YWCA calls for violence prevention
Angelica Morrison
Sunday, September 26, 2026

Prevention is as good as a cure.

That’s the new approach the YWCA of Niagara is taking to domestic violence with the launching of its new program, the Delta Project, featuring its first conference, “A Call to Men: It’s Time to Become Part of the Solution.”

“For the first time we say, ‘Men, we know you’re the bad guys 95 percent of the time, but let’s try to be part of the solution,’ ” said Richard Laskowski, coordinator of Delta Project.

He said the conference coincides with domestic violence month in October. “ ‘The Call to Men’ is a unique kind of focus.”

The day-long conference, held with the assistance of the Niagara County Sheriff’s Department, will start at 8:30 a.m. Oct. 13 at the Orleans/Niagara BOCES Conference Center.

It’s focus will be on the prevention of domestic violence and not so much immediate need.

“The best approach is to focus on primary prevention,” said Laskowski. “There’s not one program that we can point a finger to that prevents violence against women. We don’t deal with victims, we don’t deal with perpetrators. What we’re doing is designing strategies that will eliminate the problem in the long run.”

Part of the elimination centers around motivating social change through education. Laskowski has been talking to middle school students across Niagara County about prevention.

He shares with students information about what healthy relationships are, the warning signs of date violence and consequences of violence. So far Laskowski, feels his message got through to the kids.

“You really get their attention,” he said. “I try to engage them into discussion. It’s difficult when your doing the one-time presentation.”

That’s why the YWCA is trying a saturation approach .The next step after the conference, Laskowski said, is developing a county men’s group against violence and sexism in relationships.

“This is kind of a new way of looking at it for us,” said Kathleen Whalen-Granchelli, executive director at the YWCA. “We don’t take into account our partners who are men with good conscience. There’s no way we’re going to defeat domestic violence in our country without the assistance of men.”
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