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WEAPONS DOWN™
Prevention Before Tragedy

Weapons Down™ is a federally recognized 501(c)(3) violence prevention and cognitive decision-training program designed to help youth, families, schools, and communities interrupt the thinking patterns that lead to violence, destructive behavior, emotional escalation, and life-changing consequences.

At the core of Weapons Down™ is one powerful belief:

Weapons Down™ doesn’t just take weapons out of hands — it takes violence out of thinking.

Our program focuses on what we call Cognitive Disarmament™ — teaching young people how to slow down, process emotions, recognize triggers, and make better decisions before situations escalate.

Weapons Down™ teaches that every violent act, emotional explosion, or destructive decision begins with a thought. If we can interrupt the thought process before the action, we can interrupt the consequence before tragedy happens.

That is why our mission is:
Prevention Before Tragedy™

WHY WEAPONS DOWN™ MATTERS
Every school.
Every city.
Every family.
Every youth program.
Needs tools that teach young people:

emotional regulation
decision-making
de-escalation
consequence awareness
self-control
cognitive thinking skills

Too often, youth are punished for behavior without ever being taught how behavior develops in the mind.

Weapons Down™ changes that.

We teach students, families, and communities how to understand:

Trigger → Thought → Feeling → Decision → Action → Consequence

By teaching youth how to interrupt the process early, we help prevent violence, conflict, impulsive behavior, and destructive choices before they happen.

OUR CORE TRAINING MODULES

THE MOMENT BEFORE™
Teaches youth that there is always a moment between emotion and action where a decision is made.
This module helps participants:

recognize emotional triggers
slow down reactions
understand consequences
regain control before acting impulsively

Core Principle:

“You can’t always control what you feel, but you can control what you do.”
P.A.U.S.E.™
A cognitive decision-control system designed to help youth interrupt emotional escalation in real time.
P.A.U.S.E.

P – Process the Emotion
A – Assess the Situation
U – Understand the Consequences
S – Select a Response
E – Execute with Control

This module teaches participants how to think before reacting during moments of anger, frustration, peer pressure, or conflict.

THE PATHWAY™
A visual cognitive training model that teaches how thoughts become behavior.
Participants learn how:

triggers create thoughts
thoughts create feelings
feelings influence decisions
decisions create consequences

This module helps youth identify where they lose control and how to interrupt the pathway before escalation occurs.

COGNITIVE DISARMAMENT™
One of the foundational teachings of Weapons Down™.

This module focuses on removing violence from thinking patterns before it becomes behavior.

Participants learn:

how destructive thinking develops
how emotional escalation affects decisions
how to replace impulsive reactions with intentional responses
how to mentally “disarm” conflict before it becomes physical

JUST DON’T PICK IT UP™
A prevention-focused module teaching youth that many life-changing consequences begin with one impulsive decision.

This module addresses:

weapons awareness
peer pressure
image and identity
emotional decisions
long-term consequences

The focus is not just the object — it is the thinking behind the decision.

THE GUN IS A LIAR™
A powerful cognitive-awareness module teaching youth how violence falsely promises:

respect
power
protection
control

Participants learn how weapons and violent thinking often lead instead to:

incarceration
trauma
loss
regret
death

Core Principle:

“You should hate anything that lies to you.”

DECISION TRAINING™
Teaches youth the difference between reacting emotionally and responding intentionally.

This module focuses on:

good decisions vs bad decisions
long-term thinking
impulse control
future consequences
personal responsibility

Participants learn:
“Every decision moves your future in a direction.”

S.U.D.™
(Seemingly Unimportant Decisions)

Teaches how small decisions often create major consequences over time.
Youth learn how choices that seem harmless in the moment can slowly lead toward:

violence
arrests
school problems
addiction
negative environments

This module helps participants think beyond the moment.

PREVENTION BEFORE RELAPSE™
Designed for recovery and rehabilitation environments.

This module teaches participants how thoughts, triggers, environments, and emotions can reactivate destructive behaviors even after progress has been made.

Focus areas include:

identifying triggers
interrupting relapse thinking
emotional awareness
self-control strategies
rebuilding cognitive strength

SCHOOL & COMMUNITY IMPACT
Weapons Down™ is designed for:

schools
alternative education programs
juvenile justice systems
probation and diversion programs
reentry organizations
youth mentoring programs
family intervention services
community violence prevention initiatives

Our training combines:

visual learning
thought questions
real-life application
emotional regulation
cognitive behavior strategies

The goal is not simply to discipline behavior.
The goal is to transform thinking.

WHAT MAKES WEAPONS DOWN™ DIFFERENT
Weapons Down™ is not just a lecture.

It is:

interactive
visual
cognitive
practical
emotionally engaging
prevention-focused

We teach youth how to:

slow down
think clearly
process emotions
de-escalate conflict
understand consequences
make decisions that protect their future

OUR MISSION

To reduce violence, emotional escalation, and destructive decision-making by teaching youth and communities how to interrupt dangerous thinking before tragedy happens.
WEAPONS DOWN™
Prevention Before Tragedy™

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