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Here is how vulnerable seniors learned to protect themselves from danger…
In a workshop for elderly people in a high-crime neighborhood, the participants described the dangers they faced daily, just going down the hall in their apartment building or walking down the block to get groceries.
They practiced skills as simple as crossing the street to get away from a threatening person instead of staying close to danger and acting tough; they assessed their routes and identified businesses where they could get help if they were being harassed or followed; they learned how to use their own voices to protect themselves from predators. The smiles and new confidence felt electric. They said, “Now I feel like I have found my own power, and it is freeing me from fear.”
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Published: December 30, 2021 | Last Updated: December 30, 2021
Irene van der Zande, Kidpower Founder and Executive Director
Kidpower Founder and Executive Irene van der Zande is a master at teaching safety through stories and practices and at inspiring others to do the same. Her child protection and personal safety expertise has been featured by USA Today, CNN, Today Moms, the LA Times, and The Wall Street Journal. Publications include: cartoon-illustrated Kidpower Safety Comics and Kidpower Teaching Books curriculum; Bullying: What Adults Need to Know and Do to Keep Kids Safe; the Relationship Safety Skills Handbook for Teens and Adults; Earliest Teachable Moment: Personal Safety for Babies, Toddlers, and Preschoolers; The Kidpower Book for Caring Adults: Personal Safety, Self-Protection, Confidence, and Advocacy for Young People, and the Amazon Best Seller Doing Right by Our Kids: Protecting Child Safety at All Levels.