First nonviolence center in Tucson opens

Published: Feb. 2, 2016 at 2:31 AM MST|Updated: Mar. 2, 2018 at 4:12 PM MST
Email This Link
Share on Pinterest
Share on LinkedIn

TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) - The first nonviolence center in Tucson opened its doors Monday, Feb. 1 as part of an effort to stop violence in local schools and homes.

The nonviolence center is located at the ACE Charter School on North Stone Avenue near Grant Road.

Last fall, violence erupted at Palo Verde High School when six students got into a fight in the school parking lot, and were later arrested.

READ: Six high school students face charges after fight at school

"The school was actually locked down that week because of the physical violence," said Hassan Clement, program manager for the Nonviolence Legacy Project.

Clement said he wants the violence to stop.

His program was created to help educate youth on ways to peacefully solve conflicts.

The program teaches six key steps to deescalate tense situations.

A facility with positive tools for teens is welcome news for one local mother.

"Having a physical space and having folks dedicated to offering youth programs, is a really powerful resource," said Karin Malbrough.

Clement said he is hoping the training classes are contagious, and help ensure situations like the one that occurred at Palo Verde don't happen again.

"We have the incoming freshmen class, in four years they'll be skilled community organizers and activists. These are the type of people we want to put in the world," Clement said.

Nonviolence leaders are working on implementing the training for the Sunnyside School District next.

In the future, they hope to spread the nonviolence education to all schools in the Tucson Unified School District.

Copyright 2016 Tucson News Now. All rights reserved.