The Safety Team

The Safety Team is located in Vermont & has offered empowerment self-defense classes to girls and women for 20 years.

We work towards the empowerment of all women and the end of rape culture.

06/11/2026

Essentials of Empowerment Self-Defense Workshop in Grand Isle! We have spaces available!

When: Tuesday, June 23 - 6:00pm - 8:30pm
Where: Grand Isle Fire Station

Level 1 Empowerment Self-Defense Violence Prevention Workshop - For Girls & Women Ages 12+
Learn powerful, practical skills to stay safe - no matter your fitness level.

✔ A focus on Empowerment - not fear
✔ Recognize and respond to unsafe situations
✔ Use your voice with confidence
✔ Learn easy, effective physical techniques
✔ Build awareness, boundaries, and self-trust
✔ Small and large group activities (5:1 student-instructor ratio)
✔ Tools for boundary-setting, consent, and self-defense

No experience needed. All fitness levels are welcome.
Taught by women, for women (including cis, trans, non-binary) in a supportive environment.

- Ages 12–13 must attend with a female parent or guardian
- Ages 14–18 need a signed parent/guardian waiver

🎟 Register now on our websit (link in bio):
https://thesafetyteam.org/empowerment-self-defense-training/esdt-workshop-registrations/

🎥 Watch our video:
https://youtu.be/TcxUyNSkLKw

Follow us on social media:
https://www.instagram.com/thesafetyteamesd/
https://www.facebook.com/TheSafetyTeamSelfDefense/

Learn more about The Safety Team at: https://thesafetyteam.org

06/08/2026

Our fabulous cohort of instructors-in-training had another long day of hard work and practicing last weekend. We're so proud of all of you on your amazing progress and grateful for your energy and commitment to this work of spreading Empowerment Self-Defense to women in your communities!

It’s wonderful how each person brings their own unique strengths and diverse backgrounds to The Safety Team's workshops to make them so powerful and impactful. Great job, everyone! 💪

05/19/2026

TESD™ REFRESHER SESSIONS

Fridays:
May 22, 5:30pm-7pm
June 19, 6:30pm- 8pm
July 31, 4pm-5:30pm

Have you participated in a TESD™ series?

Are you interested in refreshing your skills and promoting further healing?

Previous TESD™ participants are invited to attend a 90-minute booster session. Enrollment is free, courtesy of a grant from the Vermont Center for Crime Victim Services. This session will be limited to 12 participants. Past TESD participants may attend any and all refresher sessions; there is no limit to how many sessions you may attend, space permitting.

Email [email protected] to sign up!

05/15/2026

Why "The Safety Team" name? Good question!

First, let’s talk about the word “Safety.” Safety is so important in everything that we do. Learning happens best when people feel safe. A sense of safety helps people connect. Safety is essential for healing. Not only do we focus on safety in our trainings, but safety is fundamental to every aspect of what we do.

Find more about The Safety Team's work and sign up for an Empowerment Self-Defense Workshop on our website:

www.thesafetyteam.org

05/07/2026

🌿 May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and at The Safety Team, we believe mental health and personal safety are deeply connected. Whether someone's joining their first Empowerment Self-Defense workshop or moving through Trauma Recovery programming, the message is the same: healing is possible, it belongs to you, and you don't have to do it alone.

We're also celebrating the people who make this work possible:

🌱 Welcome to the board, Sarah Carbonneau! Her warmth and gift for making people feel safe and seen are such an asset.

🌸 Welcome back, Jenna Burleigh! Her steady, reliable presence is a gift to participants and teammates alike.

🥋 Welcome back, Kate Williams! She brings her black belt in Kempo Jujutsu and fierce, positive energy to every room.

✨ Welcome, Aprille Soons Palmer! Certified Level 1 ESD Instructor and ESD Trainer in Training, with a natural ability to connect.

🌿 Congratulations, Dale Henry! Our seasoned ESD and TESD instructor steps into her new role as Trauma Recovery Administrative Assistant, bringing deep experience and so much heart.

This is what the ripple effect looks like. Every person, every workshop, every community adds up to a world where more people feel safer, stronger, and more empowered.

🗓️ Upcoming Spring and summer classes are open now!

LEVEL 1: Essentials of Empowerment Self-Defense

📍 Wed, June 3 / 5:30-8pm / Greenway Institute, Montpelier
📍 Sun, July 26 / 10am-12:30pm / South Burlington Community Room

LEVEL 2: Review and Defenses Against Common Threats 📍 Thurs, June 25 / 5:30-8pm / Williston Parks and Recs

TESD Refresher Session
📍 May 22 / 5:30-7pm / Burlington
📍 June 19 / 6:30-8pm / Burlington

Adult TESD Series
📍 Fridays, June 5, 19 & 26 / 2-4:30pm / Burlington
📍 Oct 30, Nov 6 & 13 / 2-4:30pm / Burlington

Young Adult and Teen TESD Series
📍 Fridays, Oct 2, 9 & 16 / 4-6pm / Burlington

👉 Register at thesafetyteam.org

05/01/2026

We still have a few spots left at our Level 1 Empowerment Self-Defense Workshop for Women on Wednesday May 6th in Montpelier!

Register on our website at
www.thesafetyteam.org

04/27/2026

Big thank you to our fantastic instructors in training - you put in the work yesterday and it showed! The material is challenging, the days are long, and watching everyone push through and lift each other up is exactly what this is all about. Different strengths, total support, and so much progress. We are so grateful to have you all on this journey with us and to spread women's empowerment self-defense training throughout Vermont and beyond!

04/23/2026

I believe survivors. I support survivors. I stand with survivors.

And I will do everything within my power to bring attention to the issue of sexual violence to increase awareness, foster prevention, promote healing, and change our culture so that we ALL can walk with a sense of true safety, freedom, and respect.

We deserve no less.

TONIGHT join Lisa Gonzalez and Christine DiBlasio, PhD, founding member of the Safety Team, for a live conversation on Sexual Violence: The Unacknowledged Epidemic, hosted by Eleanor's Squad and Unsilenced for Good.

📅 Thursday, April 23 🕖 7:00 PM EST 🔗 https://substack.com/

Join us LIVE or catch the recording. Each one of us can do our part to make this world better and safer for all. 💙

04/22/2026

What an incredible week! 💪✨ A huge THANK YOU to all the amazing participants who joined us for our Women’s Empowerment Self-Defense workshops in Shelburne and Williston, Vermont. You showed up, you pushed yourselves, and watching your confidence grow is truly why we do what we do.

We are SO thrilled to welcome back two of our incredible instructors, Kate Williams and Jenna Burleigh, to The Safety Team family! 🙌❤️

We practiced setting boundaries, built automatic safety habits, worked on our strikes, and used our voices and our bodies with power and intention. The energy, the support you all showed one another, and the courage in the room was absolutely beautiful to witness.

Thank you for trusting us. Thank you for showing up for yourselves and each other. We can't wait to see you again! 💛

04/14/2026

Join us this Friday, April 17th for a free virtual information session about The Safety Team's Trauma Recovery Program.

Dr. Christine DiBlasio and Caroline Sprigg, LCMHC, will walk you through our integrated mind-body approach to healing from sexual trauma, what the program includes, how it works, and what participants can expect.

Friday, April 17th
⏰️ 12:30–1:15pm

RSVP here:
https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/tesd-virtual-info-session

The session will include a 30-minute presentation followed by 15 minutes for questions. Whether you're a survivor, a clinician, or someone looking to learn more about trauma-informed care, you are welcome.

About Our Presenters:
Dr. Christine DiBlasio is a psychologist, fifth-degree black belt, and the creator of The Safety Team's trauma recovery program. Her unique integration of martial arts, neuroscience, and clinical psychology is the foundation of the program's innovative mind-body approach.

Caroline Sprigg, LCMHC is a licensed clinical mental health counselor with The Safety Team, bringing clinical depth and a survivor-centered perspective to the program's ther**eutic support.

Our trauma recovery program is offered completely free of charge to participants, made possible through the generous support of the Vermont Center for Crime Victim Services.

www.thesafetyteam.org

Address

27 Rye Circle
South Burlington, VT
05403

Website

http://www.thesafetyteam.org/

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