Crowley ISD is Turning a Year of Trauma into a Tribute at the 2018 Victory Over Violence Walk/Run

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Posted On April 10, 2018

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The Women’s Center put together a guest blog post about their upcoming Victory Over Violence Run which will take place this Saturday, April 14, 2018:

In 2017, a span of less than 6 months, the Crowley ISD would lose two employees to intimate partner violence – both of whom many described as beautiful and loving.

This year, the district’s Coordinator of Student Health, Paige Williams, and the district Student Health Advisory Council chose to pay tribute to those lives by forming a team to participate in the Center’s 2018 Victory Over Violence Walk/Run, which will take place on Saturday, April 14, 2018 at the Duck Pond at Trinity Park. Said Williams, “I think over the years, several of our staff have participated, but it was important to us that the District have a coordinated effort in forming a team. We want to support this cause.”

Colleague Theresa Paschall, District Coordinator of Counseling Services, couldn’t agree more. “I think that with all of the things going on in the world, it is proactive to at least contribute to the awareness that violence is not ok! This is double fold, not just for the people we’ve loved and lost—but we have an incredible partnership with The Women’s Center where you guys touch every single student in Crowley ISD with a message of healthy lifestyles and safe living,” said Paschall.

That message is communicated to all students within the Crowley ISD through the Center’s Play it Safe!^® Program, which teaches children and adolescents how to recognize, respond and report sexual and physical abuse. The program became mandatory in all 23 schools within Crowley ISD in 2014. Since then, 47 students have made outcries of abuse or violence.

Mrs. Paschall was ultimately responsible for making the program mandatory in the district. “I just thought, we’ve got to have this. It becomes one more thing that we are putting in the students’ toolbox for keeping them safe, or if they have been violated or harmed, getting them to a safe place. If they are not safe, they are not learning. If It weren’t for Play it Safe!^® there would be some missed opportunities for students to make outcries. The program helped us intervene. We won’t always be able to identify every student that is being abused, but we are sure going to do everything we can to try!”

The partnership with the Center is a strong statement of how much CISD is embracing healthy relationships. “The recent incidents of violence brought an awareness to students of the signs of violence, even in their own lives. So, through Play it Safe!^®, they are learning preventative measures and what healthy relationships look like. In light of the violence we’ve seen, I think our administration, teachers and counselors are even more supportive and have a different appreciation for the impact of Play it Safe!^®” says Paschall.

Proceeds from the Victory Over Violence Walk/Run are used to support Play it Safe!^®, as well as to provide a continuum of care that helps survivors as they navigate their journey towards healing. To register for the Walk/Run or for more information, visit the website: https://www.vovfw.org/