Obtaining a toolkit for empowerment.
That’s what Danielle Damasius of ONE MI, a local group focused on equity and inclusion, hoped that teens and adults would possess in their beings after attending a pair of recent webinars about becoming strong allies. Standing up for themselves and others in tough situations is one of the crucial goals wedged into the kit.
Led by trainer Tabark Abdelhabib of Right To Be __, the workshops took place on Oct. 24 and 26 as part of Mercer Island’s Community Conversations series and shared strategies on how to provide support when witnessing harassment and racism and supplying the tools to safely and confidently intervene in public scenarios.
A cornerstone of the events was the five-pronged strategical intervention method for bystander intervention: distract, delegate, document, delay and direct.
Abdelhabib said that harassment can happen anywhere: schools, buses, sidewalks, streets, parks and online. As the youth meeting took shape, participants anonymously shared the impacts they’ve experienced through harassment, and some of the repercussions were depression, anger, sadness, self-isolation, self-hatred and insecurity.
To help those affected through a difficult situation, a person can take an indirect approach to de-escalation, get help from someone else, film the harassment and forward it to the victim, check in with the victim afterward and speak up when the harassment is occurring.
When bad things happen, people often rise up and do good things, Abdelhabib said, adding later that, “You can show your peers that disrespect is not tolerated at Mercer Island.”
In practicing the five D’s, people can care for their needs and those of others who they’re supporting in trying times. All of the participants in the youth course said they would be able to utilize at least one aspect of the training into a harassment situation.
“I find it amazing that you all are so young and here for a training like this. By the time you are in college, when you graduate or you’re my age, this is going to be so natural to you and you’re going to be an amazing bystander (intervener) that can create that healing for other folks,” Abdelhabib said.
In the adults workshop, Abdelhabib said that although people often freeze while witnessing harassment, her organization hopes that bystanders can spring into action and make an impact. Through the positive effects of bystander intervention — which can be potent solo or in pairs — people can create a nurturing and calming space and a culture of respect, she added.
Merrill Thomas-Schadt, Mercer Island’s senior management analyst, was glad to see Islanders taking part in the webinars and learning how to support others in their time of need.
“It was especially exciting to have students attend and share their experiences and hopes for being strong allies in their community. Having the space to practice having difficult conversations is an essential part of building an inclusive and safe community for all,” she said.
* Next up on the Community Conversations docket will be “‘Disability’ as a Strength” from 6:30-7:30 p.m. on Nov. 7. Mercer Island resident and Microsoft’s Chief Accessibility Officer Jenny Lay-Flurrie will lead a discussion on how diversity and the inclusion of ability differences enrich communities, workplaces and lives. This event will be held at the Stroum Jewish Community Center and streamed live online. To register, visit https://letstalk.mercergov.org/community-conversations.
