Drop it at the Door: ARISE gives teachers the skills they need to reject negative emotions.

Drop it at the Door: ARISE gives teachers the skills they need to reject negative emotions.

Continuing its effort to bring anger management and stress prevention to those that work with at-risk youth, ARISE Foundation will conduct its CHOICES: Drop it at the Door workshop at ATT in Albuquerque, New Mexico August 11 and 12. The Academy of Trades and Technologies is a vocational-technical high school for at-risk teens. The Academy offers students design and construction classes as well as assistance with mental health, housing and healthcare. The mission of the Academy is to not only give their students a viable career, but to steer them away from the at-risk lifestyles many of them were living before they enrolled in the Academy. Intervention Coordinator Colleen Chavez uses much of the ARISE life skills curricula and conducts group discussions with the teens about gang prevention, anger management, drug and alcohol abuse prevention, job search and interview skills and more.

Drop it at the Door is an innovative training that gives participants working with difficult populations the tools to handle anger and stress through making better choices in their work and personal lives. Drop it at the Door is a perk provided by employers who want their staff to be successful both on the job and at home.

The training will gives staff a solid understanding of how they can make the choice to drop home- and work-related anger, stress and frustration “at the door.” This training effectively stops the boomerang effect of stress and negativity, relieving the tension and harmful emotions that can shuttle between the workplace and home. This powerful anger and stress management workshop prepares participants to deal with difficult populations. Troubled youth are often so angry that they lash out at everyone around them. ARISE trains staff and others that work with at-risk youth how to avoid confrontation by using proven techniques and strategies demonstrated and practiced in this unique training.

The ARISE Drop It At The Door training program has been extremely successful in the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, where it has been conducted in various residential facilities. ARISE has also expanded its program to include other government agencies such as police, corrections and probation’s departments that require employees to confront difficult and often dangerous situations on a daily basis.

For over 25 years, ARISE has operated as a developer and publisher of Life Management Skills curricula and staff training programs. Designed to reach at-risk, incarcerated youth in detention centers and secure facilities and on probation, ARISE is also utilized as a powerful prevention tool for teenagers and young adults. ARISE programs consist of interactive group discussions and activities designed to break the ice quickly and grab the attention of even the most turned-off participants.

In its home state of Florida, ARISE was utilized for decades in the Miami-Dade School system. ARISE has forged a strong partnership with the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). ARISE programs have been changing the lives of juvenile offenders in the Florida juvenile justice system since 1996. Its dynamic programs are currently being taught in 74 DJJ facilities across the state, as well as the Salvation Army, Boys and Girls Clubs and alternative schools.

ARISE programs are also used in over 100 organizations in the District of Columbia, including public and charter schools, the D.C. Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, the Metropolitan Police, the District of Columbia jail and the D.C. Superior Court Probation Department.

For more information, or to schedule a training, please call Yasmin Isaacs toll free: 1 (888) 680-6100 or visit http://www.ariselife-skills.org

 

Great Things in Store for You at ARISE

Greetings from ARISE!

• The remarkable, life-changing ARISE Drop It at the Door training has been expanded to five days. Each day covers a different topic related to building healthy personal and professional relationships and controlling your emotions at home and at work. ARISE has taken each concept and built entire days of training around each one. Day one focuses exclusively on anger management. Day two is all about improving your life through paying attention to the way you conduct yourself, from your thoughts, emotions and body language to the way you deal with difficult people. Day three is about managing stress. Day three provides participants with an array of useful tips, tools and strategies for getting a grip on stress, including time management and meditation techniques. Day four is all about communication. Using the skills learned in the previous three days, participants will learn how to negotiate and communicate effectively with those around them. Day five closes the week by tying all the concepts together in order to be happier at home and at work. Spending more time on these important topics allows participants to truly learn and absorb them. Your staff comes away from training with a new mindset that will hopefully radiate out to everyone they come in contact with.
• You can subscribe to 365 Good Vibe emails and receive insightful quotes delivered to your inbox each day. Think of it has a burst of positive thoughts to focus on throughout your day.
• The new ARISE website has a host of new features, including a brand-new downloadable book section, featuring digital versions of the ARISE life skills curricula at half the prices of the hardcover books, and a sleeker interface.
• ARISE has two new anthologies rolling off the printing presses. Gangs: 50+ Stories of Fractured Lives is a powerful gang prevention tool filled with original fiction written by people from all over the country, as well as firsthand accounts from incarcerated gang members sharing the wreckage their lives have become as a result of gangs. This book is a perfect addition to any gang prevention program, because a memorable story resonates with everyone. The stories teach valuable lessons about the perils of life in a gang.

Once again, ARISE would like to thank its champions in congress. Through the support of the ARISE champions, the ARISE Intervention and Reentry program for incarcerated juvenile offenders provides public safety for communities across the state of Florida.

10 Things to Remember about Conflict Resolution, brought to you by ARISE Life Skills & Training

Anger management and conflict resolution are a big part of the innovative WORK IN PROGRESS  series.  This series, like all the ARISE lessons, are interactive, dynamic and anything but boring! Work in Progress also features lessons on: drug prevention, peer pressure, alcohol abuse, gun safety, violence and domestic abuse and sexual abuse

Without further ado: 10 Things to Remember About Conflict Resolution.

If you keep doing what you’ve always done…

You’ll keep getting what you’ve always gotten.

ARISE Foundation Life Skills Training courses are dynamic, interactive, complete lessons that teach vital life skills. Over 1.5 million at-risk people have benefited from our unique curriculum over our 20 year history. Some of the programs we offer:

• How to manage anger & stress at work and in the home
• How to make a choice to let go of anger & stress
• How to avoid gangs, drugs, guns, violence and teen pregnancy
• How to maintain a healthy body
• Environmental Stewardship & Awareness
• AND MUCH MORE!

visit the website for more information: http://www.ariselife-skills.org or visit us on Facebook.

ARISE helps Florida’s Juvenile Justice staff master their staff training skills.

ARISE Master Life Skills Certification gives participants the knowledge and confidence they need to become leaders and teach others how to conduct the ARISE two-day life skills group facilitator training.

ARISE Foundation will conduct its Master Life Skills Training workshop August 3rd through the 7th at Seacoast National Bank, 3001 PGA Boulevard, Palm Beach Gardens, FL. The exciting five-day course will run from 8:30 to 4:30 each day.

As ARISE Certified Master Life Skills Trainers, participants of this comprehensive workshop will be able to take what they have learned and train others at their organization on how to conduct riveting group discussions and activities with the troubled youth and young adults in their charge. The point of the group activities is to draw troubled youth out of their shells, get them talking and make them feel validated and listened to. ARISE Life Skills lessons have been specifically created for learners with substantial reading and learning deficiencies in addition to serious behavioral issues. The Master Life Skills trainers will teach others how to steer youth in the right direction by providing new trainers with the know-how to use the ARISE breakthrough curricula to help disadvantaged youth grasp life’s unwritten rules. Among the 260 life lessons ARISE has created are anger and conflict management, self esteem, parenting and job search skills.

For over 20 years, ARISE has operated as a developer and publisher of Life Management Skills curricula and staff training programs. Designed to reach at-risk, incarcerated youth in detention centers and secure facilities and on probation, ARISE is also utilized as a powerful prevention tool for teenagers and young adults.  ARISE programs consist of interactive group discussions and activities designed to break the ice quickly and grab the attention of even the most turned-off participants.

In its home state of Florida, ARISE was utilized for decades in the Miami-Dade School system. ARISE has forged a strong partnership with the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). ARISE programs have been changing the lives of juvenile offenders in the Florida juvenile justice system since 1996. Its dynamic programs are currently being taught in 74 DJJ facilities across the state, as well as the Salvation Army, Boys and Girls Clubs and alternative schools.

ARISE programs are also used in over 100 organizations in the District of Columbia, including public and charter schools, the D.C. Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, the Metropolitan Police, the District of Columbia jail and the D.C. Superior Court Probation Department.

A recent study by Vanderbilt University and the University of Maryland showed that the cost of one offender with at least six police contacts from childhood to age 32 is $3,172,998. In other words, rescuing one youth from a life of crime saves taxpayers more than $3 million dollars.

Since ARISE was established over two decades ago, it has trained and certified  5,284 Group Facilitators who have taught over 4,011,242 documented hours of ARISE life-skills lessons across the United States. ARISE is also being used in Canada, Jamaica, England, Australia, Bahamas, Bermuda, New Zealand, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Bosnia, Kazakhstan, Central Asia and the Kingdom of Bahrain. ARISE curricula are presently being translated into Kazakh, Russian. Requests for translations have also come in from as far away as Pakistan and South Africa.

For more information, or to schedule a training, please call Yasmin Isaacs toll free:  1 (888) 680-6100 or visit ariselife-skills.org.

: : : : : : : : : : :

How do you teach Life Skills? Brought to you by ARISE Life Skills & Training

At-risk youth have it tough. Many come from crumbling neighborhoods and broken homes. Some have had to endure abuse, both physical and verbal, violence, drug use and horrific neglect. That lack of guidance-of a strong adult role model-is part of what landed most of them into the juvenile justice system.

“At risk” means these kids and teens are in danger of becoming another statistic: another inmate in the crowded prison system…

Gang Prevention: 5 Ways ARISE Life Skills Lessons Help Reduce Gang Membership and Violence

What would compel a teen to join a gang? What circumstances would lead them to choose such a diffcult, dangerous path?

Most teens just want a family. They want someone to listen to them. When their biological family isn’t around, some teens turn to gangs to find a sense of belonging. What they don’t understand is how hard gang life is and how far off track their lives can veer if they choose the path of a gang banger.

ARISE Life Skills lessons offer teens the knowledge they need to escape gang life. Here are 5 ways ARISE helps reduce gang membership and violence:

1.     ARISE Life Skills lessons offer engaging, structured, easily understood lessons. Never boring or stuffy, always interactive, ARISE lessons offer a nonthreatening way for kids and teens to voice their opinions and learn in a fun environment. Often for the first time, the youth will feel understood, valued and listened to.

2.     ARISE Life Skills Lessons give at-risk youth the tools they need to escape gang life, stay out of prison and become successful, productive members of society.  Some lessons include:

• Anger Management
• Dropout Prevention
• Conflict Resolution
• Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention
• Gun Awareness and Safety
• Domestic and Sexual Abuse
• How to Find a Job and Have a Successful Interview
• How to Manage Their Money
• Health and Hygiene
• and SO much more!

3.      ARISE Life Skills lessons are designed for youth who have difficulties with reading and writing.  There are no run-on sentences or large, difficult words. Lessons are short, non-sequential and thought-provoking.  No boredom means no acting out.

4.       ARISE trains staff members of juvenile justice facilities, churches, social agencies, afterschol programs, schools and law enforcement departments to be Certified ARISE Life Skills Instructors. Their training and experience gives them an opportunity to become mentors and confidants for the youth they interact with every day. If at-risk kids and teens have someone to confide in…a trusted adult role model…they are much less likely to join a gang in search of an open ear.

5.       ARISE lessons are taught in a group setting, giving the young participants experience listening to other viewpoints, voicing their own opinions in a constructive manner and working on activities as part of a team.  Engaging in an ARISE group life skills lesson teaches youth important communication, mediation and listening skills that they can apply in their daily lives.

For more information on ARISE Life Skills Materials and Instruction, please visit the ARISE Website.

The Fall and ARISE of Violent Teens

Teen Violence

One out of every ten arrested teens has committed a violent act (National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center).  Homicide is the second leading cause of death among young people ages 10 to 24. Teens are bombarded with images of violence, not just in video games and movies, but in their own neighborhoods. Many teens experience fear and violence at home before they even step out onto the street. Each day is a battle to survive in a frightening and dangerous world. Many teens walk through metal detectors to get to class. They are a reminder that violence can shatter their lives at any moment.   

When a teen is involved in a violent crime and sent to a juvenile justice facility, he is often delivered from one hostile environment to another. The gang loyalties and disputes that plagued his neighborhood in the outside world still exist behind razor-wire fences and thick steel doors.

Teen Violence Prevention Through ARISE Life Skills Group Lessons

That’s where ARISE life-management skills and group sessions come into play. ARISE approaches the situation from many different angles. First, ARISE provides training to the staff of the juvenile justice facility. Some of the staff members are certified as ARISE Life Skills Group Facilitators. During their training, they learn how to interact with the troubled teens and get them interested and involved in ARISE groups.  As the teens participate in the group, they begin to trust each other and the facilitator. They slowly open up. As they get more comfortable, they listen. Once the ARISE Group Facilitator has their attention, the teens learn and appreciate the life skills lessons packed into the ARISE curriculum. The ARISE curriculum is a critical part of “softening” these often-violent offenders. A major component of the ARISE curriculum is anger management. Teaching these angry teens how to control their emotions and defuse conflict is the most effective way to keep them from ending up back in the system—or worse—six feet under.  Anger management is just the beginning of the ARISE curriculum. As the lessons progress, the youth learn about self- esteem, drug and alcohol abuse prevention, job search skills, money management, and nutrition and health. ARISE has an extensive library of over 260 easily understood life lessons. 

Why the ARISE Formula Works

Knowledge is the key to preventing teen violence. If you teach young people how to manage their anger, communicate effectively and avoid peer pressure, you give them the tools they need to succeed in life and stay out of the adult prison system. Even more than knowledge, these vulnerable teens need the opportunity to express themselves in an environment where they feel listened to and respected. Respect, or lack thereof, is a major part of an urban teen’s life. When ARISE Life Skills Group Facilitators use their training to create an atmosphere of respect and openness, these lessons will last a lifetime.

Court-ordered community service can be pleasant with the ARISE Good Graces program.

The evening news is filled with stories of celebrities, athletes and businesspeople getting into trouble with the law. With them in mind, ARISE designed a fantastic new program which would allow those well-known members of the community to help troubled, at-risk and incarcerated youth while fulfilling their court-ordered community service obligations.

 

For over 20 years, ARISE has delivered crucial life skills straight into the hands of those who need them most: troubled young people perched on the edge of falling into the adult prison system. From anger management and self-esteem to job search skills, ARISE gives members of this vulnerable population the tools they need to become productive, law-abiding, successful citizens.

 

Individuals in need of community service hours who wish to work with ARISE have many options open to them. A celebrity does not have to end up like Naomi Campbell, cleaning toilets at the New York Port Authority Restrooms. How much better off society would have been if the Judge had directed Campbell to sponsor an ARISE Group for troubled youth. She could have been trained as an ARISE Group Facilitator, where she could have mentored youth on how to handle problems and resolve violent situations. Perhaps Campbell would have learned a few things about anger management that she could have applied to her own life. Instead, her time was spent doing menial tasks that contributed nothing to the greater good. For a $25,000 tax deductible donation, Campbell could have funded one large or two small facilities with up to 75 students enrolled in the program. One can also choose to become an ARISE Certified Life Skills Instructor and work directly with the kids. ARISE will provide everything needed to get the program off the ground, from the initial instructor training to the materials and facility. This choice gives an individual the exceptional opportunity to interact with the youth they are helping and use their own brush with the law as a cautionary tale.

 

Another option is a more hands-off approach. The individual chooses any city in the United States and decides on the size of the program, and ARISE sets up the entire turn-key operation from the ground up.

 

Another benefit of the ARISE Good Graces program is the positive exposure it can provide. After negative publicity, teaching ARISE life skills lessons or launching an ARISE program helps restore a tarnished reputation. In addition to cleaning up their public image, prominent members of the community just might find that they walk away from their ARISE Good Graces experience forever changed. Few programs offer such a far-reaching and meaningful way to reach underprivileged youth.

 

For more information, including costs, visit the ARISE website or call ARISE Founder Edmund Benson TOLL FREE at 1-888-680-6100.

Conversations Behind Razor Wire—ARISE Interviews Incarcerated Gang Members.

For its upcoming book, filled with stories about the dangers of gang life, ARISE Foundation interviewed several incarcerated young gang members about their experiences.

As part of its mission to write life skills curricula that is authentic and realistic, ARISE founder Edmund Benson went to a juvenile correctional facility August 7 and sat down with several young gang members in an effort to hear their stories and give them a chance to warn at-risk young people about the perils of gang life.

Teens may not listen to authority figures, but they do listen to each other. Firsthand stories of the constant fear, danger and violence of life inside a gang are a way to reach young people on the cusp of making the life-destroying decision to join a gang. Quotes from the interviewed gang members will be included in ARISE Foundation’s new upcoming collection of stories about gangs, written by people from all over the country. Each story was handpicked to illustrate a critical point. Topics range from the disastrous effects gang life has on someone’s family members to how easy it is to lose your life to gang violence. The stories illustrate, using plaintive, stark language, how easy it is to get caught up in the endless cycle of revenge that gang members live in every day.

The three interviewed gang members spoke candidly about the actions that led them to their incarceration. One 17 year-old, who joined a gang at age 12, spoke of the constant nightmares that plague him.

“The worst part of being in a gang,” he said, “is every night when you go to bed, you see the faces of the people you hurt, and your friends that got killed. That’s the hardest part, the nightmares.”

ARISE hopes to duplicate the success of one of their most popular books, “31 of Taneka’s Urban Tales,” with this new anthology of captivating stories.

For more information please call ARISE Founder Edmund Benson at ARISE toll free: 1 (888) 680-6100 or visit ariselife-skills.org.