On Wednesday, December 3rd, our group was invited to attend one of the Child Abuse Prevention Program’s workshops at P.S. 506. We’ve worked with CAPP before, but have never seen them in action, so this was a great opportunity to get a sense of how they go about actually educating the kids.

When we got to the school, we walked into a big auditorium where kids were loading onto the stage to sit at the same level as the performers. Marion White, the director of the program said that this creates a more comfortable environment for the kids. In order of seating, it goes: the performers in the front, the kids watching, the teachers and guidance counselors on the side, and visitors (us) in the very back.

The presentation was amazing! The two performers started out introducing the puppets and their backstories, and then they went on to ask the kids a few questions about the difference between ‘safe touch’ and ‘unsafe touch,’ before a presentation about physical abuse. After that, they went on to talk about sexual abuse. The average age of the kids attending the workshop was about 9, so of course, when one character was talking about how she got help after her mom’s boyfriend touched her on her ‘private places,’ they giggled a little bit, but I was surprised at how fast they recognized the seriousness of it.

Because of the kids, we weren’t allowed to take many pictures, although I do have a few of the stage, as well as one video that I was not able to attach.

In all, we are so grateful to CAPP for letting us see this presentation, and we are working very hard to book one for our 2nd and 3rd graders as well!