The University’s Green Dot program is beginning to spread to the greater Charlottesville area. At an open house event held last Saturday, Charlottesville residents learned about violence prevention and bystander intervention.
Green Dot was officially launched at the University last March following two years of planning. The program utilizes content development and training to gradually implement a cultural shift that will decrease the presence of power-based personal violence in the community.
The event was organized by Charlottesville community member Tracy Howe Wispelwey, said Nicole Thomas, the program coordinator for prevention. Wispelwey attended a Green Dot training on Grounds last January along with students, staff and faculty.
The open house on Saturday was not a formal Green Dot event, Thomas said.
Wispelwey is now working to set up talks with her local congregation to spread word of Green Dot’s mission.
Thomas, who has worked to promote and develop Green Dot on Grounds, noted that while the program has a presence at the University, it may take some time to spread it to the surrounding community.
“It’s hard to branch out into the community when we are still trying to meet the needs of training folks in the U.Va. community,” Thomas said. “We need more people to go through the community version [of training] before they can launch in the community.”
Many community members have taken advantage of Green Dot training available through the University and the Sexual Assault Resource Agency, Thomas said, and she hopes as more Charlottesville members receive training, the program can spread beyond University borders.
However, Thomas said Green Dot at the University is part of the larger umbrella organization of Green Dot, etc. and must “balance between having a national program and having it U.Va. specific.”
Green Dot will host additional programming during October's Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The program will also provide bystander training to students, faculty and staff throughout the semester.
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