Students and staff from the Boyden-Hull JR/SR High School and Western Christian High School participated in a two-day Domestic Violence Awareness Simulation conducted April 5 and 6 by Sioux County SRO Deputy Waylon Pollema.
The simulation kit ‘In Her Shoes,’ is a community education tool designed for participants to learn about domestic violence and its impact on survivors as well as what hurdles a victim may face.
This was a collaborative effort with staff members from both Boyden-Hull High School, Western Christian High School, members of the Sioux County Attorney’s Office, Family Crisis Center, Sanford Sheldon Medical Center and Sioux County Sheriff’s Office, and was conducted at the Boyden-Hull JR/SR High School.
Faculty of the Boyden-Hull JR/SR High School,students of the Boyden-Hull senior class and students from Western Christian’s Family Relations class went through the simulations. Participants from both days were put into groups and made their way through simulations by having to make several decisions based on the circumstances they found themselves in.
“In Her Shoes/In Their Shoes,” is developed and owned by the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Seattle, Washington, USA, www.wscadv.org.
Pollema said, “this was a great experience for everyone; they were very engaged in the activity and had some great questions.I heard several great conversations taking place as the simulations progressed and we received very positive feedback from faculty and students following the simulations. We will continue to work with all of our schools and provide this educational tool where we can. I am extremely grateful for everyone who took the time over the two days to help educate our students.”
