POCATELLO — For Colin Watts, the experience of working to prevent domestic violence on the local level for the last year has been both rewarding and revealing of things he did not know about his hometown.

    Watts, 29, is pursuing a master’s degree at Idaho State University in public health. “Domestic violence is considered a public health problem,” he said.

     For the last year, the Pocatello native has been a volunteer affiliated with Family Services Alliance as part of the AmeriCorps program. 

    “When I started, I knew nothing about domestic violence. I pretty much grew up in this town and I wasn’t really aware of all the services or the extent of the problem,” he said. “I’ve been kind of thrown in the deep end as an advocate, a facilitator and doing prevention work.”

    From what Watts has learned, Pocatello’s level of domestic violence stands well within the norm.

    “It’s really opened my eyes to how expansive the problem is in our community,” he said. “Our community’s not any better or any worse regarding this. Pretty much nationwide, there’s just a really high rate of violence in general.”

    Women, who are far more likely to be the victims of domestic abuse and sexual crimes, have accordingly been the pioneers in addressing the problem.

    “Women have been involved for 20-30 years,” he said. “Advocacy programs developed out of that last wave of the women’s movement in the 1970s.”

    Watts is an advocate for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking.

    He staffs the crisis line several times a month. He also co-facilitates a 52-week non-violence program.

    “This is for individuals who have been court-ordered, related to a domestic violence-related crime (to attend),” he said. “They’re usually on parole or probation.”

    The class tries to provide some tools to the participants for better decision-making, he said.

    Some take to the advice, while others are more difficult to reach.

    “There’s a spectrum of attitudes,” he said. “The goal is to teach them there are other choices, that there are ways to have healthy relationships.”

    Watts is also involved in the local chapter of Men Today, Men Tomorrow, a program spearheaded by the Idaho Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence.

    “What it strives to do is promote respect and promote positive male behaviors, and address some of the negative social and cultural aspects of what is perceived as being masculine,” he said.

    To that end, he is trying to bring male citizens of the community to the table, knowing that the problem with violence will not go away unless men are involved in solving the problem. Watts has developed his own Facebook page, MT2-POKY, which provides information and meeting times for his local chapter.

    “It’s time for men to get on board, not in a leadership role, but as a partnership role,” he said.