ARISE in Washington, DC

ARISE for Change

ARISE for Change combines the evidence-based practice of Motivational Interviewing (MI) with the ARISE Drop It at the Door training to provide youth and staff with effective communication skills.

ARISE for Change aims to increase pro-social outcomes of youth, decrease the number of youth entering the juvenile justice system, and reduce the number of youth that recidivate.

ARISE for Change combines a three-day training program for staff with 28 one-hour youth sessions.

Some of the training topics are:

  • Positive youth and staff development
  • Effective communication skills
  • Employing empathy
  • Reflective listening
  • Promoting change talk
  • Rolling with resistance
  • How your thoughts affect your behavior

Staff training

The staff training is designed to build supportive relationships where staff listen, engage and positively influence the youth to work through the stages of change model. High-risk youth need empathetic staff that can facilitate effective goal setting and guide them through positive, pro-social change processes.

During the staff training, participants will learn:

  • The importance of values
  • How change works
  • The power of choice
  • How to enhance internal change
  • Rapport building and collaboration
  • Ways to handle anger and stress in their lives
  • Skills to engage and influence others

How staff felt about the training

  • B.P., House of Seven Steps: “The training was very informative, eye opening and it allowed me to look into myself.”
  • C.E., House of Seven Steps: “The activity What Would I Like to Change in My Life impacted me the most. I am better able to drop my issues at the door after this training. I also now realize I have a choice when I react to stress and anger.”
  • A.G., Renaissance House: “This training exceeded my expectations. I plan to use this information at work and at home. I learned tools that can help me handle angry situations.”
  • D.W., Comfort House: “This training exceeded my expectations. Living in the red zone (frustration, stress, anger) or the blue zone (peace, happiness) made a strong impact on me.”

Youth sessions

Youth enhance their readiness to change their behavior by learning to decrease negative behavior, listen reflectively, express themselves and make more pro-social choices.

One lesson that is completed in the first few sessions involves the youth identifying changes they want to make.   Then they work on achieving those changes throughout the remaining sessions.

During the youth sessions, participants will learn:

  • The importance of values
  • How change works
  • The power of choice
  • How to enhance internal change
  • Rapport building and collaboration
  • Ways to handle anger and stress in their lives
  • Skills to engage and influence others
  • How to work toward achievable goals

Some changes the youth talked about making during the sessions

L.H.: “I need to change my decision making skills. If I don’t make better decisions I can be locked up again. If I make changes and I make better decisions, people will look up to me and will respect me. If I make better decisions younger kids can look up to me.”

This shows the facilitator that L.H. is thinking about change and has some motivation to change. For the rest of the sessions, decision making skills will be a theme that this young person works on.

S.I.: “I want to stop using drugs completely. When I smoke or do drugs, I trip out and I cannot focus on school. I have a baby and need to get a high school diploma. If I don’t change, I feel I will be killed or hurt.”

This shows the facilitator that S.I. is definitely thinking about change, and he is ready for a change plan. The first step is to understand that you need to change and what will happen if you don’t change. This was all youth-centered. Judy Lyons (the youth facilitator) does not preach and teach; she uses reflective listening skills to allow the youth to feel safe in discussing where they are at that moment in time.

O.W.: “If I don’t make changes in my life, I will soon be over 18 and can be committed to the DC Jail.”

P.C.: “If I do change, my family will be happy and I can get a good job.”

O.W. and P.C. are thinking about change but are not at the same place as L.H. and S.I. They have not identified specifically what they want to change. They need to be guided through reflective listening and open-ended questions to decide on an area they most want to change. To help them understand the consequences of changing and not changing, in a previous session they learned the “ABC chain,” which allows them to look at actions they have taken— A (Antecedent) what happened first; then B (Behavior chosen); and C (Consequences resulting from that behavior).

More ARISE Activities in Washington, DC

ARISE has enlisted over 100 organizations throughout the district into the ARISE Life Management Skills program, including Metropolitan Police officers, the Youth Service Center and public/charter schools.

ARISE has trained and certified over 1,000 ARISE Life Management Skills Instructors in the Washington D.C. area who have gone on to teach essential life skills using ARISE’s specialized, easily understood curricula. ARISE reaches an average of 1,000 young men and women each week. Many are still held under lock and key and others are fresh out of juvenile detention. Focus groups report that ARISE is effectively connecting with these disengaged youth.

Often these youth are not inspired by acts of kindness or compassion at home or on the streets. Menacing anti-social behavior and finely cultivated animosity are lessons life has taught them. Their last best chance to learn essential life and workplace skills is the ARISE program.

Click on the map image to the right to view a full listing of the Washington, DC Facilities where ARISE Life Skills programs currently operate.