Teams from as far as Alaska to travel to UNC for violence prevention institute
| January 26, 2006 | |
| Violence in all forms is a leading cause of death and injury nationwide. More than 100 people from 17 states will arrive at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Sunday, Jan. 29, to learn about preventing violence in their communities.The second annual PREVENT Institute will provide three- to five-person violence prevention teams with leadership training to create programs of primary prevention. The first institute was held in January 2005.
The six-day institute is part of PREVENT (Preventing Violence Through Education, Networking and Technical Assistance), a training program funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. CDC statistics indicate that 50,000 people die annually because of violence, 32,000 from suicide and 18,000 from homicide. One in four women is estimated to experience sexual violence by an intimate partner in her lifetime. During the program at UNC, teams will develop a violence prevention project dealing with youth violence, domestic violence, sexual violence, post-disaster violence, child abuse or suicide. They will continue to work in their communities with the guidance of a PREVENT coach for six months and will return to Chapel Hill in August to share their experiences. Teams this year come from states as far away as Alaska and from a variety of organizations, including health departments, schools, universities, and legal advocacy, medical and law enforcement agencies. PREVENT is part of a broader training program, the National Training Initiative for Injury and Violence Prevention, operated by two national organizations devoted to injury control: the Society for Advancement of Violence and Injury Research and the State and Territorial Injury Prevention Directors’ Association. The program is operated by the UNC Injury Prevention Research Center and the N.C. Institute for Public Health, based in UNC’s School of Public Health. # # # Note: Media representatives who wish to interview participants or Dr. Carol Runyan, director of UNC’s Injury Prevention Research Center and leader of PREVENT, should contact Jenny Cook at (919) 843-1672. PREVENT contact: Jenny Cook, (919) 843-1672 or jenny_cook@unc.edu. For further information please contact Ramona DuBose either by phone at 919-966-7467 or by e-mail at ramona_dubose@unc.edu. |
