PAVE Prevention Partners with Berkeley Public Library to Deliver Transformative Workplace Safety Training

[Berkeley, CA – June 2025] — PAVE Prevention has partnered with Berkeley Public Library to implement a 35-hour, trauma-informed workplace safety and de-escalation training for library workers in an ongoing commitment to creating supportive public spaces. This training program deepens Berkeley Public Library's mission to empower, inspire, and eliminate barriers with resources and experiences.

This initiative makes Berkeley Public Library the third Library District in the Bay Area to engage in this unique and practical training experience, following in the steps of other libraries striving to meet today's complex workplace challenges. Libraries have become essential hubs for community support, often serving individuals navigating housing instability and other complex life circumstances. With this evolution comes a growing need for tools that help staff maintain safe, empathetic, and responsive environments.

The PAVE Prevention training is custom designed to equip library workers with tools to foster a shared language and a common understanding around critical skills such as boundary setting, personal and workplace safety, and de-escalation. The training helps teams navigate complex interactions with greater care and confidence. 

"Our libraries are beloved community spaces. As a public space, the challenges that community members experience show up here, too. It is essential that the people that work in these places are equipped with skills and tools to respond and support each other. We offer a variety of training opportunities to staff, but are especially looking forward to the "deep dive" that PAVE's comprehensive and intensive framework provides," - Tess Mayer, Director of Library Services, Berkeley Public Library.

This training builds on PAVE Prevention's growing reputation across California, having led similar programs with frontline responders and public service organizations, including the Mobile Assistance Community Responders of Oakland (MACRO), Oakland Park Stewards, Oakland Parks, Recreation, And Youth Development, Alameda County Library, and Santa Clara County Library District.