SAFE SPACES – the ‘quiet’ revolution

RISE (St. Lucia) Inc., in partnership with the Ciceron Development Committee and the Ciceron Community, launches its SAFE SPACES programme on Sunday 24^th June 2018 at 3 pm at the Ciceron Secondary School. This project has been made possible through the kind sponsorship of the LUCELEC Foundation, SSDF, the Ministry of Education, the Castries City Council Mayors’ office, and the office of the Castries South Parliamentary representative..

The overall goal of the SAFE SPACES programme is to create a more peaceful and productive society, that is on a sustainable path of healthy community development. This goal is built on the research that shows that violence and crime is driven by inequality and poor social cohesion. Therefore, the SAFE SPACES initiative is committed towards creating community and national leadership that is networked, and focused on implementing community programmes that address inequality and build social cohesion within communities and across social classes.

 Safe spaces in every community are important for the nurturing and normal development of children, for fostering business, and for improving the quality of life. This initiative is grounded in the belief that peace building, and the creation of safe communities, is ultimately the responsibility of each community. We believe that building healthy relationships, and strengthening these relationships, creates the leverage for peace building and development. The project builds on the evidence and processes identified in the:

1. Ecological theory of human behavior
2. The social determinants of health
3. Resilience theory of healthy youth development
4. The science showing the negative impact of adverse childhood events (ACE’s) with poor health, poor life outcomes and the negative epigenetic effects that perpetuate the impact on the next generation and beyond.

 The strategy involves:

1. Creating leadership networks.
2. School peace building.
3. Community peace building, mobilization and engagement
4. Health promotion
5. Project development and Entrepreneurship training                                                                                                       The project is a national one and will be piloted in the community of Ciceron. All media is encouraged to cover this event - the beginning of a ‘quiet’ revolution.