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Can We Talk About That? Partnership Blog

Overview

“Can We Talk About That?” Partnership Blog

The Partnership envisions this blog to be a thoughtful space for questions, dialogue and reflections on our domestic violence movement in California.

What is at the core of our work? How do our enduring values inform our current strategies and future directions? Where do we need to do some critical thinking and take some risks? How do we re-envision this movement? What leadership do we need? How do we foster strategic alliances?

Here in this blog, we seek to foster conversations about the ways intersecting social justice issues impact our work and our communities. Transformational thinking, innovation and inspiration will guide our dialogue.

Blog post Deena Fulton, California Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CALCASA)

Our Field is United by Purpose
A Guest Post by Deena Fulton, California Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CALCASA)

As much as possible, we want to highlight for our readers the power of collaboration in preventing gender-based violence. In this prevention blog post, we’re excited to bring you a guest post from Deena Fulton of the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CALCASA). Our long-standing collaboration with CALCASA has been especially important for our prevention efforts, as many of our strategies address shared risk and protective factors for both sexual assault and domestic violence.

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Do You Support the Movement to End Domestic Violence? You Should Also Care About Immigration Policy.
By Jessica Merrill

The most important thing I’ve learned since joining the movement to end domestic violence is that one size does not fit all when supporting survivors. Every survivor has a unique identity that is shaped by country of origin, language, gender identity, sexuality, socioeconomic status, race and ethnicity, and so much more. We cannot separate out these components of a person’s identity when thinking about how we respond to an individual survivor’s situation and needs, or when thinking about what policy issues impact their lives.

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Prevention work should be fun!
Back to School Edition

With only a few weeks until school starts, many California parents and students are gearing up for a year of academic and social growth. It’s an exciting time when everyone wants to put their best foot forward. The same goes for people working in adolescent dating abuse prevention; this is the time for finishing up plans to engage youth during the upcoming school year. Did you know that these prevention activities can actually be fun? 

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Why We Can’t Ignore the Link between Mass Shootings & Domestic Violence
By Jessica Merrill

Opening

Can we talk about that? We know there are so many important issues to be discussed that don’t easily lend themselves to a 140-character tweet or a Facebook post, and this new blog gives us a forum to engage you in those conversations. We’ll be sharing items that catch our eye and spark our interest – and hopefully spark yours as well.

So what exactly do we want to talk about?

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Making the Case for Schools’ Role in Promoting Healthy Relationships

Some schools offer information about dating abuse and healthy relationships through assemblies, health classes or presentations from local domestic violence organizations, but how many schools are going beyond these singular events to nurture a school environment that values healthy adolescent relationships?

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Teen DV Month 2015

February is the start of Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. There are many great activities and social media campaigns that are happening throughout the month. I am very excited about the Partnership’s campaign :) #relationshipsfeel. Each week will be a different theme around healthy relationships.

Blog post Guest Blogger: Nilda Valmores, Executive Director of My Sister's House
Kennedy Varsity team members warming up in purple, "the color for domestic violence awareness."  Both school teams, all levels, and audience wore purple, as well as Kennedy Varsity coaches.  Thanks to Soroptimists Int'l of Sacramento for co-sponsoring the event and Kennedy JV Coach Russell Fong helping arrange it. This was the first such game in Sacramento, and perhaps in the state too!

How a High School Basketball Game Can Help Address Dating Violence

It started with a teenage daughter (okay, mine).

I went to one of her women’s high school basketball games in February and I noticed the other team was dressed in pink, which was not their school color. I, of course asked why at the concession stand, as I’m sure others did and was told it was to support the fight against breast cancer. Then an announcement was made during the game too.

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Respect Week

It’s Respect Week! There are many ways to participate in Teen DV Month this week! Start the week by wearing orange on Tuesday February 10th but don’t just wear orange, talk with people about why it is important to support healthy adolescent relationships. Post a picture of orange day and use the hash tag: #CAturnsorange.

Blog post Guest Blogger: Alison M. Chopel, Director of California Adolescent Health Collaborative

When I Needed Support as a Teen, One Adult Could have Made a Difference

Adolescent Relationship Abuse (ARA) impacts at least one in five adolescents in the United States every day. This is a public health problem, this is everybody’s problem. Besides the obvious ways that abuse impacts one’s health (increasing risk for mental illness and intentional injury), relationship abuse affects sexual and reproductive health, substance abuse disorders, and even risk of physical chronic diseases through toxic stress. This sounds like bad news, but the good news is that this is a problem that we can do something about. Doesn’t that feel empowering?

Blog post Guest Blogger: Audrey Davis, Prevention Specialist at Mountain Crisis Services - a Program of the Alliance for Community Transformations

Promoting Healthy Teen Relationships: Mariposa’s Approach

In 2013, as part of a DELTA FOCUS grant, the Alliance for Community Transformations began an effort to engage the community of Mariposa, CA, and specifically the Mariposa County Unified School District in promoting healthy teen relationships and preventing dating abuse.

Blog post Guest Blogger: Emily Austin, Director of Policy and Evaluation, Peace Over Violence

Healthy Relationships: A Pathway to Transformative Intersections

At our Stand With Me Youth Summit last Wednesday, 150 adults and students came together to have critical conversations about how to create safe and affirming schools. This Summit came about after attending Futures Without Violence’s Someone Stood Up For Me Summit in May 2014.

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Let’s Talk about Red Flags

Working with adolescents calls upon a different skill set then some advocates use every day. When we are addressing adolescent dating abuse we need to change the language and understanding of what is happening within the relationship. Adolescent dating abuse is different than abuse in adult relationships.

Blog post Guest Blogger: Meng Lo, Teen Prevention Advocate, Harrington House

Making a Difference

Ever since I started working at the Harrington House, in Crescent City, CA, some of my friends and family members have told me that this job changed me. What I keep telling them is: the job didn’t make me, but I was made to do this job. No matter where I move, this place will always be home. My mother always told me to “leave things better then you found them.” Del Norte County ranks number 1 out of the 58 counties in California for domestic violence per capita and has more than eight times the statewide rate.

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2015 New Year’s Resolution Challenge: Make Prevention a Priority

What are your New Year’s Resolutions? As we enter 2015 challenge yourself to add one more resolution to the list: Make intimate partner violence prevention a priority. You don’t need to be the prevention advocate or even work in the domestic violence field to work toward the prevention of intimate partner violence. The idea of preventing intimate partner violence can be overwhelming but we CAN make a difference. We can challenge the social norms that foster violence, we can support healthy relationships and we can be a role model for young people.

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New Laws Relevant to School-Based Dating Abuse Prevention

Are you ready for 2015? While you may not be ready to ring in the New Year, you can be prepared for a new year of prevention work! Click here for the Partnership’s fact sheet on new laws relevant to school-based abuse prevention.

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The Alliance DELTA Focus Team!

A busy Year 1 in Mariposa!

The Alliance for Community Transformations in Mariposa had a busy and productive first year of the DELTA FOCUS project.  In keeping with the core components of the project, the Alliance has focused on Evaluation, Informing Policy, Communications, and Partnership Building. Year 1 was a great start on all of these components, and we’re all looking forward to continuing to build on this work for the current and upcoming years of the project.

Here are the highlights of their work so far:

Evaluation

Blog post By Erica TootleFamily Services of Tulare County
Family Services Case Manager Rebecca Peter goes over the Allstate Foundation curriculum with Jana.

At Family Services of Tulare County, Economic Workshops Make Connections for Survivors

Gaining power and control over an intimate partner is at the core of domestic violence, and abusers often employ financial abuse tactics to entrap a victim in the relationship.  With support from the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence and the Allstate Foundation’s Building Opportunities for Survivors’ Success (B.O.S.S.) program, Family Services of Tulare County has implemented an economic empowerment program with residents at its Karen’s House emergency domestic violence shelter and its Supportive Housing program.

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PreventIPV – Supporting a Unified National Prevention Movement; Promoting Best Practice Strategies, Tools, and Lessons Learned

PreventIPV, a project of the IPV Prevention Council, supports a unified national prevention movement promoting best practice strategies, tools, and lessons learned by state/territory coalitions and community-based prevention programs across the United States.

Blog post By Partnership Staff

Asset Building for Survivors

Advocates know that even after domestic violence survivors leave violent relationships, there are many obstacles standing between them and long-term stability. Economic insecurity–the challenges survivors face in rebuilding their financial lives–is one of the most difficult to overcome. That’s why advocates are increasingly turning to asset building as a strategy to set survivors on the path to economic solvency.

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Cultivating Insider Champions for School Policy

Cultivating champions from within the education system is critical to the success of school-based efforts to promote healthy relationships and prevent dating abuse. 

Tips