Bystander Intervention Training offered in Concord

CONCORD, MA – A customer in line at the grocery store makes disparaging comments about the woman in the hijab in front of you. A group of teens taunts an elderly man while you’re walking by. You overhear someone using a racial slur toward another person in the vicinity.

What would you do?

It’s hard to know how to react in a situation that doesn’t directly affect you, but that still seems wrong or unkind. You may want say something, either to support the person being affected or to call out the person committing the offense. But it’s difficult to know how to do that in a way that doesn’t make things worse.

To address this issue, several community groups are teaming up to offer a seminar: “What Would You Do? Bystander Intervention Training.” Led by Alisa Chapman, Director of Compliance and Title IX Coordinator at Middlesex Community College, the training will be part discussion and part breakout sessions. Participants should leave with tools that will help them evaluate various situations and consider possible outcomes and strategies for reaching them.

There are two opportunities to participate in the training, both of which are free and open to the community at large: Thursday, November 2 from 9:30 am to noon at the Ripley Building, 120 Meriam Street in Concord; and Wednesday, November 8 from 6:30 pm to 9 pm at Concord Carlisle High School, 500 Walden Street. Space is limited; you can register online at www.concordcarlisleace.org or by calling 978-318-1432.

This workshop will be presented in partnership with Center for Parents & Teachers, Concord-Carlisle Youth Services, and Middlesex Community College.