Charlotte County group takes new approach to stopping violence

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. They sat in an ordinary conference room on an ordinary morning, listening to stories that were anything but ordinary.

Elyse Clark told the story of her beloved grandmother: A woman of limited means who scrapped together enough money to have a houseful of supplies for those in need.

But when Clark was a child, her grandmother’s husband shot her six times before pulling the trigger on himself the night before Thanksgiving.

“The next morning on Thanksgiving, her kids were going to show up to see their mom cooking Thanksgiving lunch, but instead find her murdered,” Clark said.

Clark’s story was just one component of a recent day-long bystander training at the Charlotte County Health Department. The aim is to promote the idea that violence is a problem shared by all.

That’s the mission of Charlotte County Green Dot, a local chapter of a national nonprofit out to prevent interpersonal violence.

Green Dot boasts the results of a study published by the Center for Disease Control on its website, claiming that interpersonal violence at Kentucky High schools significantly decreased after implementation of the organization’s bystander training programs.

In the past, violence prevention focused on the victim and usually centered on teaching self-defense to women, Charlotte County Green Dot coordinator Chris Hall said.

Green Dot takes a broader approach.

The training programs include scenarios where participants are asked to explain the level of responsibility they feel toward situations like sexual assault, child abuse and workplace violence.

“I got the perception [from] everybody that was there, when they walk out of there, if they saw something, they were finally going to do something about it,” training participant David Cormier said.

Charlotte County is the only Green Dot outpost in Southwest Florida, but training sessions are open to anyone who reserves a space ahead of time.

A bystander training will be held from 9 a.m to 3 p.m. July 17 at Fellowship Church of Englewood on 140 Rotonda Blvd. West.

Reserve a spot by calling the Center for Abuse and Rape Emergencies at 941-639-5499 or clicking on Charlotte County Green Dot’s Facebook page.