Harbor House believes that prevention is a key part of ending domestic abuse. It is essential that our community have a deep understanding of prevention concepts in order to stop the intergenerational transmission of abuse and build a stronger, healthier society. We invest heavily in the area of prevention with the hope of one day making every community a Project Courage Community.
In A Project Courage Community
- Children do not have to fear coming home from school and can grow into physically, mentally and spiritually healthy people.
- Schools have mediation clubs, peer counseling and safe ambassadors who will provide support for youth in difficult situations, whether it is dealing with abusive dating relationships, bullying or teen pregnancy.
- Youth are offered mentoring and leadership programs, like DELTA Boys and DELTA Girls, by their local health clubs and youth organizations.
- Faith leaders offer hope and resources to survivors of abuse, while teaching congregations about the moral and spiritual duty they have of helping survivors and condemning abusers.
- Employees can go to work knowing that, if they are experiencing abuse, they can rely on the workplace policies and safe person in their offices to help them through the hard times.
Finally, in a Project Courage community, everyone has someone, or even better, many people, to turn to in times of need or crisis. Those in danger know what to do and where to go, and the people to whom they turn know how to respond and get help.
We invite you to browse our Project Courage and Community Education pages to learn more about how you can become a part of breaking the cycle.
Project Courage Communities
This comprehensive project accomplishes it goal by partnering with and empowering all levels of a community to recognize what abuse is, how to respond to the abused and the abuser, and where to refer survivors, family, friends and abusers for help and guidance. Our Prevention Staff provide tailored Recognize, Respond, Refer (R3) trainings to the general public, first-responders, faith institutions and area businesses, creating critical allies on all fronts and circles of a community.
In its second year of implementation, Project Courage has already garnered support and partnership from over 60 local agencies as well as widespread endorsement from public officials, business leaders, and youth groups, alike. This support is a notable indicator that Project Courage is a sustainable, replicable model from which other communities can benefit. As such, with additional support from 100 Women Strong and Heart of Florida United Way, Harbor House recently launched Project Courage Community II in the Malibu Groves/Ivey Lane Neighborhood of Orlando.
Over the next decade, we hope to replicate this model across Orange County and beyond, creating true community-wide change and social impact around the prevention and perception of domestic abuse.
