Facilitators are required to use our 20 week program to help the incarcerated transition to society.
Program Expectations for Facilitators
Moving FAST Facilitators are to be trained and tasked with transmitting useful information and healthy coping strategies to help participants develop applicable skills to construct and maintain a peaceful and productive lifestyle. Facilitators are invested in helping participants in and outside of the program. Maintain a clean and safe area for sessions. It is not just personal appearance, speech, and body language that will make an impression but a combination of the comfort level and sanitary conditions of the location as well.
- First Week.
- Give a summary of Moving F.A.S.T., purpose, length, get to know everyone, walk participants through the program expectations, and sign Program Agreement Forms. Provide copies of the Program Agreement Forms to be signed for record keeping.
- When discussing the Participants Expectation of Confidentiality, let everyone know that Moving F.A.S.T. strives to maintain a safe space inside and outside of the session.
- Instruct everyone to always ask permission to share another’s experience. Because they may become vulnerable to sharing doesn’t qualify you to share it. Reinforce the importance of respecting everyone’s voice and the transformative value of vulnerability.
- Explain Quotes. The quotes throughout the workbook will be utilized to examine individual perceptions and create meaningful dialogue leading into lessons.
- Speakers. There will be professionals conducting workshops, and other community representatives throughout the program as part of our community engagement initiative.
- Reflections: Explain that each lesson is followed by a Reflection Week in which the Lesson Impact from the previous week is discussed and a Group Processing Topic will occur meant to support team building & roundtable dialogue toward applying lesson material. The word Processing is emphasized as sustaining change is a process not a singular event.
- Discuss the data from the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS).
- Know the material and your audience. Be sure to familiarize yourself with the entire program and each participant to establish a working understanding of its concepts and process which will enable you to engage the participants with an executive presence. No one will trust in the material if the source is unable to deliver it sure footed.
- Prioritize the participants. You should know why you are there. Facilitation is done by you but “IT IS NOT ABOUT YOU! Understand that what works for you may not be practicable for another. You are facilitating to help other people and that is determined by their needs and them being receptive to your help. The face of help may not look the way you want because it is not for you. Be creative in offering options.
- Be yourself. Do not attempt to be the other Facilitator. Although we learn from each other and mimic beneficial techniques, it is good to develop your own methods. The participants will come to know you as genuine, respect you for being you, and have an opportunity to learn by variety.
- Real Talk. Productive engagement with the participants requires that you have good conversational ability. Don’t get hung up on language etiquette. Verbal communication is often the biggest learning barrier because teachers are Not flexible in speech. While it is true that increased education ought to improve one’s vocabulary, it is more effective to use understandable or relatable talk to get the message across, as long as it remains within the parameters of respect. And if English is a second language for some participants, try using a bilingual co-facilitator which could be a participant if it helps. Avoid any use of negative racial connotations.
- No ego-tripping. At the beginning of the program or each session ask the participants to check their ego at the door and to keep an open mind. The ego allows us to know we are deserving of more in life, but it is a barrier in human relationships when allowed to go unchecked.
- Everyone is asked to check their ego at the door. Especially the Facilitator! For the human connection to be established with participants the Facilitator should apply the program founder’s education proverb: “In the perpetual school of life, we are all students in constant need of learning.” So, don’t try to over teach and ask for help if you need it. The best teaching tool a Facilitator can use are the participants.
- Explain the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle (good hygiene).
- Challenge participants to get involved without over pushing. The objective is to motivate and support them, not deflate or embarrass them.
- Stay On Topic. You, the Facilitator, are the room moderator so allow everyone to express ideas, concerns, disagreements and inquiries in a fair and respectable manner, but Stay On Topic. A way to keep your lesson fluid is to ask the participants to write down their questions to remember them and let them know that you will take a break for questions. To stop or get cut off mid delivery can make thought recovery difficult for the most skilled facilitator, or anyone.
- Conflict reduction. Be efficient in using the conflict reduction steps that are in Week 12 when the room temperature rises from expressed differences. Remember, it is more important to help participants understand “why” they are emotionally charged rather than just shutting them down.
- Be attentive. Everyone’s experience is unique to them so it is important and instrumental that we validate everyone’s experience in the change process by being attentive during self expression, verbally and behaviorally. The door to our hearts can only be opened with our eyes and ears. Let participants share in their own way without disadvantaging others by being time considerate. But remember, healing is time consuming, not time restricting. Repeating back what has been said like “So, is this what you’re saying, that by… you felt like …?” can be a positive method to show that you’ve paid attention or are an effective listener.
- Don‘t take it personally. Some program material will provoke discomfort and various other emotional responses. In order to generalize content, ask participants to apply material to their life if useful but not to take it personal. Participants should never feel singled out and targeted.
- Always make eye contact when processing material to show respect and convey confidence in material. Just don’t make it uncomfortably weird.
- Use suggestive or open ended questions so participants can process their own solutions, and develop the trust that they can get things right for themselves.
- Know your strengths. Never take on a class size or material you are not capable of processing.
- Ask for feedback to improve ways of reaching participants.
- Do follow ups. Everyone interprets information differently and learns by various methods and motivations, so never make the assumption that you have communicated to the participants well enough. Moving F.A.S.T. Facilitators are invested in helping participants continue learning in and outside of the program.
- Openness. Be willing and ready to share personal experiences so that you and material will become relatable. This is a good way of letting the participants know that you’ve had messiness in your life, take ownership for mistakes, and don’t have everything figured out.
- Model the program. You should not come off as holier than thou, but live the program and let the participants see you are maintaining a change you are encouraging in them.
- Thank you. When a participant shares or gets involved in an activity, always say Thank You. This shows effort appreciation and encourages continued engagement.
- Positive attitude. Always show up with a positive attitude and constructive readiness.
Use the Stages of Change to guide participants through the Lesson Impact weeks, helping them through the gradual process of change and to transform setbacks into life lessons.
Stages of Change
- Precontemplation – Why do you or other people want me to change?
- Contemplation – Are there reasons for me to change?
- Preparation – I am ready to implement some changes.
- Action – I am making changes.
- Maintenance – I am putting the work in to maintain the changes..
- Relapse – I had a setback or reverted to old behavior.