Is it Safe?
A lot of people talk about safe space at the table and everyone knows about consent and safety tools, but how much do we know about the challenges and process to building a true safe space. Merely saying you have the X Card does not automatically mean that your tables and your players are feeling safe. Jack and Beau discuss the realities and strategies for using safety tools at your table.
We'll talk about resistances to using the tools, recommendations for how to augment your sessions and your storylines as well as how to deal with those awkward moments that while uncomfortable are one of the many bricks that form the road to ensuring that your table is a safe space.
Beau Jágr Sheldon (They|He)
Creative
Thoughty
Leading with Class
My name is Beau Jágr Sheldon, pronouns they/he. I designed the Script Change RPG Toolbox. My projects include Turn; The Man and The Stag; the Let Me Take a Selfie and Of the Woods: Lonely Games of Imagination game collections; Firefly RPG: Smuggler's Guide; & my interview series, Five or So Questions on my blog, Thoughty.
Thoughty's professional Twitter is @ThoughtyGames! I also created the Leading with Class web series teaching leadership through games, available on YouTube. The Leading with Class Twitter is @LeadingwClass!
Jack Berkenstock Jr., MHS
Executive Director
The Bodhana Group
Jack has been a gamer since the first time he grabbed a set of paddles for Atari 2600 in one hand and a 1st Ed D&D in the other. He was worked in the human services field for over 25 years, in settings including emotional support classrooms, in-patient and community based settings. He has worked with pre-adolescents, teens and adults, both with and without developmental and intellectual disability. He has specialized in working with persons with sexually problematic behaviors as well as those impacted by sexual trauma for over 20 years.
He is one of the Founders of and is the Executive Director of The Bodhana Group, a 501 c3 non-profit based in York, PA that utilizes and advocates the use of tabletop gaming in education, skill building and therapy. He is one of the organizers of the annual convention Save Against Fear and is one of the co-organizers of TAGGS.