July 2015 Community Education E-bulletin

Welcome to the July 2015 edition of Hope House's Community Education E-bulletin!

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1. In Memory of Tracie McClung
2. Help Us Acquire New Playground Equipment
3. Thanks to P.E.O Volunteers
4. Free Health & Wellness Groups
5. Hope House Donation Needs
6. Sexual Assault News

7. Domestic Violence News
8. Children & Youth News
9. Miscellaneous News
10. Local News
11. Parents' and Youth Service Providers' Section
12. Resources

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In Memory of Tracie McClung of Lake Wisconsin
Hope House would like to express condolences to the friends and family of Tracie McClung, who lost her battle to cancer in May. 

In lieu of flowers, memorials were asked to be given to Hope House. We are very grateful to those who made donations to Hope House in her memory. Thank you!

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Help Us Acquire New Playground Equipment
Please consider making a donation to Hope House to help us purchase this fun, safe, new playground equipment for the courtyard at our shelter. Miller & Associates have generously given Hope House a discount, but we need your help to raise the funds. Donations can be mailed to Hope House, attn: Playground Equipment Fund, P.O. Box 557, Baraboo, WI 53913 or donate online here.  

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Thanks to P.E.O. Sisterhood’s Baraboo Chapter
The Baraboo News Republic recently featured the volunteer work of the P.E.O. Sisterhood’s Baraboo Chapter at Hope House. 

"The women have helped in the residential facility’s garden, worked to beautify its front yard and courtyard, and donated Adirondack chairs and two Aldo Leopold benches made by Bowar’s husband, Dave Murphy. Bowar said the women hope to raise sufficient funds to purchase some items off the facility’s wish list, such as a washer and dryer. The women also held a shower this spring for the Baraboo live-in clients and their children" Read the article here. 

Many thanks to the P.E.O Chapter and all our volunteers!

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Free Health & Wellness Groups in Mauston and Adams
Hope House is offering free health and wellness groups at the Mauston Public Library and the Adams County Community Center. These groups teach healthy, alternative methods to reduce stress and help connect participants with supportive people in the community. For more information or to sign up to attend, call 1-800-584-6790 or email OutreachAdvocate@HopeHouseSCW.org.

Mindfulness and Breathing Techniques

• Mauston: June 30 from 1-2pm (all in the small conference room)
• Adams: July 1 from 1-2pm in room 103
  

Journaling and Beginner's Tips

• Mauston: July 7 from 2:30-3:30pm
• Adams: July 8 from 2:30-3:30pm in room 123
  

Relaxation and Meditation Techniques

• Mauston: July 14 from 2:30-3:15pm
• Adams: July 15 from 2:30-3:30pm in room 103

Practicing Gratitude

• Mauston: July 21 from 4:30-5:30pm
• Adams: July 22 from 4:30-5:30pm in room 103
  

Personal Leadership

• Mauston: July 28 from 3:15-4pm
• Adams: July 29 from 2:30-3:30pm in room 103

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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: Toilet paper, Deodorant, Disposable razors, Small garbage cans with bags, Nail clippers, Toilet bowl cleaner, Cleaning supplies such as Lysol disinfecting spray and floor cleaner, Clorox wipes, Hairspray, Bleach, Bathroom rugs and bath mats
• Kitchen: Dishwasher soap, 13-Gallon garbage bags, Paper towels, Silverware, Brush for cleaning bottles, Fruit juice, Sip cups, Milk, Saran wrap, Aluminum foil
• Laundry: Power laundry detergent, Dryer sheets, Fabric softener sheets
• Clothing for Women and Kids: Winter boots, Socks, Women’s underwear, Medium-Large size pajamas, Sweatshirts and sweatpants
• Misc: Pack 'n Play, Baby wipes, Band-Aids, Diapers and pull-ups, Pocket-sized calendars, Strollers, Baby bottles, Umbrellas, Hangers, Weather radio, Journals, Exercise balls, Yoga/exercise DVDs, Relaxation CDs, Baby thermometer, CD players, Regular light bulbs, New twin bed sheets

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 & Research
Sexual Assault

• How 7 Things that Have Nothing to Do with Rape Perfectly Illustrate the Concept of Consent: Check out this comic illustrating 7 "comparisons that anyone can use to show how simple and logical the idea of consent really is."
• U. of San Francisco to Implement New Sexual Assault Reporting System: “The end result is that survivors have more time to reflect on their responses and can avoid the pressure from law enforcement or school officials that is known to exacerbate the trauma from the event. Essentially, one of the main goals of Callisto is to create an online network of survivors in order to reveal and catch repeat offenders”…Read more
  
• How Men Speak with Their Friends Could Be Linked to Sexual Violence: “Participants that reported committing acts of sexual aggression also reported perceiving more pressure from their friends to have sex in comparison with men who were not perpetrators of sexual aggression. Male perpetrators of sexual aggression were also more likely to have friends who used objectifying statements about women during conversation and were more likely to feel uncomfortable when presented with egalitarian statements about women and dating”…Read more
• Sexual Assault Survivors Tell Their Stories: “After conducting a poll of more than 1,000 current and recent college students from around the country, a team of Washington Post reporters interviewed dozens of people who responded that they had, at some point during their time in college, experienced unwanted sexual contact or faced an attempted or suspected assault”…Read the stories here

• These Cultural Barriers Stop Some Rape Victims from Seeking Help: “Nearly 38 million people in the United States speak primarily Spanish at home...More than 17 percent of women who speak Spanish have experienced some form of sexual violence...RAINN announced a new crisis hotline Tuesday to accommodate them”…Read more
• Insults to Injury: Military Sexual-Assault Victims Endure Retaliation: “Troops who have reported sexual assaults are 12 times more likely to be retaliated against than to see their attacker convicted of sex crimes, according to a report on the fallout of filing a military sexual assault report by Human Rights Watch”…Read more…Read related article: Stop Assaults on Military Campuses
• National Institute of Justice’s Five Things We Know About Sexual Assault Kits: “Investments in research have dramatically improved the science of forensic DNA testing and our understanding of sexual assault kits”…Read this brief article here

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Domestic Violence

• Ordered to Live with an Abuser: How and Why American Family Courts Fail Children: "For Rick, the discovery of the presence of a child in his life only served one purpose: control. Within a few months, Rick filed for paternal rights at the local courthouse. By cashing in on his legal claim to his fatherhood, Rick could once again be in contact with Sarah – a woman he now despised. 'Can you imagine my horror when I read through the court documents?' Sarah says as her voice fills with anger. Little Trisha had never met her biological father, but suddenly, it was mandated that the 17-month-old spend every other weekend with him. Even if the parent in question were emotionally stable and safe, for a securely attached, breastfeeding toddler, such a sudden separation from the primary attachment figure would be jarring, difficult and scary"...Read more
• Domestic Violence On Campus Is The Next Big College Controversy: “But few people know that Title IX also protects students from domestic violence, which includes physical and psychological harm. The next wave of Title IX activism, researchers and activists say, will focus on how colleges investigate allegations of and provide resources to students in abusive relationships. And it’s going to be just as complicated and contentious”…Read more

• This Domestic Violence Survivor Is Empowering Others — and Got Her Own Happy Ending Too: “When Melissa Dohme was 20 years old, her boyfriend stabbed her 32 times and left her for dead…She now uses her experience to encourage other survivors of such violence — and incidentally found herself at the center of an unexpected love story…At her side throughout her courageous journey was the paramedic who saved Dohme's life: Cameron Hill…Now, three years later, the two are engaged: Hill proposed to Dohme on Monday at a Tampa Bay Rays — right after she threw the ceremonial first pitch”…Read more
• Bears Release Ray McDonald after 3rd Arrest in 9 Months: “NFL defensive end Ray McDonald is again under investigation for domestic violence following his third arrest in the past nine months”…Read more…Read related article: Ray Rice Domestic Violence Charges Dismissed

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Children & Youth

• Sex Ed That Turns Boys into Men: “A program in Canada gives adolescent boys the space to explore big ideas like masculinity, gender, and power — with fascinating results”…Read more
  
• High Schools and Middle Schools Are Failing Victims of Sexual Assault: “Secondary school educators are unsure and ill-trained when it comes to handling allegations that one student has assaulted another, which they are legally required to report to the police. Once accusations are made, survivors at times continue to face harassment and victim-blaming among their peers, which some victims say is even worse than the assault itself”…Read more
• 1 in 3 Teen Boys Sexually Assaulted Tries Suicide, Study Finds: “Teen boys who have been a victim of sexual assault are likelier to attempt suicide, a new study says. University at Buffalo researchers analysed data from more than 31,000 American teens, aged 14 to 18, who took part in surveys in 2009 and 2011. Among healthy-weight boys, 3.5 percent of those with no history of sexual assault attempted suicide within the past year, compared with more than 33 percent of those who had been sexually assaulted, the investigators found”…Read more
  
• What’s Lurking Behind the Suicides?: “Since December, nine people between the ages of 12 and 24 have committed suicide on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation — home to Crazy Horse’s Oglala band of the Lakota — in southwestern South Dakota. They come to Pine Ridge every few years, these suicide epidemics, with varying degrees of national media attention and local soul-searching. What the news media often misses though, and what tribal members understand but rarely discuss above a whisper, is that youth suicides here are inextricably linked to a multigenerational scourge of sexual abuse, with investigations into possible abuse now open in at least two of the nine recent suicides”…Read more
• Healthy Relationships May Prevent Depression in Child Abuse Survivors: “Researchers followed a group of 485 young adults in Rochester, New York, for 12 years to see how exposure to neglect or maltreatment during childhood would influence their ability to have satisfying relationships with intimate partners and their susceptibility to depression. ‘In our sample, we do not find evidence that maltreatment reduces the likelihood that an individual will be in a stable, satisfying intimate partner relationship’”…Read more
  
• Teens, Social Media & Technology Overview 2015: “Aided by the convenience and constant access provided by mobile devices, especially smartphones, 92% of teens report going online daily — including 24% who say they go online 'almost constantly,' according to a new study from Pew Research Center…Nearly three-quarters of teens have or have access to a smartphone and 30% have a basic phone, while just 12% of teens 13 to 17 say they have no cell phone of any type…Facebook remains the most used social media site among American teens ages 13 to 17 with 71% of all teens using the site, even as half of teens use Instagram and four-in-ten use Snapchat”…Read more

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Miscellaneous

• Masculinity Gets a Modern Makeover in Getty Images' Newest Stock Art Collection: “Stock photography is everywhere, and a lot of it reinforces traditional gender roles. But Getty Images partnered with Sheryl Sandberg's LeanIn.org last year to change that by creating a collection of 2,500 images showing women in more empowering ways. The collection, which has since doubled in size, turned out to be a success, according to Getty, with sales also doubling since the launch. Now, ahead of Father's Day and following the launch of Sandberg's 'Lean In Together' campaign earlier this year, Getty Images has curated another collection, this time offering images that redefine representations of masculinity”…Read more
  

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Local News

• Devyn Garcia, 20, of North Freedom, charged with repeated sexual assault of a teen girl...Read more
  
• Michael Powell, of Portage, sentenced to 8 years probation for sexually assaulting a 30-year-old woman with significant cognitive impairment...Read more
• Steven Rist, 43, of Columbus, charged with sexual assault of a 16-year-old girl...Read more
  

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Parents' & Youth Service Providers' Section

• The #BuildConfidence Campaign: “The Representation Project is proud to present the #BuildConfidence campaign to celebrate, inform, and empower mentors who model positive self-esteem and body image…We want every mom, dad, and caregiver to have the information and resources they need to model healthy self-esteem and body image for their children. That’s why we put together two #BuildConfidence Toolkits: For Dads & Caregivers and For Moms & Caregivers The kits feature the most effective strategies, talking tips, and resources”…Read more…View their related resource: Conversation Starters for Teens and Families
• What Teenage Boys Should Know about Teenage Girls: Check out this writer's examples of how girls are affected by sexual assault, harassment, dress codes, the wage gap, and more. 
• Futures Without Violence’s #TeachEarly: “Help the young men in your life build healthy, non-violent relationships by teaching them early about the importance of respect, particularly for women. In this playbook you'll find tips, facts, and teachable moments to help you talk about healthy relationships with the kids in your life”…Check it out here
• Nope – That’s Not Cool: “During February, [thatsnotcool.com] continued to promote a Tumblr that we created, called Nope – That’s Not Cool. The tone is intentionally cheeky to relate to teens, and utilizes a variety of GIFs and memes—two popular forms of visual media among young people. Our Tumblr posts feature specific instances and examples of dating abuse—such as over-texting and nude picture pressure—while simultaneously highlighting the humor and absurdity of the negative behavior in question.”
• Teen Self-Harm: The Center for Young Women’s Health has a page on self-harm, including information on why people do it, how to try to stop, and helping a friend…Check it out here
  
• Stop It Now, an organization working to stop child sexual abuse has a newly designed website. They “designed it to be easily engaging with helpful and instructive information to help you keep children safe.”
• Teaching Tolerance’s Shelter from the Storm: “Educators are often trained to recognize trauma related to grief, loss or abuse, but poverty-related trauma has its own set of symptoms. Read how schools in California and Texas are helping poverty-traumatized students at the classroom and building levels.”
• PACER’s Helping Your Child with Bullying: “We're excited to introduce a new online resource for parents that offers advice on helping your child if they are being bullied, bullying others, or witnessing bullying. There is also specific information for parents of children with disabilities”…Visit the page
• Developing a Positive School Climate-Top Ten Tips to Prevent Bullying and Cyberbullying: “Here's what you can do to improve your climate and not only enhance student achievement, success, and productivity, but also teach youth to be safe, smart, honest, and responsible while using technology”…Read more

• #Day1 Anti-Bullying Campaign: The #Day1 Campaign is a new anti-bullying campaign that requires “1) A person in authority, 2) clearly saying what behavior is expected and what is not tolerated, 3) done early on (on Day 1), 4) and getting a verbal confirmation back that the instruction is understood”…View their site
  
• 5 Reasons Not to Worry About Kids and Social Media: “As a parent, you can help nurture the positive aspects simply by accepting how important social media is for kids and helping them find ways for it to add real value to their lives. For inspiration, here are some of the benefits of your kid being social media-savvy”…Read more
  
• NetSmartz Student Project Kit: “This tool offers middle and high school students activities and projects they can use to teach younger students and their peers about online safety and digital citizenship. If you are familiar with the older Teen Volunteer Kit, be sure to check out this updated version.”
• Prevent Child Abuse Parent Pages: “Prevent Child Abuse North Carolina provides parent pages on timely topics of interest to parents. We encourage you to download the pages and share them with parents in your school and community”…Download them here…View similar tip sheets from the Child Welfare Information Gateway here
  
• The Child Welfare Information Gateway has released a series of online fact sheets exploring the effects of maltreatment on children and how parents can help them recover. One of the fact sheets focuses on parenting a child who has experienced trauma. Other topics in the series include parenting a child who has experienced sexual abuse and abuse or neglect. 
• Connections: Child Abuse Prevention Video Series: This series, a collaboration between the Children’s Bureau and the National Child Abuse Prevention Partners, features presentations from 11 different organizations, focused around themes to help move the child maltreatment field forward to a greater emphasis on prevention.
• Kidpower Skills for Health Care Providers: This article “describes how even a few minutes can make a great difference for patients by educating them about personal safety, practicing skills to prevent problems, and preparing parents with knowledge about how to keep their kids safe from child abuse, bullying, abduction, and other dangers.”
  
• Resource Parent Curriculum Online: “This workshop is designed to provide resource parents with the knowledge and skills needed to effectively care for children and teens who have experienced trauma. Participants will learn how trauma-informed parenting can support children’s safety, permanency, and well-being, and engage in skill-building exercises that will help them apply this knowledge to the children in their care.”
• Trauma Informed Care: Perspectives and Resources: From the National Technical Assistance Center for Children s Mental Health, this online tool is “comprised of issue briefs, video interviews, and resource lists [which] tells a story of implementation of trauma informed services and offers guidance and resources to help you on your implementation journey.”
  

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Resources
Preventing and Responding to Domestic and Sexual Violence in Later Life: "In observance of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (June 15, 2015), the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence is pleased to share this updated Special Collection. By focusing specifically on domestic and sexual violence (DV/SV) in later life, this special collection highlights the complexities of older people's DV/SV experiences and emphasizes collaborative and multi-pronged approaches to addressing DV/SV in later life."

Suicide Prevention App for Health Care Providers Free from SAMHSA: “Suicide Safe, SAMHSA's new suicide prevention app for mobile devices and tablets, helps providers integrate suicide prevention strategies into their practice and address suicide risk among their patients. Based on SAMHSA's Suicide Assessment Five-Step Evaluation and Triage (SAFE-T) card, Suicide Safe helps providers: (1) use the SAFE-T approach with patients; (2) explore interactive case study examples; (3) quickly access and share information, including crisis lines, fact sheets, educational opportunities, and treatment resources; (4) browse conversation starters, sample language, and tips for talking with patients; and (5) identify treatment options, locations, resources, and referrals.”


YWCA Racial Justice Resources: The YWCA in Madison has created a webpage with various racial justice resources that you can use to create change individually—through personal learning, education & action; interpersonally—through discussion & actions with family, friends, and groups that you are connected to; institutionally—through working towards systemic change in your community and/or organization.

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