence prevention program from the Seattle-based nonprofit Futures without Violence that uses girls’ athletics’ teams practice time to engage young people in conversations around respect and healthy relationships. Almost ten years ago, Jim Jenkins, CSN advocate, teacher, and coach reached out to CSN to dedicate some of the girls’ swim team practice time to violence prevention, recognizing how important consent education is for young people.  

 Having just wrapped up our 8th year, what began as a violence prevention effort using Athletes as Leaders pre-written curriculum, is now a unique female athlete empowerment program with custom curriculum written anew each year by CSN. We discuss consent, healthy relationships, bystander intervention, sexism, and how to best support each other – and whatever other topics are plaguing young female athletes.  

 In 20-minute increments across eight sessions, this program uplifts athletes’ unique leadership styles and gives them skills to navigate tough conversations and dynamic environments.   

Conversations about relationships and mental health 

Coaching Boys into Men (CBiM) is a national violence prevention program that connects athletic teams with advocates like Community Safety Network. Through partnerships with the Teton County School District and Jackson Hole Youth Soccer, we brought CBiM to Jackson, emphasizing coaches’ influential role in shaping young athletes’ lives. CBiM involves 8-12 short conversations delivered by coaches on essential topics such as digital boundaries, bullying, mental health, and respect for women and girls.  

 Given athletes’ common role as leaders among their peers, this program serves as a preventive measure by instructing young male athletes in crucial relationship skills and mental health strategies related to violence and abuse.