Green Dot program
works to reduce violence

By Jody Norwood
Tribune-Courier News Editor
jnorwood@tribunecourier.com

Marshall County – It might be as simple as turning away from a joke or making your presence known in a bad situation. It might be something small, but it could mean the difference when someone is in danger of being abused.

A new program coming to Marshall County is looking for ways to end abuse without confrontation. The Green Dot is a program designed to empower bystanders to stop violence and sexual assault. It works by adjusting attitudes to be less tolerant of abusive and dangerous behaviors, and by promoting positive conflict resolutions.

Green Dot is being introduced to Kentucky high schools after securing a $2 million Centers for Disease Control grant. The grant will fund a study to determine the impact the Green Dot program has on high school students, both from the program’s direct implementation and by working with the community.

“When we originally started it we wanted it to be a group of people who surround the students when they leave the high school,” said Purchase Area Sexual Assault Center education director Angie York. “If we’ve got the teachers and the school on board, and they’re using Green Dot talk at school, and then they leave the high school and no one else mentions it, they’re not going to connect with it. We want them to see it more than just when they’re at school.”

York said she sent out hundreds of letters, phone calls and other attempts to reach people in the community who spend time with the county’s youth outside school. Most of the respondents were people working inside the system familiar with abuse.

Projects and events have been discussed to help generate awareness among those not familiar with the initiative. A float for the Tater Day parade has been discussed, along with an awareness walk.