PALM HARBOR, Fla. — The start of a new school year also means the return of a very popular program in Pinellas County, called Peacemakers. Traveling from school to school, they are teaching students how to say no to violence and yes to conflict resolution.
St. Luke Early Childhood Center in Palm Harbor is one of more than 40 schools throughout Pinellas County that the Peacemaker Program visits every year. The program is run through Hope Villages of America.
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Instructor Kim Gelazin will interact with about 3,500 pre-school and kindergarten students during the year.
“We teach them to use their words, not their hands, we talk about the problems, we talk about conflict resolution, that feelings are okay to have and it’s okay to feel angry, but we teach them ways to deal with anger,” said Gelazin.
Hope Villages of America VP of Abuse Services, John Long, says this type of program is more important now than ever.
“At Hope Villages of America, we really believe if we are going to make a dent in domestic violence or violent situations in our community, we have to start at a very young age,” said Long. “We want to help people before they find themselves in a bad situation.”
St. Luke Administrator, Stephanie Murphy, says teachers already have a lot of responsibility when it comes to teaching reading and writing. The Peacemakers Program offers added support on issues that fall outside the traditional academic box.
“We see them utilizing the phrases that Kim has taught them throughout their day here when they do maybe have conflict with another student,” said Murphy.
Kim says just because they are discussing serious topics doesn’t mean they still can’t have fun, that’s where the puppet Casey Dog steps in.
“Casey is the real hero here, as soon as we walk in, they are like, ‘did you bring Casey?’ He’s funny, he likes to tell stories, and they listen to him,” said Gelazin.
The Peacemakers Program hopes to be a voice in the community when it comes to doing all we can to make sure our next generation is a peaceful generation.
“We’ve gone into every different kind of institution to share this program, and it's free because we want as many kids to be exposed to it as we can,” said Long.
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