Parents graduate from violence prevention class

STUDYING UP- A group of parents work during a session of the Conecte Program, which helps parents raise nonviolent children despite outside influences. The eight-week program is put on by Zonta's Training and Advocacy Program through the Westminster Free Clinic. A group of 42 parents accepted diplomas last week after completing a program that helps them raise nonviolent children in the face of troublesome video games, television and other outside influences.

The eightweek Conecte program, under the aegis of Zonta's Training and Advocacy Program, is designed to educate a group of parents who in turn educate another group.

The Westminster Free Clinic (WFC) of Thousand Oaks and Conejo Elementary School's Parenting Program recently received funding from the service club Zonta of the Conejo and the Ventura County Community Foundation Mental Health Initiative to offer the violenceprevention program.

"The parents learned how to raise children to be nonviolent, how to prevent date rape for teenagers and how to identify the signs and symptoms of mental health issues like depression, bipolar disorder and anxiety," said Lisa Safaeinili, executive director of WFC. "The idea is that then they can teach other family members and friends so they can get help early."

Fifteen of the 42 graduates will go on to the next level of training in January and learn how to present the classes on their own. The program, based on a national model developed by the American Psychological Association, is used across the country

WFC's marriage and family therapy counselor, Damaris Warkentien, is certified to train with the violence-prevention model.

"With the media and the games out there, a lot of kids are not thinking it's any big deal to handle any problems at school in a violent way," Safaeinili said. "This empowers the community to help themselves. And it's selfsustainable, so when the funding runs out, the program will go on."

The parents graduated last Thursday at Conejo Elementary School in Thousand Oaks.

The next set of classes will begin in February at Park Oaks Elementary and at the Westminster Free Clinic. For more information, call the clinic at (805) 241-8366.