In This Issue:
February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month
Students Take on Dating Violence Awareness
New Spring Projects Budding at Monika’s House!
February is:
Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month
The month of February is recognized as a time to become more aware teen dating violence in our communities. Not only a time to acknowledge its presence, but to consider what it means for our youth, and what can be done to prevent it. Communities across the country have made particular effort this month to speak out against this form of intimate partner violence.
Statistics show approximately 1 in 5 female high school students reports being physically and/or sexually abused by their dating partner, and 1 in 3 teen girls is a victim of emotional and verbal abuse.
Nearly 25% of 14-17 year-olds surveyed know at least one student who was a victim of dating violence, while 11% know multiple victims of dating violence. 33% of teens have actually witnessed such an event.
81% of parents surveyed either believe teen dating violence is not an issue or admit they don’t know if it’s an issue.
Teen dating violence often is exhibited through a number of warning signs. Teens may be experiencing dating violence if his/her partner:
•is jealous and possessive
•manipulates them with lies
•forbids them to see their friends
•physically hurts them or forces sexual activity on them
•threatens to hurt them if they tell someone, or leave
These are just a few of the warning signs of abusive relationships.
If you feel you know someone who is a victim of dating violence, here’s what you can do to help:
•Tell your friend you believe them.
•Assure your friend it is not their fault.
•Let your friend know they don’t deserve to be mistreated.
•Encourage your friend to take a self defense class or to make a safety plan.
•Let them know we are here to help.
At Domestic Violence Resource Center we address teen dating violence through intervention, prevention and empowerment of youth. We offer support groups, advocacy, and education for teens and young adults, and work to prevent dating violence through free presentations to high school, middle school, and elementary school students and teachers in Washington County, talking about how to recognize signs of unhealthy relationships, and what teens can do to create healthy ones.
Victims, friends, and family can call our 24/7 crisis line to talk to our advocates about what options exist, including which of our programs might be helpful to someone experiencing abuse. It’s vital we recognize teen dating violence and any abuse as not a personal, private matter, but an issue affecting our entire community. Every person deserves to have healthy and safe relationships.
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Students take on Dating Violence Awareness
Riverdale High School sophomores spread awareness to their peers
This past week, a few students from Riverdale High School took it upon themselves to help educate their peers about dating violence. Milly Syck and Alexa Laharty, two high sophomores, focused their leadership service project around intimate partner violence, and brainstormed the most effective way educate their fellow students about the occurrence of dating violence. They invited our advocates into their Leadership Class last Friday for our Teen Dating Presentation, an interactive presentation we offer to middle and high school classrooms throughout all of Washington County. This presentation gives examples of what dating violence looks like, includes a video about teens’ personal experiences, and equips them with tools to address and prevent it.
Milly shared that what resonated most with her and other students were the concrete examples of what abusive behaviors look like in teen relationships.
She was surprised at the creativity abusive partners can use when maintaining control over their partners, like demanding girlfriends don’t wear makeup. These ordinarily may not have seemed like warning signs of abuse, but in understanding the larger scope of power and control, even small acts like that can have a long term effect on victims and often lead into greater abuse.
Milly and Alexa decided to take this information further, by creating their own presentations from what they learned. They’ve mobilized the students in their Leadership class to bring this presentation to the rest of their campus, close to 250 students, by presenting in every advisory class throughout the next two weeks.
While they bring awareness of dating violence to their campus, Milly and Alexa will also host a fundraiser on Riverdale’s campus, to show their peers this is one important issue in our community, and in many avenues, through educating each other or making small donations, they can make a difference. Each and every one of us is powerful and can make a lasting impact.
This project is an amazing example of community activism and how we can raise awareness in each of our personal spheres of influence. Milly and Alexa recognized that students at Riverdale High School might value information on Dating Violence more so if it came from their peers, so they organized their classmates and friends to make the message all the more powerful. We are excited by and commend Milly and Alexa for their creativity and engagement in being champions of safe and healthy relationships in our community!
If you are a teacher, administrator, student, or parent of a student in a Washington County School, we would love to offer our presentations to your school! Please contact Christie at 503-926-3245 or (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) to schedule a time for our advocates to talk with your students and continue spreading awareness about healthy relationships.
New Spring Projects budding at Monika’s House!
February brings news of gardens and room sponsorships
We are very appreciative of the support we received from the Oregon Food Bank this month!
Monika’s House Shelter was awarded $500 to start up a community garden at shelter for use by clients. We will soon be calling on our network of community partners and volunteers to help us build it up sometime in the next month. In addition to the grant money, Oregon Food Bank will also partner with Monika’s House to offer free classes to clients about healthy cooking classes.We’ll be sure to post pictures of its progress as veggies start to grow!
Along with the news of the community garden project this month, we also received an exciting phone call from a local community member connected to the Wives of the Green Bay Packers group. The charity Project Imaginaire of the Greenbay Packers, which is partnered with Pint Size Designs, will be sponsoring one of the family rooms at Monika’s House Shelter! They’ve offered to redecorate this room and make it feel a bit more like home for families to stay there. They will join us the first weekend of March to redecorate and refurnish one family room at shelter. Check back for before and after pictures of the room!
Are you looking for a creative spring project? You too could become a Room Sponsor for a family or single room at Monika’s House! We are looking for folks to add a little extra love to some rooms that needing sprucing up at shelter. This is a fabulous way to bring together your families, co-workers, faith groups, or neighbors to help the approx. 250 women, men and children that stay at shelter each year feel more at home.
Your level of involvement is based upon your interest, whether it be purchasing new curtains and dressers, or inquiring of your favorite furniture/home décor shops who can donate supplies. We would love to brainstorm with you how to can make it happen! Please contact Rhonda Coakley by email or phone to learn more details, or read more about it at our website here: http://www.dvrc-or.org/domestic/violence/resources/C146
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Thank you for helping us empower all individuals and families to have safe and healthy relationships. Questions or concerns? Contact us!
