INDIANAPOLIS — Teaching residents how to handle and resolve conflict was the goal Tuesday night at a training held by the Indianapolis Center for Conflict Resolution.
WRTV went to the training for a look at how residents were taught to de-escalate tough situations and encourage others to do the same.
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"It's not going to make me feel better,” a participant said.
The participant, who is a funeral director, shared her perspective, saying she's seen the worst results from conflict.
"I want to see fewer young people coming through those gates to be buried," the woman said.
"So, conflict resolution. That's why we are here today, to find a peaceful method for handling conflict," Gary Evers, Program Director for Indianapolis Center for Conflict Resolution, said.
Evers said that de-escalation trainings like these provide benefits for entire communities.
"Positively handle conflict, so that they're not having verbal altercations. We're not having physical altercations. That will assist IMPD, that will assist with the youth, that can assist teachers, principals, faculties in the schools, and then it's less crime prevention," Evers said.
Evers provided many ways to approach a situation getting out of control, and tips for how to understand triggers and ways to re-center when pushed beyond your limits.
"What can we do to reach the hearts and minds of those who will prefer a conflict over a resolution?” one participant asked.
"People are just upset about anything and everything all over Indianapolis, the world. It doesn't matter," Laura Henderson, a participant, said.
Henderson tells WRTV that she enjoys learning new ways to promote good throughout her community.
"I just want us to get to a place back to the place where we used to respect and love each other, and the 'It's OK. I'm sorry, excuse me,' you know, without, 'You stepping on my foot!' Yeah, and then it's an all-out brawl about it. We don't have to be that person," Henderson said.
The Indy Center for Conflict Resolution is a collaborative effort led by the Indy Public Safety Foundation to reduce violence in Marion County.
