Community Resources

School Resources

Bullying Prevention Resources

Community Resources

10 ACTION STEPS

if you find suspicious/hateful items like flyers, posters, graffiti, or notes/flyers in baggies with hateful messages:

1. DO NOT TOUCH IT! The police might need it to collect evidence, and you don’t want to disturb a potential crime scene.

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2. Take pictures. Snap photos and try to find something to add to the frame to give it a definite place/proximity. Do NOT use your phone to scan the QR code or access the information on the flyer.

3. Call the police! Call the non-emergency number for your local
police department. Be sure to get the name of the person with whom
you are speaking. Give them the location and send them your photos.

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4. Report it to the District Attorney’s office.
Call (215) 348-6344 or fill out the online contact form.

5. Contact The Peace Center. Call (215)750-7220, send an email to community@thepeacecenter.org, or scan below QR
code to fill out a bias incident form.

6. Do NOT start a social media campaign. The goal is to catch
the perpetrators, not to announce to the world what’s happening.

 

7. Discreetly let your trusted neighbors know what’s going on.

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You may also contact your neighborhood or homeowners association or apartment complex offices. Look around for or ask about security cameras, and try to gather images or video of the people doing the bad action.

8. Don’t give the hatemongers the satisfaction of knowing they created terror in your neighborhood!  It’s okay to be afraid, but also be smart, strategic, and tactical.

9. Follow up with the police.

10. Affirm the positive actions of your neighbors and your community to stop hatred and violence!

Scan QR code to fill out a TPC bias incident form.

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School Resources

Peace Begins at Home

Tips for talking with children about racism

Witnessing or experiencing racism and intolerance negatively impacts our kids.  Below are tips on how to support your child so that they can be Up-standers or allies in the face of bigotry.

  1. Educate yourself about issues of racial justice.

     

  2. Initiate the conversation with your child.  Controlling your child’s first exposure ensures they are getting accurate information in an age-approrpiate way.  Ask them what they’ve seen and heard.

  3. Reassure your child (when they hear about or are witness to racism) that they and their loved ones are safe and that you will take care of them.

  4. Use age-approriate language, explaining to your younger children that sometimes people are mean and unfair to different groups of people, and you don’t like it.

  5. Teach children strategies that they can use in different environments, like using a scrips and practicing how to stand up for themselves, or seeing out a trusted adult to tell.

  6. Role-play to help them and practice what to say during stressful encounters.  Have a default response will soothe a bit of the sting.

  7. Turn off the TV.  Repeated exposure to violent images is harmful to children.  Have conversations about what’s happening away from the TV.

  8. Do not perpetuate the myth that we live in a colorblind society.  When children receive this message they either feel ashamed when they experience discrimination, or are unable to recognize it and stand up to it when they witness it.

  9. Focus on empathy.  When a child says or does something that reflects bias or embraces stereotypes, point it out.  Guide the conversation toward empathy and respect.

  10. Create opportunities for children to spend time with and learn about people who are different from themselves.

  11. Model for your children that they should not accept bigotry, whether it’s directed at them or others.  Speak up when you hear a prejudiced remark.

  12. Ground your children in a worldview that includes their spirituality, family traditions, heritage, cultural values and self-respect.  They story you tell your children about who they are must be stronger than the story they hear from people who discriminate against them.

Bullying Prevention Resources

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20 Tips for Parents When Your Child Is Being Bullied

The basic definition of bullying is when someone keeps doing or saying things to have power over another person; there is a pattern of repeated and unwanted behavior and involves crossing into one’s space without permission.
WHAT CAN A PARENT DO?
  1. Encourage your child to report any bullying/ cyberbullying incidents to you.

  2. Validate what your child is feeling. It is normal for your child to feel hurt, sad, angry or scared.

  3. Let your child know it is okay to express their anger. There are positive and negative ways to express anger and we want to teach and model the positive ways.

  4. Monitor what you are feeling when your child brings this issue to your attention: check in to see how it affects you. Are you angry, or fearful, or has this information triggered a wound from a time in your life when you were bullied? Often children don’t want to tell us because they are afraid of what reaction you will have or that it will be upsetting to you.

  5. Ask your child how they have tried to stop the bullying. Asking questions is a good way to engage your child in problem-solving strategies. It can give them some confidence to help them gain some of their power back. Ask how they are going to solve this. We want the child to do the thinking before we jump in. See how many options they can come up with.

  6. Coach your child in alternatives. Ideally, the best solution is to have your child solve this without anyone interfering. However, this isn’t always possible – especially if social media is involved. If they are not being cyberbullied, you can share these strategies: avoidance is sometimes necessary; move to a different place at the school – away from the bully; stay near a supervisor or an adult you trust, look for new friends, join social activities outside of school to gain some new friends, and finally, tell the bully to leave you alone.

  7. Talk with your child’s teacher, principal, or guidance counselor. Make sure they are aware of what is going on at school.

  8. Encourage your child to seek help from school personnel they trust.

  9. Volunteer to help supervise activities at school.

  10. Do not ignore your child’s reports. Ignoring them sends the wrong message.

  11. Do not confront the bully or the bully’s family. They will get defensive or the problem can get worse.

  12. Teach your child how to defend him or herself if it is physical bullying.

  13. Teach self-respect at home. Do you model it yourself and in your family?

  14. Give numerous positive comments to your child.

  15. Avoid labeling or name-calling others.

  16. Let your children stand up to you now and then. They will be more likely to stand up to a bully.

  17. Teach positive self-talk.

  18. There are many other aspects of bullying to look at: Why your child is the victim, why people bully, what your child can do if he/she is bullied, signs your child is being bullied, what the schools should be doing, handling the school bus issues. All of these are addressed in The Shameful Epidemic, How to Protect Your Child From Bullies and School Violence. Visit www.stoppingschoolviolence.com to learn what is possible.

  19. There are solutions. The Peace Center helps students, schools and parents with these issues of bullying, cyberbullying, or other types of conflict and violence. Visit the website at thepeacecenter.org, or call 215-750-7220.

  20. You can get in touch directly with our Bullying Prevention team at: bullyingprevention@thepeacecenter.org