Workplace Programs

Empowering your workforce.

Workplace Safety Training

Off-site Safety Training

Professional Development

Personal Safety and Self-Defense

CEU programs

WORKPLACE SAFETY

Workplace Safety Training provides skill-building opportunities for employees who work in high-risk settings at the office or off-site.

These trainings have immediate applications in and out of the workplace.

Participants are guided through the practical application of safety concepts within the context of their work environment. Participants engage in custom problem-solving scenarios and dynamic role-play exercises one-on-one with highly trained facilitators.

THREAT ASSESSMENT – tools to identify pre-incident indicators and accurately read situations.
THREAT MANAGEMENT – physical and verbal actions for unsafe situations.
COMMUNICATION – practice boundary-setting, de-escalation, and bystander support.
AGENCY, SKILLS, AND CAPACITY – rehearsals to manage the adrenaline response and emotional stress.
SELF-CARE AND ADDRESSING BURNOUT – an in-depth look at building sustainable self-care practices.
WORKING AS A TEAM – build individual and organizational action plans for incidents and debriefings.

Trainings help organizations build the foundation to further develop and codify safety plans and protocols.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS
We partner with nonprofits, social enterprises, corporations, and small businesses to support leadership development, team building, and human resource initiatives. These workshops focus on boundary-setting, clear communication, verbal and physical safety skills, and allied behavior.

CONTINUING EDUCATION UNITS
CEU credits provide added value for participants. When organizations provide licensed professionals such as social workers, therapists, or medical professionals in the room, programs may be eligible for CEU credit.

Programs for all types of organizations.

TRAUMA SERVICES AGENCY
A large trauma services agency hired Prepare to help their social workers manage home visits. The goals were for social workers to see the early warning signs that the visit was non-productive and/or potentially dangerous. Exit strategies, verbal de-escalation, boundary setting, and rehearsal for worst-case scenarios were the focus of this program series.

LEGAL SERVICES AGENCY
This agency worked with Prepare to ready their staff for agitated clients and their families. Using the reception area and small office environments as the setting, staff rehearsed various strategies to de-escalate individuals and families in crisis.

MEN’S SHELTER
Volunteer staff and faith leaders received de-escalation and safety training to support the shelter being a safe space for those in need.

HOME HEALTH CARE AGENCY
A home health care agency requested Prepare to help aides feel safer when traveling to clients, and dealing with unexpected circumstances and people in clients’ homes.

MARKETING AGENCY
In addition to general personal safety, a marketing company wanted Prepare to help staff communicate more clearly and respectfully in a high-stress environment. The goal was team building between client services and project managers.

POLICY THINK TANK
This organization engaged Prepare for an Introductory Personal Safety and Self-Defense Workshop to empower their workforce with safety skills including threat assessement and threat management.

LARGE HOSPITAL NETWORK
A large hospital network, a national insurance company, and others have engaged Prepare to help their workforce manage identity-based harassment. Included was training to be a supportive bystander to help others being targeted.

SUMMER YOUTH PROGRAM
Empowering staff to create positive communication protocols was the focus of this workshop. Staff learned from Prepare to give and receive feedback and to set clear boundaries respectfully. That, in turn, enabled staff to communicate more effectively with each other and with the youth in their care.

NYC MUSEUM
Prepare was invited to provide an Introductory Personal Safety and Self-Defense Workshop to boost confidence with community engagement.

ADOPTION AGENCY
Prepare was engaged to enhance communication skills across departments and to increase team building within an organization that was mission-driven.

RELIGIOUS INSTITUTION
This organization has a commitment to welcome everyone with an open-door policy. Prepare trained every staff person, so that they would feel empowered and comfortable with vulnerable populations using the building and adjoining property for respite.

NATIONAL MAGAZINE
To support a lagging sales department, Prepare was hired to jump-start morale and sales results and to get folks to “think out of the box.” Independent thinking, taking charge of one’s success, and performing out of one’s comfort zone were the goals of this program.

INTERNATIONAL JOURNALISM
An organization that supports journalists engaged Prepare to train people traveling to conflict and disaster zones to be able to better manage the day-to-day challenges and worst-case scenarios encountered in conflict zones.

SELF-DEFENSE AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS TO RESIST VIOLENCE
A wide variety of organizations, including Fortune 500 corporations, top consulting and law firms, big tech companies, beauty industry leaders and more call on Prepare to offer fun, engaging, and interactive workshops.

The Impact of Prepare

“Friendly, warm, and knowledgeable, they create the best conditions for learning but also internalizing. They provided an invaluable service.”

– Interfaith Rotating Shelter

“They delivered the material in a way that was intersectional, culturally informed, and connected with the population they were serving.”

– The Children’s Village Safe Harbor Program

“We learned so much from the training that will assist us in the workplace and during home visits.”

– City Health Works

“I think the Prepare program was phenomenal.”

– Jack Hanson

“This class has given me the confidence to know that even in a very frightening and disempowering situation I can find small and large ways to be in control. I feel like I have an arsenal of physical and verbal tools to protect others or myself.”

– K.J.

“I left each class feeling comfortable, safe, empowered, and smarter.”

– M.Z.

Frequently asked questions

What does Prepare do?

We’re an organization offering comprehensive violence prevention through a variety of different programs – all featuring realistic scenario training.

Where do these programs take place?

It’s your choice. We can come on-site if you have the space for us to teach, or we can arrange for an off-site location that is mutually agreeable.

How long are the programs?

Our workshops range from 1.5 to 3 hours in length. We also offer comprehensive training ranging from 6 to 20 hours. All workshops are customized to meet your goals.

What are the benefits for a workforce?

Participants and employers are often amazed by the positive effects that a course like ours can have. Since the human response to fear, crisis, challenge, or stress is a rush of adrenaline, we teach using real-life scenarios that allow participants to feel what it is like to experience the adrenal state and to grow more acclimated to functioning effectively while adrenalized.

Although the physical safety skills are often the highlight of our program, our classes cover more than just how to stay safe or how to intervene in a confrontation. Learning how to listen carefully, think clearly, problem-solve, and give direction under high levels of stress is much more difficult while in this adrenal state.

We help participants recognize how to apply these skills in work situations. Participants tell us they feel more confident, relaxed, and prepared to handle challenges and stress with more poise and grace. Our participants often report that they bring the same feeling of safety, empowerment, and communication skills from their Prepare training into their daily personal and professional lives.

Some of the positive effects of Prepare training for employees include:
• ability to handle stress
• increased patience and tolerance of colleagues
• improved confidence and self-esteem
• motivation to handle new and challenging work
• ability to provide clear and complete direction and feedback
• creative and flexible problem solving
• leadership development
• greater general awareness

How many people can you accommodate in a group?

The number of workshop participants depends on the workshop format. The ideal number of participants is 20 or fewer. Group accommodations factor in educational goals and outcomes, time for individual rehearsals, amount of content, and instructor-to-participant ratio. If you have questions about the size of your group, please inquire with us about options.

My company has questions about liability. Do you carry insurance?

We carry liability insurance and can name your company as an additional insured. Some of our workshops include physical resistance skills, and all of our classes include verbal resistance, threat assessment, and threat management. We carefully and expertly craft physically and emotionally safe learning environments. Physical resistance skills are designed for all body types and abilities.

Will my employees become more worried about safety while at work?

Your employees know from their experience about the safety challenges they encounter. Prepare feels it is best to acknowledge risk factors and then lower vulnerability and raise protective factors through experiential training. Employees who sometimes encounter emotionally volatile people, who do home visits, who travel to unfamiliar environments, for example, are very appreciative of skills to help them reduce their risks. They feel seen and heard by their employer, and morale often improves.