HPNE Hosts Workshop on Bystander Intervention in Honor of Pride Month
High Purity New England was thrilled to welcome Youth Pride Inc. for the second year in a row, this time to host a workshop for all employees on bystander intervention.
What is Bystander Intervention?
A bystander, as defined by Merriam-Webster, is “one who is present but not taking part in a situation or event: a chance spectator”. In the training held by Youth Pride Inc. at HPNE this past week, we talked about actions you can take when you are a bystander to the mistreatment of others, particularly due to the individual's identity.
Following an introduction to the basics of bystander intervention, the session included multiple hypothetical scenarios where attendees were challenged to use what they had learned to discuss how they would de-escalate various situations.
Other topics covered included assessing personal safety, staying aware of your surroundings, and when attempts at intervening turn into a negative for the person being harassed. One of the biggest takeaways from the session was that your role as a bystander is not to solve the situation entirely, but to step in and make sure the person being treated unkindly or harassed is okay and feels supported. Additionally, when safe, it is helpful to make sure the perpetrator knows that their behavior is inappropriate.
“I thought the session was well structured, and I walked away feeling better equipped to safely de-escalate a negative situation as a bystander the next time I encounter one,” stated one of our employee attendees. “We discussed how things like fear and judgment can often prevent you from stepping in to help in these situations. By being prepared and equipped with the skills needed, I feel like standing up for others becomes less intimidating and more automatic. Our workshop leader Rush was incredibly engaging, and I thought the discussions that came from the scenarios we went over were really helpful.”
All participants walked away with a packet detailing some of the topics that were reviewed in the training, as well as additional resources to be reviewed after.
More About Youth Pride
Youth Pride Inc. is a not-for-profit organization that was officially founded in 1994. Its mission is to meet the ongoing needs of LGBTQ+ identifying young adults and youth in their community through education, support, direct service, and education. They offer multiple educational workshops and training opportunities that you can book to host at your organization. If you’d like to host a training session, you can check out their full list of course offerings on their training courses page.
In addition to their training courses, Youth Pride provides a multitude of services for LGBTQ+ youth, including clinical support, re-housing, a food & basic needs pantry, a fully functional kitchen (available for older age groups), multiple support groups, and much more. Most importantly, they provide a safe space for members of their organization to sit, play games, watch movies, and relax during their drop-in hours.
They are always looking for volunteers and donations, and for more information on ways you can help, you can visit their volunteer opportunities page, or their donations page.
Pride Month at HPNE
At High Purity New England, we believe it is critical that our work environment feels welcoming and safe for all individuals. To show our dedication to inclusion, we recognize and highlight various monthly dedications throughout the year.
To learn more about the events we held last year in honor of Pride Month, visit our article “Celebrating Pride Month with HPNE”.
Additionally, for Pride Month this year, we took the opportunity to highlight multiple companies in biopharma that we feel are having a major impact on the LGBTQ+ community within the industry in our article titled, “Biopharma Organizations Leading the Way in Supporting the LGBTQ+ Community”.
Additional Resources to Support the LGBTQ+ Community
For more ways to support LGBTQ+ identifying individuals in your community, you can visit GLAAD’s LGBTQ Resource List, covering topics like politics, military, legal, and general resources.
The Trevor Project also offers an extensive and user-friendly resource center that covers a variety of topics. For LGBTQ+ individuals in crisis, the Trevor Project also offers a crisis intervention phone service.
Finally, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) also offers a list of resources that may be useful for LGBTQ+ identifying individuals, as well as their friends and family.
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About HPNE
As the industry needs grow, High Purity New England, Inc. continues to supply the biopharmaceutical industry with a range of innovative products, from drug discovery and development to fill-finish, including their flagship product, custom single-use assemblies, as well as pumps, sensors, bioreactor systems, storage and handling solutions and other single-use solutions. Along with their own manufactured products for the global market, they are also a distributor for more than 18 brands in North America.
