Prevention and Wellness
At our 2016 National Convention, Phi Kappa Tau recognized the need for a philosophical shift among fraternities regarding some tough topics. We realized it was not enough to just manage risk – we needed to prevent it.
philosophy on prevention and wellness
In developing men of character into MEN OF DISTINCTION our fraternal values must be at the center of everything we do. At the same time, we acknowledge our members face several challenges as it relates to the safety and well-being of our members, guests, and stakeholders. As a result, members of Phi Kappa Tau are individually and collectively responsible for providing a safe and healthy environment that fosters a positive experience rooted in prevention best practices. Therefore, our members need to be educated on the challenges facing our membership, demonstrate sound awareness of said challenges and as a result be empowered to make the right decisions to address them. We shall strive to create a culture at the national, regional, and local levels built on clear expectations, intervention strategies, and accountability.
Four Points of our Prevention Program are Expectations, Support, Intervention, and Accountability:
Expectations: Clearly defined expectations can act as a guide for members and help them understand what it will mean to be a member in the chapter and what behavior is appropriate.
Support: Our chapters will need support from their campuses, BOG, and the Executive Offices to identify what needs to change within their chapters and to make those changes happen. This will aid chapters in not feeling overwhelmed when it comes to creating change and allow us to also foster an environment where open conversation is encouraged among these groups.
Intervention: We understand that our chapters and members are not perfect and that mistakes will happen. Because of this fact, focusing on developing intervention skills will allow our members to intervene before small mistakes become large ones and create a safe, social environment for members and guests.
Accountability: Our chapters must have clear accountability measures in place for members who do not meet expectations. Accountability contributes to members overall development and helps them grow into Men of Distinction.
Our Goals:
Goal 1: To have chapters identify their own areas of improvement based on chapter data and set goals around these areas to increase buy-in and see greater levels of change when it comes to unhealthy habits and behavior.
Goal 2: Focusing on the data point that our members expect themselves to intervene in risky situations and expect their chapter brothers to intervene as well while creating educational resources for chapter Prevention and Wellness Chairs to supplement what is taught at national programs.
Goal 3: Understanding the importance of expectations and accountability and create resources to support chapters as they identify and create specific expectations and appropriate accountability measures for membership.
PLAID
Phi Kappa Tau has recently partnered with Plaid, an online educator to deliver programs to our chapters. For more information click here.