IMPACT Boston blog

Graduate of IMPACT's Homeless Shelter Program Shares Her Story

I would like to introduce myself, my name is Ashley Rossetti, I am twenty two years old, and had the pleasure of taking Project SAFE while I was living in a homeless shelter in Revere.  When I found out about the class, I was a bit hesitant, but I gave it a shot, and boy am I happy I did.  It was one of the best decisions I have ever made.  The instructors were amazing, supprotive, and very understanding.  I also had the chance to intern with IMPACT, which is a paid internship,  and while working,  decided to rewrite the intrdouction to the chapters in the Handbook, I felt it would help students in future homeless shelter classes  understand what to expect.

Ashley Rosetti, Graduate, IMPACT Intern

IMPACT Presents at REACH's Peers Against Violence (PAVE) Conference

Last Saturday I had the great honor of presenting a workshop at a teen summit organized by REACH Beyond Domestic Violence. The summit was an opportunity for teens from all walks of life to learn skills and meet other young people interested in challenging abusive behaviors and advocating healthy relationships in their schools and communities. IMPACT presented a workshop on deveoping the skills and courage to initiate hard conversations about abuse. Challenging our peers and the status quo is scary for everyone, and IMPACT teaches people the skills to be effective in the face of fear.

Despite the early hour, the group of teens who attended our workshop were enthusiastic, intelligent, and brave. They picked up the physical techniques quickly, but were even more impressive when we got to the verbal skills. The group gave us a scenario: talking to a friend about his violent behavior toward his girlfriend and we showed them some skills to speak up in a way that is both constructive and physically safe. Once they saw an example, several brave volunteers got up and practiced their own challenging conversations. All did a wonderful job! Some teens said that even practicing having those conversations in a workshop setting was scary, and it was great to see them communicate in such an articulate and constructive manner even when feeling afraid.

IMPACT is grateful to the staff at REACH Beyond Domestic Violence for including us in this wonderfully inspring day!

Meg Stone, Director