A Room Full of People Finding Their Voice

Standing Up for Self and Others
Photo credit: Kathleen Grant 

IMPACT Chicago wasn’t planning on a late December workshop. In fact, late December is a notoriously difficult time to schedule, well, ANYTHING. But something unexpected happened: the requests for self-defense training were through the roof. IMPACT believes in our broader mission to teach people self-defense in a world where living with dignity and in safety can be hard to come by, and that’s how we knew we needed to respond. We offered a free workshop to all on December 20. Next one: January 11, 6:30-8 pm at the JCFS Knapp Center, 3145 W.Pratt. 

            
There is nothing that will warm you up faster than a room full of people finding their voice and learning their first physical tools. The attendees brought many things with them: their fear, their feeling of powerlessness, and their desire to be able to not only protect themselves, but to learn how to support someone else in need. They wanted to know how to help.

Workshop Leader Deb leads a knee drill
Photo credit: Kathleen Grant

            While IMPACT’s main program teaches gender-based self-defense from sexual assault, we have found that the principles behind our empowerment model can apply much more broadly. For some, the last few weeks have shone a light on a powerlessness they weren’t aware of in our society; for others, it was a feeling they knew all too well. In the workshop, we were able to come together as a community, to begin to have conversations about what this new climate means, own our fear, and start to take our power back.  

Molly Norris

IMPACT Chicago Instructor

Instructor Molly demonstrates a powerful voice
Photo credit: Kathleen Grant

Thank you to IMPACT Chicago instructors, staff, and volunteers for making this workshop possible: Lisa Amoroso, Kathleen Grant, Rachel Marro, Deb Mier, Molly Norris, and Martha Thompson. Thank you to all those who participated!

Raising Awareness About Human Trafficking: "Kung Fu Nuns"

Photo: Huffington Post

The Drukpa Order in Nepal offered Kung Fu training to the nuns in the order after they experienced harassment and violence. In addition to these changing dynamics between nuns and the public, the nuns have also recognized the rise in human trafficking in response to diasters caused by global warming and leaving poor people especially vulnerable, particularly women and girls who have been subjected to kidnapping, sexual exploitation, and trafficking.

To raise awareness about human trafficking, 500 nuns completed a 4,000 km bicycle trek from Nepal to India. Jigme Konchok Lhamo said that people expect nuns to stay in the temples and pray. She says that the nuns believe they have to go out into the world and act on the words that they pray. 
    

Reporting by Nita Bhalla, Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst. Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, land rights and climate change. 

Talking to Kids About the Political Climate

Whether or not we talk to children in our lives about politics, kids are hearing adults talk about politics and know that people have different views. Kids are great at detecting when adults in their lives are happy, angry, fearful, gloating, worried, or stressed but may not always understand what is behind these feelings.

Maureen Costello in “What to Say to Kids on November 10 and the Days After” urges adults in kids’ lives to be reassuring and create a sense of safety but not to gloss over truths. Some of those truths:

• Emotions are strong
• The country is divided—and not just on politics
• No one really knows what this election means
• Voting matters, but it doesn’t happen on its own
• The majority isn’t always right
• The majority doesn’t always decide, anyway
• Kids really are our future

Costello’s points are pretty good for adults, too. For details about each of the points Costello makes, check out the article in Teaching Tolerance.

An additional resource:
Ali Michael. What shall we tell the children? Huffington Post November 8, 2017.
 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/what-should-we-tell-the-children_us_5822aa90e4b0334571e0a30b

What to do When Your Date is Offensive

In “What to do on a Date with Someone who is Being Offensive,”  Kaitlyn Wilde  in Bustle recommends

• Take a deep breath
• Consider your objective
• Go for it
• See it their way
• Take the opportunity to teach
• Stand up for yourself
• Know when to drop it
• Stand your ground
•  Move on

For details, check out Wilde’s article.

Make a Difference: Say Something

Interpersonal violence--like domestic violence, sexual assault, or street harassment of someone because of their identity--is scary for the person experiencing it and those witnessing it. Saying something to interrupt, intervene, or stop interpersonal violence can contribute to an individual's safety and create a safer community.

Knowing that it is challenging to know what to do when witnessing interpersonal violence and to know how to keep oneself safe as well, Empowerment Self-Defense Instructor Lynne Marie Wanamaker and Safe Passage of Northampton MA have put together the Say Something Superhero Field Guide: A Manual for Eliminating Interpersonal Violence.

The Say Something Superhero Field Guide includes:

• Information about what safe communities look like, what violence is, and what trauma is
• Developing skills like intuition, preparation, judgment, assertiveness, and dealing with awkward situations
• Ways to be an effective bystander, such as, self-awareness, community, resilience,awareness of trauma, self-care.

Living Out Loud: Actress Viola Davis Speaks Out About Sexual Assault

At the annual brunch of the Rape Foundation, honoree and actress Viola Davis shared personal stories about sexual assault and its devastating effect on her own life and those of women in her life.

Kristina Rodulfo in "Viola Davis Gives Devastating Speech on Sexual Assault" reports that Davis who is an advocate for the Rape Foundation urged the attendees to support the Rape Treatment Center, listen to the stories of survivors, and to "live out loud." Davis says living out loud is "living a life that's bigger than yourself." 

Let's Build a Non-Violent World

The past few months have shown us that there is much work left to be done. Many people have stood up for the rights of immigrants, LGBTQ, minorities, and women. Others have been emboldened to terrorize, intimidate, and  harass. IMPACT is based on the idea that we do not have to choose between our personal safety and our freedom nor do our safety and freedom come at the expense of others. The IMPACT Chicago mission is to end violence and build a non-violent world in which all people can live safely and with dignity. Our goal is to teach self-defense so that women and girls will have the tools to prevent, minimize, and stop violence.  Everyone has the right to be safe, to protect themselves, and to live their life free from intimidation, persecution, exploitation, and assault.

To contribute to creating a safer world, IMPACT Chicago:

• has added two Core Programs to the 2017 schedule 
• will offer both Advanced programs in 2017
• is training a new lead instructor
• is taking applications for new suited instructors
• will continue our sliding scale so anyone regardless of income can take a program
• is exploring ways to bring more tools to more people

We can use your help: 

Donate to our annual fall fundraiser

Encourage someone to take one of our programs

Volunteer