S.H.A.R.E: 'What's in it for Us is a Safer Community'

Monroe is taking a stand against bullying and domestic violence and the bullies are on the run. According to Debra Greenwood, director of The Center for Women and Families, the number of abuse cases the center handled in Monroe fell from 180 in 2011 to 103 last year.

Greenwood attributes the drop to the The Center for Women and Families' satellite office drawing attention to the serious issue of domestic violence, early intervention programs at Jockey Hollow Middle School and center employees and police officers working closely with troubled families before problems escalate.

She made a presentation on the S.H.A.R.E (Safety and Healthy Relationship Education) program to the Board of Education during its meeting on Monday night. S.H.A.R.E is taught in Eileen Pannese's classroom at Jockey Hollow Middle School with the help of Police Officer Nicole Buckley.

Greenwood, who lives in Monroe, said S.H.A.R.E has a positive focus in teaching children what a healthy relationship looks like. It also deals with issues like teen dating violence, cyber bullying and sexual assault.

"We're teaching life skills to prevent something bad from happening as these students enter high school, then college," Greenwood said.

Among the skills are conflict resolution, showing empathy and respect for others and what to do as a bystander when bullying is going on.

"Our goal and what's in it for us is a safer community, so we don't see more abusers and perpetrators and we see less victims," Greenwood said.

S.H.A.R.E's motto is "Hands are not for hitting. They're for shaking hands." Greenwood told the board she was proud to say the three-year-old program has been recognized as a statewide best practices model.

Greenwood said 85% of victims of domestic violence are female, but the program is gender neutral with both male and female educators. She said this gives the message that abuse happens to young boys as well.

She gave the school board a "frightening statistic" to illustrate the importance of early intervention programs: Every day 160,000 children in the U.S. are afraid to go to school because they are victims of bullying or an unhealthy relationship.

"If we don't address it, 25% of these kids will grow up to be abusers," she said.

The Center for Women and Families serves six towns in Eastern Fairfield County. In Monroe, it enjoys the strong support of Police Chief John Salvatore and works closely with Det. Kelly McFarland.