Comments Off on Ryan Krull – Carmichaels High School
“Coaching Boys Into Men helps young boys figure out how to make more adult choices. The name says it all.” Ryan Krull, head coach of the Carmichaels Mighty Mikes football team for the past five seasons, says the decision to implement the Coaching Boys Into Men (CBIM) program was a no-brainer. “There’s so much negativity in this crazy world we live in,” according to Ryan. “If something comes along that promotes better behavior in our young people, we’re going to do it.” The team’s assistant coaches and local school officials were immediately on board after Ryan told them about CBIM. “I gave them an overview …
Comments Off on Monte Robinson – Westinghouse Academy
“At the end of the day, if you’re passionate about character development, Coaching Boys Into Men is a great tool to start working with your guys.” Westinghouse Academy 6-12 was the first Pittsburgh Public School to bring Coaching Boys Into Men (CBIM) to a varsity athletic team, thanks in large part to the enthusiasm of football coach and alum Monte Robinson. He’d been looking for a way to balance the messages that young athletes hear about behavior. “Athletics creates a ‘gloves-off’ environment,” Monte says. “Coaches encourage players to be aggressive on the field, but we don’t teach them how to turn it off.” Monte says …
Comments Off on Lori Poe – Chartiers Valley High School
“Coaching Boys Into Men is a great program for girls, too. Kids of both sexes know they have someone to talk to. They become resources for each other. Not all kids have that, and it wouldn’t have happened here without the structure of the program.” Lori Poe, head coach for cross country and track & field at Chartiers Valley High School, runs a combined program. She asked her male assistants to work with the boys on the team when Chartiers Valley School District implemented Coaching Boys Into Men (CBIM) across its male athletic programs, and Lori had separate discussions with the girls, substituting topics more relevant …
Comments Off on Curt Cairns – Chartiers Valley High School
“These are good kids, so it’s tempting to just assume that everyone is doing the right thing and making the right decisions. But unless you talk to them, you don’t know what’s really happening in their lives. You’ve got to ask. You’ve got to have these conversations.” Curt Cairns is in his second season as head baseball coach at Chartiers Valley High School, but he’s been coaching in the district for the past 20 years. “I’ve seen it all,” he laughs. He was eager to bring Coaching Boys Into Men (CBIM) to his team last year at the request of school administrators. “The coaches knew …
Nearly every woman I know has been harassed at least once by a man. Certainly not all men harass women, but enough do to make women preemptively cautious and afraid. Fear of men is so normalized that it seems like common sense. We teach our daughters to be afraid when walking through a parking garage or down the street late at night. We carry our keys and buy pepper spray. Many women think twice before getting on the elevator if a man is there. When meeting someone new on a first date we meet in a public place, with an exit plan. We expect to encounter …
By Kristy Trautmann Last week, the headlines were filled with the decades-long story of film producer Harvey Weinstein’s patterns of sexual exploitation of women. The scope and scale of his predatory behavior unfolded as dozens of A-list actresses bravely broke their silence, telling strikingly similar stories of sexual harassment and assault. And the cover-up became plain: many people knew or at least suspected, and lawsuit after lawsuit ended in large settlements, each with a gag order to buy her silence. Into this powder keg of public scrutiny, actress Alyssa Milano issued her now-famous tweet proposing to expose the shocking prevalence of sexual violence by urging …
Comments Off on Five steps to take if you witness domestic violence
By Nicole Molinaro and Carla Adams You are driving down the street and see a man aggressively push a woman away, yell at her and then grab her closer to get a better angle to punch her. You are a bystander. What do you do? Domestic violence is typically a secret, so it usually happens behind closed doors. Although it’s not common to witness attacks, it does happen, and it can be difficult to know what to do to help. Every situation is different, and it’s important to assess the situation quickly to determine how to act. So what should that action look like? When …
Comments Off on University Presidents and Community Officials Unite to End Campus Sexual Assault
One in five female undergraduates and one in 14 male undergraduates across the country have experienced sexual assault in college, according to the Department of Justice. On Monday, September 11, college and university leaders in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties united with community organizations, advocates and state and local officials to reaffirm their commitment and report on the region’s progress in addressing campus sexual assault. The event marked the public launch of a video series featuring 13 area university presidents declaring zero tolerance for abuse on campus and encouraging students to report and seek assistance. “Change starts with leadership from the top,” said Kristy Trautmann, executive director, FISA …
By Kristy Trautmann The first day of school is an important milestone every year: new grade, new teachers, new peers, maybe a new school or going off to college. Regardless of age, it is normal for young people to try on the new maturity gained during summer break, experiment with new ways of behaving and to sometimes test the limits. It’s a particularly important time to be on the lookout for problematic behavior before it becomes ingrained. Research tells us that the peer environment is one of the strongest influences over a young person’s behavior. We also know that language is powerful in shaping attitudes, and …
Comments Off on Four reasons coaches should address dating violence
By Dale Lolley Domestic violence. They are two words that elicit graphic images of bruises, broken bones and even deaths in our minds. Wouldn’t it be something if a future generation grew up without knowing what those words meant? As a veteran reporter who has spent the better part of three decades working in newspapers, television and radio, I’ve been in a lot of newsrooms. Anyone who has spent even a few hours in a newsroom knows the lifeblood is its police scanner. Not a day goes by that police aren’t being called out to handle some form of domestic violence. It’s one of the …
Comments Off on CBIM Summit at Steelers Training Camp
Attend a Coaching Boys Into Men Summit at Steelers Training Camp hosted by the Pittsburgh Steelers, FISA Foundation, and United Way of Southwestern PA. This program is for athletic directors, superintendents and coaches who care about character as well as wins and losses. You will learn more about Coaching Boys Into Men (CBIM), a program to help you promote healthy relationships and address issues such as locker room talk and sexting. Keynote speaker Don McPherson is an activist, educator and College Football Hall of Famer. The former NFL player and director of Northeastern University’s Mentors in Violence Prevention Program will discuss empowering young men to prevent dating …
Comments Off on Pittsburgh Says NO MORE at Third Annual Event
On June 16, Pittsburgh communities demonstrated their united commitment to prevent domestic violence and sexual assault when government, business, faith and community leaders convened in the Allegheny County Courthouse courtyard for the third annual Father’s Day Pledge Signing event, an inspiring call to action for our region. During the rally, leaders from multiple sectors and a groundswell of supporters recited the Father’s Day Pledge, a commitment to take action. Among other speakers, Dr. Gary Cuccia shared his personal story and delivered the keynote address on preventing teen dating violence. Dr. Cuccia’s daughter was murdered by her ex-boyfriend in 2007. Since then, Dr. Cuccia has advocated for …
By Kristy Trautmann Revolutions happen all the time. Scientific discoveries. Elections. Technical innovations. Diagnoses. Babies are born. Loved ones die. The world rearranges itself, sometimes in an instant, to appear fundamentally different. The preposterous becomes ordinary, as mundane as the ability to ask your phone a question and get a response laced with cheeky attitude. The ideas we leave behind become quickly anachronistic, like being unreachable when on vacation or in the car. It’s hard to imagine a past that was commonplace only a decade ago. Forty years ago, almost no one spoke about domestic violence or rape. Women were just beginning to gather around …
Comments Off on Dan Rooney Invites Coaches to Summit
NOTE: this event has been postponed. We will update this site with information about the rescheduled summit as soon as possible. “A great coach empowers his athletes to develop from good players on the field to great men in the community.” Pittsburgh Steelers coaching assistant Dan Rooney invites high school coaches to attend the Coaching Boys Into Men Training Summit at Heinz Field. Read Dan’s letter here. The May 20 session will prepare attendees to implement CBIM this fall. Coaching Boys Into Men equips high school athletic coaches to help their male athletes build respectful relationships and prevent dating violence. To learn more about the summit and register to attend, …
Comments Off on Join the Steelers for a CBIM Training Summit
NOTE: this event has been postponed. We will update this site with information about the rescheduled summit as soon as possible. Coaches are invited to join the Pittsburgh Steelers, FISA Foundation, and United Way of Southwestern PA for a free Coaching Boys Into Men (CBIM) training program at Heinz Field on Saturday, May 20. This session will prepare coaches to implement CBIM this fall. Coaching Boys Into Men equips high school athletic coaches to help their male athletes build respectful relationships and prevent dating violence. To learn more about the program, click here. When: Saturday, May 20, 2017 • 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Where: Hyundai …
We rounded out another year of progress and are excited to share our achievements. Please take a moment to view our year-end report flipbook. Over the last several years, our country has demonstrated a sea change in attitudes and beliefs about domestic and sexual violence. Our movement has grown as public officials, community leaders, clergy, parents, athletes, media spokespersons and students have joined together to voice intolerance for disrespectful and abusive behaviors. While we have made undeniable progress in turning the tide, there is still a great deal of work to do in preventing these crimes from happening in the first place. Our commitment is unwavering. …
During NO MORE Week in March, sixty corporate executives met to review progress and discuss opportunities for taking action to prevent domestic violence and sexual assault. Coaching Boys Into Men, the Father’s Day Pledge to End Gender Violence, addressing partner violence in the workplace, and ending campus sexual assault were all on the agenda for the third annual Corporate Leadership Breakfast to End Violence Against Women. “This community gets it and is a role model for other communities,” said Jane Randel, co-founder of the National NO MORE Campaign, in her keynote. Randel went on to explain how violence impacts every community, and corporate leaders are in …
Pittsburgh’s teal pride was out in full force on Thursday, March 9 as partners and friends convened for Spirit of NO MORE, a celebration of the substantial progress that’s been made in preventing domestic violence and sexual assault. Keynote speaker Jane Randel, co-founder of national NO MORE, inspired the audience with her story and the continued importance of the movement. “The goal of NO MORE Week is to reach the people who don’t think they have a connection to these issues,” explained Ms. Randel. “We want to open the doors to everyone…that’s really the spirit of NO MORE.” Randal concluded with praise for Southwest PA Says …
On Thursday, March 9, Pittsburgh will show its teal pride during national NO MORE week with the Spirit of NO MORE Celebration, an occasion to recognize our region’s efforts to end domestic and sexual violence and the agencies, systems, individuals, parents, students, coaches, teachers, judges, administrators, funders and advocates who work tirelessly to create safe and welcoming communities. The inaugural celebration will feature keynote speaker Jane Randel, cofounder of the national NO MORE initiative, inspirational performances by Interplay Pittsburgh, and the premiere of the Voices in Prevention Project. It will bring together leaders and supporters of the regional initiative led by FISA Foundation, The Heinz Endowments …
By Kristy Trautmann Change almost never follows a straight path: not when we are trying to change a habit, not when we are learning a new skill, and not when we are working to change deeply held beliefs and attitudes. Even when we ache for change to happen and are willing to work tirelessly, change is hard. Over the last several years, our country has demonstrated a sea change in attitudes and beliefs about domestic and sexual violence. It has become common for men as well as women to speak openly in support of victims and to demand that perpetrators of abuse be held accountable. …
