Frequently Asked Questions

• What is Safe Havens International, Inc. (SHI)?
• Who should use SHI services?
• What is a crisis plan?
• Can we customize or modify your training programs to fit our school?
• Do you have any presentations that are suitable for students?
• Can you conduct train-the-trainer sessions?
• Do you conduct media interviews?
• How does Chris walk with all those weapons?
• How do you fly to conferences with all those weapons?
  

What is Safe Havens International, Inc. (SHI)?
We are a non-profit safety center. Operating as a true non-profit, only 10% of all revenues generated in fiscal year 2004-2005 went to salary and benefits for our dedicated personnel. Our analysts are dedicated to helping schools internalize school safety expertise rather than creating profits or long term reliance on our services. Review the credentials of our analysts and you will see years of service as practitioners rather than consulting experience as our primary backgrounds. Read our books and you will see the concepts we first developed are now taught by most experts in the field of school safety. Call our clients and you will find they have been fully satisfied with our services. We have never accepted any form of compensation to endorse any commercial product or service so we can provide neutral recommendations for equipment and service companies. For us, it is about kids, not dollars.
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Who should use SHI services?
Our services are suitable for any organization interested in establishing or improving their safety programs. Our services have been provided to schools, businesses, churches and governments.
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What is a crisis plan?
A crisis plan is an "all hazards" approach to managing any potential crisis, including major incidents that indirectly affect any organization. A crisis plan is literally a plan of action taken to protect the property and lives of people. SHI can assist your organization in developing a quality plan that meets your specific needs.
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Can we customize or modify your training programs to fit our school?
Of course! We will be happy to customize any of our services to fit your school community.
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Do you have any presentations that are suitable for students?
Yes. Our bullying program, “Weakfish” has been well received by students – particularly at the middle and high school level. As a matter of fact, after a group of elementary and high school students in Warrenton North Carolina heard “Weakfish” they petitioned the Superintendent, Dr. Spain, to have Michael Dorn return to present the program to other students.
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Can you conduct train-the-trainer sessions?
Sure. We recommend this type of training to allow the school system to internalize their capacity to redeliver the training.
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Do you conduct media interviews?
Though we focus on our work as advocates for children rather than promotion of our efforts through the media, Safe Havens personnel have frequently been sought out by the media from around the world. Our primary emphasis in media relations has been to attempt to undo the severe damage that has been done by individuals who provide alarmist information in an effort to create consulting business or to sell school safety products. This is an effect you will see in any field, but we think it is particularly upsetting to see this exploitation of a topic where young lives are at stake. The harm these individuals cause is immeasurable. To this end, our analysts have been interviewed by or featured on Larry King Live, 20/20, Good Morning America, ABC World News Tonight With Peter Jennings, the BBC, the Associated Press, the New York Times, Time Magazine, the London Times and hundreds of other media organizations.
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How does Chris walk with all those weapons?
In short, he can’t, at least not very well. With a record of 150+ weapons concealed in just baggy jeans and a shirt, it is of course an exaggerated demonstration. He can walk, but only very stiffly, which would give away his presentation. Someone with only a few weapons would have a much easier time walking.
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How do you fly to conferences with all those weapons?
We don’t – we did before 9/11, but we now ship them a few weeks in advance to each presentation. Since we ship them so far ahead of time to ensure delivery before the presentation, we have 3-4 sets of weapons, so the presentation is different every time. We use the services of the United States Postal Service (USPS) because of their reliability & cost effectiveness – we formerly used UPS and FedEx until they repeatedly lost and damaged our packages.
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In addition, we do not use any real firearms – only rubber replicas. All of the knives, clubs, impact weapons, etc. are real, and most of them were actually seized from students at school.

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