HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. – Base officials will host a workshop April 30 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Minuteman Commons here for all parents who have teenagers, parents thinking ahead to the teen years and professionals who work with young adults.
The workshop will provide parenting tips and strategies to support the development of healthy teen relationships, both with peers and with parents.
“Hanscom’s Helping Organizations developed a working group focused on healthy teen relationships, non-social media peer influences and awareness of teen interpersonal and self-directed violence,” said Carolyn McCafferty, Hanscom’s community support coordinator.
She added that the first program the group held was a teen game night held in February and the workshop will be their second activity.
The workshop will include a presentation by the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force on internet safety, case studies of incidents from the local area and suggestions on how to protect family members, especially children, from online predators.
“The FBI Child Exploitation Task Force will highlight the many ways criminals exploit children through mobile apps such as Facebook, Snapchat and others,” said McCafferty.
A similar internet safety workshop took place earlier this year as part of National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month.
Any parents or professionals with base access are welcome to attend.
“Hanscom Helping Agencies seek to support a resilient community through outreach and prevention, awareness and education, and strength-based methodologies that provide a seamless system of human services programs centered on collaborative partnership and coordinated activities,” said McCafferty.
The cross-functional team that makes up the Hanscom Helping Agencies, which includes the Base Chapel, Youth Programs, Airman and Family Readiness and Family Advocacy, strives to enhance the resiliency of the military community by addressing individual, family and community needs and concerns.
For a full list of base helping agencies, visit http://www.hanscom.af.mil/Units/Support/.
For further information, contact McCafferty at 781-225-1771.