By now most of our Maysville residents have either heard the term “Green Dot” or have seen the banners on Second Street.
Perhaps you’re one of the people still left asking, “what is Green Dot?” Green Dot is a violence prevention model that was developed on and for college campuses. The Journal of Preventative Medicine published a study showing that rates of perpetration were reduced by 17-21 percent in high schools that implement Green Dot. Green Dot actually does work to prevent violence.
The Green Dot goal is to create a safer community. As a Green Dot community, we want to establish two new social norms — violence is not OK and everyone is expected to do his or her part. This might sound intimidating, but it is not dangerous or difficult. If anything, being a bystander is exciting and gives you a sense or camaraderie when you see fellow Maysvillians wearing Green Dot gear.
So, why call it Green Dot? Think of an apocalyptic movie with a map covered in red dots that symbolize an outbreak. Now that you have that mental picture, imagine the same map only this time the red dots symbolize a moment in time where someone’s words, choices, actions or behaviors contribute to or tolerate violence in anyway. We, as Green Dot bystanders, do not think people themselves are problems that need to be solved. Everyone has the choice to create a red dot or a green dot. We do not judge people as “bad” if they create a red dot. Rather it is the action of violence that we hope to change and ultimately prevent. Our goal is to cover the red dots with green and eventually fill the map in green dots.
Bystander training focuses on three D’s of conflict prevention/resolution and identifying behaviors that have the potential to be high-risk. The D’s depend on your personality. Being an active bystander doesn’t require you to change who you are.
The first D stands for direct. A person with a bolder personality might see an argument unfolding in a restaurant and approach it head on. A direct approach might involve the bystander approaching the troubled table and sound something like this, “Hey is everything OK here?” This action calls attention to the action (red dot) hopefully changing the tone of the conversation. The second D stands for distract. Say there is a heated conversation happening in a store isle. A clever Green Dot approach would play out something like this — the bystander pulls out an old receipt or a dollar bill and asks the quarreling couple, “did you drop this?” This gives the couple a second to step back and cool off. The last D stands for delegate. This is a shy person’s favorite method. In this scenario, a person witnesses an argument heating up outside a department store. This bystander would tell the store manager who can hopefully deploy some Green Dots. Here, the bystander responded in the way that felt most natural and safest to him or her.
Bystander training prepares you to analyze situations and determine what could potentially turn violent, so you can act before that happens. Just because you have had bystander training does not mean we want you putting yourself in harm’s way. If you come across a dangerous situation, call the police. Police officers are highly trained individuals with tactics on de-escalation and conflict resolution. Police officers cannot be everywhere every minute of the day or night. So, it is our responsibility to recognize the need and embrace the duty of caring for other’s safety, not just our own.
The only way Green Dot (violence prevention) will sustain itself in our community is if we all agree on these elements: believe there is an issue, believe we all are a necessary part of addressing the issue, know what to do and how to do it (though bystander training), and feel our contributions are manageable.
The next bystander training is Tuesday, Oct. 30 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., at the Woodman Community Center, 621 Sawmill Pike, Maysville, off Kentucky 9 AA Highway across from Walmart. Lunch will be provided.
Don’t miss out on the free webinar on Wednesday Oct. 24at 1:30 p.m. (Café Cream is hosting a viewing party.) Christy Burch, the Women’s Crisis Center’s executive director, and Melissa Greenwell, Maysville’s Director, will be broadcast live on a national webinar hosted by the CDC. This free webinar is called Interventions That Work: Preventing Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Among Youth. During their time on the webinar, Christy and Melissa will be discussing the history of Green Dot.
Visit “Green Dot Maysville” on Facebook to share your green dots.
