Stranger Danger is a Problem
58,200 children are abducted by non-family members annually
Empower a child in Port St Lucie by providing them with the tools to recognize, avoid and even escape physical harm through the radKIDS® program. Resisting aggression defensively, or rad, is a personal safety and education program for boys and girls ages 5 to 12.
In this 10-hour course, participants will implement the physical skills they learn during three different abduction attempt scenarios. These low-intensity drills show the kids how to use their voice and other physical skills to escape a potentially dangerous situation.
Our Mission
The Port St. Lucie Police Athletic League (P.A.L.) is a 501 c3 non-profit, crime prevention organization that provides youth with programs like radKIDS®. P.A.L. relies on monetary contributions from the community to continue these efforts.
The 10-hour program costs $25 per child. Our goal is to raise $5,000 in 60 days, before the summer session starts, to ensure that as many children as possible get the life-saving skills provided in this course.
How you can help
Your donation will help enroll more children in this safety program and give them the opportunity to repeat this class and participate in other radKIDS® courses for free.
This gift will provide our children with the knowledge, skills and power to protect themselves from harm.
Please help us save a child!
DONATE TODAY
The Greatest Risk of Abduction for Kids: walking alone to and from School & School-Related Activities. Approximately one-third of abductions occur between 2PM-7PM; when children are least likely to be supervised.
*****STRANGER DANGER is a PROBLEM not a SOLUTION*****
Surely you remember being told as a child "Don't talk to strangers!" Perhaps you have even shared this with your own children.
In the minds of many adults, Stranger Danger is the cornerstone of safety education. The words are simple and direct and it even rhymes so it's easy to remember.
Very often in the course of everyday life, we (parents) introduce our children to somebody new, perhaps the nice man at the grocery store, and we engage in conversation with him including the child in the conversation when we can.
We encourage our children to respond to the gentleman in a polite way ("Be Polite"- another rule).
We encourage our children to engage in conversation with the "stranger" even though the child has never met the man breaking our own rule.
How confusing is that? Isn't the rule "Don't Talk to Strangers?" Does "Be Polite" trump Stranger Danger?
So, do we really mean don't ever talk to strangers?
If so, we are creating confusion by our actions which are in fact the opposite of our rules? So, as you can see, when we TELL children what to do, like Don't Talk to Strangers, we are in fact creating a problem for our children.
They think they know what a stranger is.
We think they know what a stranger is, but in a real life situation where a stranger befriends (grooms) a child, at what point does the stranger become a non-stranger?
When friendly conversation begins? Or is it when the person that is befriending them asks them for help or offers them anything without your permission?
If YOU are feeling confused or finding it difficult to find the answers to these questions, imagine being 5 years old and having precious seconds to make the right decision and react.
This confusion, this mixed message causes the brain to stop (FREEZE) and look for the context - more information to make a determination of how to react.
That FREEZE moment hands the advantage of the encounter over to the predator. The predator can then make his next move and the child has to process even more information and search for the next "Tip."
"There is a big difference between TEACHING our children realistic, instinct-based safety skills and handing them a laundry list of safety rules that TELL them what to do and not to do." says Stephen Daley, Executive Director of radKIDS®. Through radKIDS® training, children become empowered and learn to replace the fear, confusion and panic of dangerous situations with confidence, personal safety skills, and self-esteem.
There is only one national comprehensive life skills and safety education program in the country that teaches these skills to children. radKIDS® is proud to be the leading educator in children's safety and violence prevention.
It's Not Just A Donation. It's an investment in the future of our children's safety.
Tell others about the radKIDS program and encourage them to support our project.
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For more info visit PSL PAL
