August 2016 Community Education E-bulletin

Welcome to the August 2016 edition of Hope House's Community Education E-bulletin!

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1. Seeking CASA Volunteers
2. Hope House Donation Needs
3. Sexual Assault
4. Domestic Violence
5. Children and Youth

6. #BlackLivesMatter
7. Miscellaneous News
8. Local News
9. Parents' & Youth Service Providers' Section
10. Faith Communities' Section

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Seeking CASA Volunteers
Hope House is excited to announce that in conjunction with Sauk County, we are establishing a new CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children) program to serve abused and neglected children and youth of Sauk County. Sauk County CASA is the voice for abused and neglected children and youth in Sauk County, seeking to protect and ensure them safe, permanent homes. 

Often referred to as the “eyes and ears of the court,” CASA Volunteers are assigned by judges to advocate exclusively on behalf of a single child or sibling group. CASAs conduct face-to-face visits with their child (or children), make independent, objective observations about the child’s safety and well-being, and submit a written summary report to the appointing judge each month to help that judge make decisions about the child’s future. Most importantly, CASA Volunteers are often the only consistent adult presence in the lives of abused and neglected children. 

Hope House is currently screening and recruiting everyday men and women from the community to advocate on behalf of abused and neglected children until the court case is closed, and they have found safe and permanent homes. Training will begin in the fall, and volunteers will be sworn in by the end of the year. Become a CASA. The Voice for a Child.  For more information visit saukcountycasa.org or contact Mary Jo Elert, 608-356-9123 | mjelert@hopehousescw.org.

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Hope House Donation Needs
Monetary donations are most needed.  Individuals have the option of donating online.  Please note that a portion of your online donation will go towards PayPal fees.  Donations can be mailed to Hope House, P.O. Box 557, Baraboo, WI 53913. We also appreciate gas cards, gift cards (Walmart, Kwik Trip, Walgreens, Kohl’s), taxi vouchers from Baraboo Taxi, and used cell phones, iPods and iPads.  Please note that we are not accepting stuffed animals/plush toys, used toys, clothes (except for new sweatshirts and sweatpants), shoes, used books, furniture, TVs, bar soap, hats, scarves or travel-size bottles of shampoo, conditioner, or body wash. Current needs include

• Bathrooms: Liquid hand soap, Full-size bottles of shampoo and body wash, Toilet bowl cleaner, Toilet paper, Deodorant, Disposable razors, Body spray and makeup, Small garbage cans with bags, Nail clippers, Cleaning supplies such as Lysol disinfecting spray, Windex, and floor cleaner, Clorox wipes, Hairspray, Bleach, Bathroom rugs
• Kitchen: Coffee, Paper towels, Ziploc bags, Strainer/Colander, Silverware, Tupperware, Dishwasher soap, 13-Gallon garbage bags, Brush for cleaning bottles, Sip cups, Saran wrap, Aluminum foil
• Food and Beverages: Cereal, Fruit juice, Meat, Fresh fruit and vegetables, Yogurt, Cheese, Canned soup, Snack items (crackers, granola bars, etc.), Milk
• Laundry: Laundry detergent
• Clothing for Women and Kids: New socks, New women’s underwear, New medium-large size pajamas, New sweatshirts and sweatpants
• Misc: New pillows, New full-sized fitted white sheets, Diapers (especially sizes 4-6) and pull-ups, Journals, Vacuum, Double stroller, Baby wipes, Band-Aids, Pocket-sized calendars, Baby bottles, Umbrellas, Hangers, Exercise balls, Yoga/exercise DVDs, Relaxation CDs, Baby thermometer, CD players, Regular light bulbs

Special Note about Travel-Size Items: We encourage those looking to donate travel-size items to donate them to the Backpack Project. The Backpack Project strives to provide Baraboo School District students who are financially challenged to enter the school doors on the first day ‘just like everyone else’ and to show these children the community supports and encourages them to learn and do their best. If interested in donating towards this project, please contact Becky Hovde at 608-963-8230 or hivebiz@centurytel.net.

 

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News
Sexual Assault

• ​Football Player, Co-Worker Intervene in Alleged Rape Behind Bar: “Then, Garcia recalled what he had learned from a Gainesville prosecutor who spoke to the UF football team about sexual assault. ‘I distinctly remember him saying if a woman is drugged or intoxicated then she cannot give consent and therefore you cannot have any sexual relations with her,’ Garcia told CNN. The girl's body was pretty much limp so I knew I had to step in and do something’”…Read more
• Texas Rape Victim Was Jailed for Fear She Would Not Testify, Lawsuit Says: “The decision raises questions about the treatment of people with mental health disorders in the Texas justice system and about the wisdom of jailing someone already victimized and traumatized by a suspect the district attorney called ‘a serial rapist’...Advocates for sexual assault survivors said they feared that the Texas case could have a chilling effect on other victims’ willingness to speak up”…Read more
• Bars Are Learning How To Stop Sexual Assault, And The NFL Is Helping: “The bartenders checked with the woman while he was in the bathroom. She said she ‘was not really interested but didn’t know how to get out of the situation,’ according to the manager. The staff helped her go out the back door and get a cab before he came back. She called later to thank them…The organization had trained the ChurchKey bartenders through their Safe Bars program”…Read more
• Truckers Take The Wheel In Effort To Halt Sex Trafficking: “TAT teaches drivers to try to spot sullen, hopeless-looking children, teens and young adults. Perhaps they're wearing revealing clothing, or maybe have tattoos like bar codes or men's names that might indicate ownership. The group also promotes a hotline to report trafficking…Trucking companies and law enforcement are enthusiastically on board, helping to reach nearly 250,000 drivers, whose calls to the hotline have freed hundreds of trafficking victims”…Read more
• Government Reminds Colleges That They’re Responsible for Rapes at Frats: “In 2014, the Department of Education sent out a reminder, in which it explicitly mentioned off-campus fraternities as places that are ‘clearly covered’ under Title IX...Last year, a study into universities’ reporting practices found that the majority of schools also failed to disclose off-campus sexual assaults—even though they’re legally required to attempt to work with law enforcement to obtain that data”…Read more

• Read The Vanderbilt Gang Rape Survivor’s Letter To Her Attackers: “What happened to me that night has been compounded by the live-streaming, tweeting, and international dissemination of every detail of how I was degraded and humiliated for all posterity. In this age of technology, anyone I ever meet in my personal or professional life can learn I am a rape victim and the details of the case before I’ve even fully introduced myself to them”…Read more”…Read more…Read related article: Here’s The Awful Reality Of Being A Rape Victim In Criminal Trials
• Report on Physician Sexual Abuse Stirs Alarm: “A yearlong investigation conducted by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper, published last week, uncovered thousands of cases of physician sexual abuse spread across every state in America…‘The sad reality is, whenever there's a difference in power and authority, some people exploit that, and in our culture, we venerate doctors -- we're not trained to question them’”…Read more
• New Court Documents Suggest Others at Penn State Knew of Jerry Sandusky Abuse: “The allegations suggest that Paterno may have been made aware of Sandusky’s actions far earlier than has previously been reported, and that knowledge of Sandusky’s behavior may have been far more widespread among the Penn State football staff than previously known”…Read more
• High Court Fractures on Issue Involving Sex Assault Victims: “Sexual assault victims in Wisconsin can still be barred from testifying against their accused assailants if they refuse to let a judge see their mental health treatment records, after the state Supreme Court divided three ways on the issue Wednesday. It took the court 135 pages to reach its virtual nondecision, which means the prior ruling of the Court of Appeals, upholding the current law, stands”…Read more

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Domestic Violence

• [WI] Advocates Alarmed as Domestic Violence Death Toll Reaches New High in First Half of 2016: “End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin is calling attention to the disturbing number of domestic violence homicides that occurred during the first six months of this year. The agency says the preliminary count of domestic violence-related deaths for the first half of 2016, 39 deaths, is almost 70-percent higher than average, and it represents a one-third increase over the previous high, which occurred from January to June of 2009”…Read more
• Why Is It So Hard to Recognize Domestic Abuse in Same-Sex Relationships?: “Beyond individual isolation, the LGBTQ community can often feel cut off from mainstream society, putting solidarity above all else and making it harder to seek help. ‘When you are a member of a community that is already harshly judged and oppressed, there is a feeling of disloyalty’ when speaking about problems, Krukiel says. Many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer people feel a pressure to have their relationships appear perfect so as to avoid criticism from those outside the community”…Read more

• Background Checks Miss 7% of Gun Buyers with Domestic Violence Records, Protective Orders: “While 89,000 sales were blocked, nearly 6,800 were cleared despite the buyer’s record, said the Government Accountability Office, partly blaming the complexities of domestic violence cases in determining whether they rise to the level that would land someone on the no-buy list”…Read more
• ​What Mass Killers Really Have in Common: “Early reports suggest that Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, who drove a rented truck through a crowd of Bastille Day revelers on Thursday night, killing more than 80 including at least ten children, may not have been devout, but he did have a criminal record of domestic violence”…Read more
• ‘Face Down’ Turns 10: Why the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus’s Domestic-Abuse Anthem Still Resonates: “Even so, ‘Face Down’ is much more than a hook-heavy relic from a previous era of alt-rock: It’s a song that details the experience of domestic abuse in a way that hadn’t really happened in pop-punk before 2006 — and still doesn’t happen nearly enough a decade later”…Read more

 

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Children and Youth

• Young and Trapped: Homeless Youth and Young Adults Ensnared in Human Sex Trafficking: “The men let the girls stay in their hotel room and give them cash, food and clothes, Krajcinovic said. Soon, they want sex for their provisions. Then, they persuade the girls to have sex with others for cash and initially let them keep the money. After a few tricks, the men demand the money. There are threats and beatings. The girls, she said, are brainwashed, trapped. ‘They're doing this to survive and don't know how to get out of it’”…Read more
• Experts Say Schools Must Do More to Address Early Signs of Sexual Harassment: “A new California law requiring 7th- through 12th-grade students to be educated about sexual harassment and assault will enter its first full year of implementation this fall, and experts and advocates say schools have the opportunity to address troubling attitudes about gender and power that they say can contribute to sexual harassment and even assaults on college campuses”…Read more
• To Stop Sexual Assault in the Juvenile System, Close Youth Prisons: “The BJS report shows that higher sexual victimization rates tend to be concentrated in youth prisons and juvenile detention facilities, as compared to other facilities such as group homes. Especially troubling is that youth facilities holding 25 or more youths report much higher rates of sexual misconduct by staff members…By investing in community-based alternatives to incarceration and dismantling the youth prison approach to juvenile justice, we can keep youths and communities safe”…Read more

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• Closing the Gaps in Sexual Education for People with Disabilities: “‘They see only the deafness and forget that there is a young person there too,’ said Kvitvaer who works on a special project aimed at improving sexual education in sign language and is herself deaf. Parents and caregivers can forget that young people with disabilities also have questions about their bodies and thinks about sex, just like any other teenager…‘Young people with disabilities are at higher risk of experiencing sexual violence and face greater barriers when accessing sexual and reproductive health services and education’”…Read more
• The CDC and WHO are Teaming up to End the ‘Contagious Disease’ of Child Violence: “On Tuesday, the World Health Organization announced the first coordinated plan to end violence against children. It includes a seven-point strategy that consists of many practical measures, such as implementing and enforcing laws that limit young people's access to firearms; changing beliefs and values around gender roles, which would presumably target countries where girls have fewer rights and less freedom; creating safe environments by doing things like improving housing; increasing parent and caregiver support; strengthening economies; shoring up support services such as treatment programs for juvenile offenders; and educating children in life and social skills”…Read more

 

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#BlackLivesMatter

• What Police Violence & Rape Culture Have In Common: “As a black woman, it is both interesting and horrific how much the victim blaming of murdered black people parallels the victim blaming of female rape victims. Some rhetoric surrounding the extrajudicial murder of black men, women, and children essentially says that if they had been more respectful, dressed better, or were less intimidating, they would not have been killed…Rape culture says that victims were ‘asking’ to be raped if they wore short skirts. The media says that black people were asking to be murdered if we wore hoodies. Alcohol is to blame for a victim being raped, but it excuses their rapist if they were also drinking. Black victims are expected to have superhuman self-control when screamed at with a gun in our faces, and mind-reading abilities to know whether a cop finds us particularly dangerous. The police who kill us can get by with the excuse of not being well-trained enough, or saying that they didn't know what our intentions were”…Read more
• ​WCSAP Responds: Why Not #AllLivesMatter?: “WCSAP continues to support the #BlackLivesMatter movement because its function is to remind us that black lives matter—that they are important. It is not an exclusionary statement. It does not mean that other lives matter less. It is about making black lives equal in how they matter to the world.  It is about centering a community that is experiencing great loss and great injustice. In essence it is saying ‘black lives matter, too.’ Additionally, #BlackLivesMatter is often used as not only a call for justice but as a way to mourn those in the black community that have been killed. It is not helpful to tell those in mourning that their feelings of fear and grief are irrelevant because of others’ personal experiences of loss.  For example, you would not attend the funeral of a friend’s grandmother and then tell your friend ‘all deaths matter’”…Read more

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• Demanding Justice #BlackLivesMatter: “We cannot achieve safety for all when our neighbors are being killed in the streets by those who have sworn to serve and protect. How can a victim of domestic violence reach out to the police for help and safety from an abuser when the headlines consistently report the deaths of people of color at the hands of law enforcement officers?”…Read more

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Miscellaneous News

• Why Cleaning a Hotel Room Makes You a Target for Sexual Harassment: “Cleaners can be especially susceptible to sexual abuse on the job. They’re often isolated, working in hotel rooms by themselves. And they’re often low-wage immigrant workers, worried about the repercussions of speaking up. These are conditions we’ve previously detailed for female farmworkers and night-shift janitors”…Read more
• NYC Mayor Signs Free Tampons For Schools, Jails, Shelters Into Law
• Street Harassment of Women Just Became a Hate Crime in this County: “A community in central England has become the first in the country to label misogyny  a hate crime. Street harassment, unwanted sexual advances, physical or verbal assault, and using mobile devices to send unwanted messages or take photographs without consent are all examples of a hate crime, Nottinghamshire police announced”…Read more

 

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Local News

• Walter Cline, 59, of Baraboo, convicted in 1994 of sexually assaulting a 24-year-old woman 14 times over a three-year period, will be released from prison this month…Read more
  
• Alexander Aaron Raymond, 24, of Baraboo sent threatening text messages to an ex-girlfriend and then went to her house, charged with battery, false imprisonment, and disorderly conduct…Read more

 

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Parents' and Youth Service Providers' Section

• Insights from the Hotline Room: Talking to Teens: “RAINN support specialists who staff the National Sexual Assault Online Hotline (online.rainn.org y rainn.org/es) are trained to respond to teens who are looking for support following sexual assault. They’ve shared the following tips, phrases, and small actions that parents and caretakers can take when working with teens who may have experienced sexual assault”…Read more
• No Means No When Boys Say It Too: “Women gravitate toward him, tousling his hair and kissing his cheeks and claiming what a smart and handsome boy he is. And while he’s tolerant—to a point—I have seen the look of panic in his eyes when an adult he doesn’t know well touches him”…Read more
• Training Opportunity: Mental Health & Behavior Summit: On September 19-20, 2016 at the Kalahari in Wisconsin Dells is this 2 day conference, which provides strategies and techniques to assist with behavior management and mental health needs in the school setting. The event also creates opportunities for educators to network and collaborate around the behavioral and mental health needs of their students. To learn more, click here.

 

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Faith Communities' Section

• Faith Trust Institute's Upcoming Free Webinars include Medical Chaplaincy: Serving the Needs of Victims of Sexual and Domestic Violence, Pastoral Care Issues: Addressing the End-of-Life Needs of Survivors of Sexual Assault / Domestic Violence, and Creating a Trauma-Informed Faith Community. To learn more and to register, click here.
• Training Opportunity: Engaging Men of Faith in Domestic Violence Prevention: "Join A CALL TO MEN for a FREE one-day conference designed to engage men of faith in domestic violence prevention.  Conference topics include: Law Enforcement and Clergy: Working Together in Domestic Violence Prevention, The Experience of Young Women and Girls, The Role of Men’s and Women’s Ministries in Domestic Violence Prevention, Addressing LGBTQ and Gender Non-Conforming Communities within the Church, Faith Leaders: Developing and Implementing Prevention Policies, and Working with Young Men and Boys. The conference will take place on October 14 in North Carolina. For more information, click here.

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