Teen Talk
Prevention Programs
Relationship Education: A Choice for Hope (REACH)
Since 1995, Between Friends' REACH Program has provided education and prevention programming to 65,000 youth throughout the city of Chicago. Through discussion groups and classroom-based workshops, young people:
- Gain a better understanding of how to build and maintain healthy relationships;
- Learn about dating violence and how to prevent it in their own lives; and
- Get involved in education and prevention efforts with their peers, schools, and in the larger community.
The following chart describes the REACH Programs currently offered:
| Curricula | Content/Purpose | Age Group | Number of Sessions** |
Core Curricula |
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|
P.E.A.C.E. Preventing Early Adolescent Conflict through Education |
To increase student awareness about bullying and its detrimental effects and to help students understand how to relate to their peers in a healthy way. |
Grades 4-6 |
5 |
|
D.R.E.A.M.S. Discussing Relationships in Early Adolescence Makes Sense |
To define violence and help students understand the impact of gender stereotypes and hateful language, forms of abuse and warning signs of abuse in relationships, and characteristics of healthy relationships. |
Grades 7-8 |
9 |
|
S.T.A.R.S. Stop Teen Abusive Relationships |
To help students think critically about their own dating relationships, understand the roots of violence in relationships, and examine the effects of popular media on gender identity and relationship dynamics, while also developing skills that lead to healthy relationships. |
Grades 9-12 |
7 |
|
S.O.A.R. Stop Ongoing Abusive Relationships |
To increase awareness of dating violence, help students understand how to build healthy relationships, and identify options and supportive services for young people in abusive relationships. |
Grades 9-12 |
2 |
Peer Education and Leadership Initiatives |
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|
Peer Leadership Program |
To teach peer leadership to students who are selected by their school to assist students impacted by domestic violence and to create outreach projects to educate and encourage other teens to address this violence. |
Grades 7-12 |
5 |
|
S.K.Y. Girls' Groups Sharing and Knowing Yourself |
To offer guided discussions and activities that help girls gain problem-solving skills, discover tools for building self-esteem, and increase leadership abilities. |
Grades 7-12 |
6 |
|
J.A.M.M.A.N. Boys' Group Just About Men: Making Allies Now |
To foster increased self-esteem and self-knowledge, and to provide guidance and support for adolescent boys in developing healthy relationships and preventing gender-based discrimination and teen dating violence. |
Grades 7-12 |
6 |
Capacity Building |
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|
Train the Facilitator |
To provide training and technical assistance to youth-serving organizations to develop their own teen dating violence prevention programming based on the critically evaluated REACH curricula. |
Adults |
2, 8 hour sessions and on-going follow up |
* Individual sessions are one hour long unless noted otherwise.
For more information about scheduling a REACH program for your school, contact our Prevention and Education Manager at (773) 274-5232 x 26.