Bystander Intervention in an Urban Environment

Your Life is My Life, Ending Violence Starts With Me, created by ALSO, is a bystander intervention training designed to train individuals to intervene in situations that are violent or may lead to violence. Based in Chicago, IL, ALSO has been addressing community violence since 1998 and has developed the Ending Violence Starts With Me bystander intervention training to specifically engage community residents in doing what they can to end violence within the urban community context of gang violence, intimate partner violence/domestic violence, and bullying in order to create safer communities. In 2010, ALSO created the Ending Violence Starts With Me bystander intervention training to address everyday violence that exists in urban communities. Witnesses to this violence, often times, are desensitized and have a myriad of roadblocks to intervening (cultural norms, fear, don't know what to do, etc.). This training addresses those roadblocks, calling for participants to be self-aware of their limitations and biases while learning intervention techniques. ALSO has conducted this training for over eighty participants from local and national organizations, including community residents, outreach workers, domestic violence victim advocates, school staff, and others. The feedback and interest has been overwhelmingly positive with 90% of participants evaluating it with the highest mark possible. ALSO believes that ending violence starts with me is true for everyone and is an important component to ensuring community safety. In order to expect people to intervene they must possess skills and training needed to intervene safely. This training accomplishes that goal.