News From ACT in the Communities April/May 2005 Highlights

The following are highlights from ACT in the communities and those who make it a reality!

Mary Arredondo, PhD
Tempe, AZ

ACT in Arizona

ACT trained facilitator, Mary Arredondo, is bringing the ACT Training Program to communities throughout the state of Arizona. In these communities, she seeks to educate professionals, teachers, childcare providers and parents on the importance of how to prevent child abuse and violence. Arredondo says her efforts are based on her experience as a former school psychologist for 25 years. She has experience training community members throughout the state, recently leading a state campaign to quash behavior problems. After learning about ACT, Arredondo became involved to pursue her passion to increase awareness about the effects of violence among young children.

Operating independently, Arredondo has trained several hundred people through ACT Workshops, presenting half-day training sessions at state conferences as well as two-day training workshops. She has acquired support from the Arizona Association for the Education of Young Children, Tempe Communities in School, and the Arizona Department of Education. “I have seen an increase in childhood aggression and behavior problems in many schools. Parents and adults caring for children are the most influential teachers of young children,” says Arredondo.

The following is reprinted with permission from the Daily Press newspaper in Hampton Roads, VA:

Curbing the violence: Newport News offers a program to teach residents how to prevent violence through role models and nonviolent problem solving.

By Kym Klass/Special to the Daily Press
February 17 2005

Working with adults who care for young children sends a clear message that it's not up to an individual to modify the attitude of a child, but that it works better as a group, a community, effort.

It's that support system that William Goodwin is striving to bring together through ACT - Adults and Children Together - Against Violence, a prevention project focused on adults who raise, care for and teach children from birth to 8 years old, giving training on violence prevention.

Goodwin has been the ACT community coordinator for the program in Newport News since May. The organization serves all of Newport News - and all socio-economic statuses.

The program, a component of the Healthy Families Initiative, is designed to prevent violence by providing young children with positive role models and environments that teach nonviolent problem solving. Two modules are used: adults who work with young children; and parents of young children.

"I really thought ACT would meet the needs of the community," he said. "Because of all the violence, there needed to be a program to curb the violence. I don't believe in just talking about things. What we're doing is proactive ... people trying different methods of handling anger issues, problem solving. It's more of a support system."

The rationale behind ACT includes:
Violent behavior is largely learned early in life
Violence prevention can be learned starting early in life
Adults shape the learning environment for young children
Adults can learn how to model and teach young children constructive ways to cope with anger, frustration and conflict

One reason Goodwin said he got involved in ACT is because of his connection to fatherhood.

"I cannot do it for someone else, if I can't do it for myself," he said. "My 11-year-old is my check and balance. He keeps me in check. I have to make sure I do right. I use every moment as a teaching moment."

ACT program directors from Washington, D.C., gave a presentation in Newport News in 2002, and by December of that year, Goodwin was trained as a facilitator.

"ACT is a partnership with parents and professionals. We're there as support," he said. There are 45 facilitators in Newport News; Goodwin trained 19 of them.

Facilitators work with families and professionals in the community who work with children in four different areas: anger management; social problem solving; discipline; and the impact of media violence.

The goal for the upcoming summer, Goodwin said, is to include ACT for school teachers and counselors.

"We want to make sure when the children go to school and back home, there's some sort of continuity," he said.

Goodwin, a retired Air Force master sergeant, said facilitators are disseminators of information, and hopes parents take information learned and spread it to others.

"I believe we have future leaders, leaders that can be anything they want to be," he said. "We can help them achieve."

Groups that have called ACT include: faith-based groups, housing developments, child care providers, and others involved in working with children.

Asked why the program is a success, Goodwin said, "Because of our community partners, such as the military, health department, city libraries and school districts. Our goal is to make it safer to grow up in the city. We can see that it's making a difference."

At the same time, Goodwin said adults need to make sure they behave appropriately.

"When you get angry, how do you handle it? Because children will watch and learn from you," he said.

Copyright © 2005, Daily Press