News & Press

Program helps children get back on track

For a child, seeing violence can stir up a storm of emotions. Without help, some may succumb to the storm, turning to violence themselves as they grow up.

Harmony at Home, a Carmel-based nonprofit, is working to break this cycle in east Salinas' Alisal Union School District schools by providing bilingual counseling to elementary school-aged children who have experienced domestic violence or other family trauma.

"It has to start with the children," said Julianne Leavy, a therapist who founded the organization. "If nobody intervenes, the patterns are just repeated."

In 1997, Leavy developed a counseling program called Sticks and Stones to help such children. It took root in several schools across the Monterey Peninsula, but this is the program's first year in the Alisal district.

Candice Gregory is the program director for the Harmony at Home Program.

Children referred to the program receive 10 weeks of group counseling, where art therapy and discussion helps them learn positive ways of expressing their feelings.

"It doesn't take a lot of hours to see the kids' directions change," said Candice Gregory, outreach programs coordinator for the district, who oversees the program.

Gregory tells teachers to look for extreme behavior in children, such as withdrawing into silence or acting out and picking fights.

One third-grade boy starting Sticks and Stones was doing fine academically, but began to complain of stomach aches, refusing to go to school, Gregory said.

Teachers learned that his father had violently hit his mother. Although the parents had separated, the boy remained terrified for his mother's safety.

Educators report positive changes.

"We see progress in the next month or two, when the child begins to realize, 'I'm OK,'" said Anastacio Cabral, principal at Virginia Rocca Barton School at 680 Las Casitas Drive.

When 10 weeks isn't enough, the child stays in the program until he or she has enough positive skills to move forward, Leavy said.

Teachers and counselors must, however, juggle waiting lists. "We can only cover so many students," Cabral said. "We pick the ones that are most in need."

Harmony at Home runs a tight ship - $7,500 provides a school with a counselor one day per week who sees 60 to 75 students. This academic year, the program will reach between 680 and 825 Salinas children.

Support comes entirely from the community, including from foundations, companies and individuals. Last summer, the group received a grant for $25,000 from the Harden Foundation, a Salinas Valley charity, allowing the program to come to eight of the Alisal school district's 11 schools. By the end of the school year, Leavy plans to offer services in all 11.

Nationwide mission

Leavy's mission extends beyond Salinas. Within five years, she intends to bring the program to schools across the county, then push for programs statewide. She's already talking to educators on the East Coast about instituting the program there.

"These children are going to be parents - they are going to teach their children new ways to operate in the world," she said. "If we can offer this program in as many schools as we can get funding for, maybe we can see a shift in domestic violence statistics."

Contact Alla Katsnelson at akatsnelson@thecalifornian.com.