August 1998 through July 1999. The focus of Year Two was on recruiting and training community-based trainers and conducting pilot workshops. August 1999-July 2000. Funding The Advocacy and Empowerment Project is supported by a Grant from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, U.S. Department of Education. The actors show how to take charge of the situations.
Trainers emphasize that the longer the maltreatment continues the greater the impact on the victim.
Presentation of skills that will help participants prevent abuse. For example, participants learn how to be assertive, project self-confidence and move from being a victim to being a survivor. They also learn about resources that may help them prevent or turn around an abusive situation. Trainers lead an hour-long group discussion about a fictional person in an abusive situation. Participants also learn about the administrative and criminal justice systems, the state's attorney's office and how to make a complaint to the police.