The program is one piece of Peace House’s broader efforts to educate the community to recognize and respond to incidents of domestic violence.
Jenifer Heredia, Peace House bilingual community relations, said staffing issues paused the Safe Bars program in 2022 and it has now restarted.
The free two-hour training teaches bar and restaurant employees useful and safe tools to handle alleged violent individuals. Businesses that get the training receive a year certification from Peace House.
Heredia said Flanagan’s on Main received its certification in April.
Westgate Resort and Red Banjo Pizza are next on the list.
Heredia said one principle of Safe Bars training is not to label alcohol as the primary reason for violent behavior, but rather the person who is allegedly being aggressive.
“I think that’s the first go ahead that people kind of use," she said. "It’s like, ‘Oh yeah, well he/she is drunk, or they're drunk.’ So taking that stigma away from the alcohol, we’re definitely not trying to criminalize alcohol."
The training begins with a role play to help bar staff feel comfortable.
She said one important part of training is teaching staff the “5 D’s”:
Direct: Directly approaching a suspected perpetrator to let them know their behavior is bothering another person.
Distract: Distracting the suspected perpetrator by putting their focus on something else.
Delegate: Delegating tasks to staff so they also feel safe and comfortable.
Document: Documenting the physical characteristics of the suspected perpetrator if their behavior doesn’t change.
Delay: Delaying the suspected perpetrator from further interactions with another person by removing them to another space.
Heredia said distracting may be the most impactful tool.
“Use in the sense of, ‘It’s my first time skiing and I’m going to go do a black run, or a diamond run,'" she said. "So using that leverage to know that they are going to intervene and want to talk to you about it, it distracts them from their target and it puts the distraction on you.”
Heredia said the goal is to be anywhere and everywhere to help others in potentially unsafe situations.
Peace House has posted information with the shelter’s number in certified establishments.
Heredia says Peace House’s resources are offered in English and Spanish.
To learn more about Peace House’s safety training for bars, click here.
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