Be REAL:

1
Be REAL

• Developing Middle School boys as Leaders in
  Bullying Prevention

2
Partnerships

• MensWork eliminating violence against women
• Presbyterian Community Center (PCC)
• Moms Music
• New Directions Housing Corporation (funder)

3
Population

• 11 15 year old boys
• Predominately African American
• Poor neighborhood
• High rates of single parent (mostly mom)
  households
• Active in the services of PCC

4
Process

• 8 week session
• Meet twice a week for hour-long workshops
• One meeting per week focuses on bullying
  prevention
• (leadership development model)
• Second meeting per week focuses on developing
  music or spoken-word

5
Outcomes

• Develop leadership skills
• Create songs/spoken word pieces
• Produce a cd of their songs/spoken word pieces
• Organize an event to release their cd to the
  community
• Organize an bullying prevention event within
  their school or the PCC community

6
Overview of Bullying

• Based on power and control
• Bullying is gendered
• Boys bully other boys differently than how they
  bully girls
• (What we call bullying in middle school looks
  like what we call sexual harassment and dating
  abuse in high school)
• Girls bully boys differently then how they bully
  other girls
• Bystander-to-ally intervention

7
Preliminary Outcomes

• Increased understanding of bystander
• Increased awareness of different ways to act as
  an ally
• Confront bully
• Support target
• Create a distraction
• Get help
• Increased self-report of willingness to intervene

8
More preliminary Outcomes

• Songs and spoken word pieces reflect messages
  from the bullying prevention part
• Organizing of bullying prevention activities
• Anti-bullying week
• Anti-bullying pledge

9
Next steps

• Include the schools where the students attend
• Include programming for parents and other adults
• Continue to strengthen the connection between the
  bullying prevention and the song/spoken word
  aspects
• Develop peer mentor project to include older
  teens who are part of PCC
• Widen the cd release event

10
Thanks!Rus Ervin FunkMenswork eliminating
violence against women, inc.www.mensworkinc.comU
SA