Institute for Policy Reserach News, Northwestern University

ABCD Finds a “Safe Haven” In Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood

Summer 1998, Volume 19, Number 1

“Imagine what the world is like for children who are worried about their own safety or the safety of someone they love.... Instead of trying to figure out where a puzzle piece fits or how to write the letters of their names, their energies are spent on trying to figure out how to stay safe.”

These are the words of Fred Rogers, creator and host of the popular children’s TV series, “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” Rogers’ production company, Family Communications, Inc., is adapting two graphics created by John Kretzmann and John McKnight for materials it has designed to help communities deal with preschoolers who have been exposed to violence.

The “Community Assets” and “Neighborhood Needs” maps from Building Communities from the Inside Out show diametrically opposed views of how to assess neighborhoods. Rogers’ company is reprinting the maps as part of its Safe Havens Training Project manual for teachers, parents, and childcare providers. The workbook will accompany a set of documentary-style videos on the traumatic effects of witnessing violence at such a young age.