July 2017 Community Education E-bulletin

Welcome to the July 2017 edition of Hope House's Community Education E-bulletin!​

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1. Youth Presentations for 2016-2017 School Year
2. Ladies Night Out
3. Project Homeless Connect
4. Hope House Donation Needs
5. Sexual Assault

6. Domestic Violence
7. Children and Youth
8. Miscellaneous News
9. Local News
10. Parents' and Youth Service Providers' Section

 

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Snapshot of Youth Presentations during the 2016-2017 School Year
Hope House is excited to share that during the 2016-2017 school year we facilitated 521 presentations with 4K-12th grade students in school and after-school settings! We were in at least one school in 20 different school districts in our five-county service area. Many thanks to our school and after-school partners in helping us reach so many students with topics like healthy relationships, internet safety, protective behaviors, bullying and sexual harassment, bystander intervention, dating violence, sexual assault, gender roles and violence, and media literacy! Here are just a few quotes from high school students on their presentation evaluations:

• "Your presentations were absolutely...Wonderful!!!!! I absolutely got a lot out of them. It really brought my attentions to things that I had never really thought about. Like especially how many people are and will be affected by sexual crimes."
• "This presentation was very helpful. I learned a lot about respect and consent, especially in a relationship."
• "Thank you for coming to talk to us. I think that it is very important for teens to be informed about this stuff. I also am really glad that you brought attention to the fact that males get abused, too." 
• "I learned a lot. It helped me through some personal issues that I’ve had."
• "Even though it seemed like we might not have been listening, I was paying attention and learned a bunch of things that I'm sure will help my relationship and my friends in the future."
• "Thank you for coming in and taking questions, I don't think anything could have gone better."
• "I have learned a lot about healthy relationships. It will make me a better partner with keeping things in mind from the presentations we had. I was also helpful to hear about all the stereotypes out there and trying not to use them at all." ​
• "The entire presentation was helpful because it told us how to help someone that has been raped or sexually assaulted and how to talk to someone about it if an of that happened to you."
• "Taught me a lot about what is healthy and what isn't."
• In regards to students having the opportunity to write down anonymous questions that would be answered, one student shared "The answers helped me with questions I was too afraid to ask."

 

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5th Annual Ladies Night Out at the Sauk County Fair
On Tuesday, July 11 from 6-8pm as part of the Sauk County Fair is the 5th Annual Ladies Night Out in the Commercial Building. Free admission to the event. For a partial list of vendors, click here. Be sure to stop by the Hope House booth!

 

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Project Homeless Connect Sauk County Open House

On Thursday, July 27 from 11am-2pm at the First United Methodist Church in Baraboo is Central Wisconsin Community Action Council's Project Homeless Connect Sauk County Open House.

There will be a free noon meal, free haircuts, free health screenings and vision checks. There will be information on housing, employment services, health and medical services, mental health services, financial options, Head Start, K-12 education, substance abuse treatment, veteran services, and more!

Free transportation may be available in Sauk County by contacting Wendy at 608-254-8353 by July 14. 

Be sure to stop by the Hope House booth!

 

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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 used 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 the following:

• Kitchen:  Pots and Pans, Silverware, and Fresh Produce
• Cleaning supplies: Laundry Detergent, Lysol Spray and Wipes, All Purpose Cleaner, Magic Eraser, and Toilet Bowl Cleaner
• School Supplies: New Markers, Notebooks, Colored Pencils, Pens, and Backpacks         
• Miscellaneous: Deodorant, Tissues, Toilet Paper, Paper Towels, Zippered Mattress Protector, Copy Paper, Journals, Pocket Calendars, Wash Cloths, New Flip Flops, and New Stuffed Animals for the Child Appointed Special Advocate Program

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

• Advocacy Groups Slam Cosby's 'Outrageous' Tour on Sexual Assault Laws: “Bill Cosby's spokespeople said he will deliver educational talks teaching young people how to behave to avoid sexual assault allegations, leading to harsh criticism from a number of victims' advocacy groups. ‘This is outrageous,’ said Kristen Houser, spokesperson for the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. ‘There are literally hundreds of organizations in this country with expertise in sexual assault and promoting healthy and respectful sexual relationships,’ she said. ‘Those are the people who should be doing education, not a man who has 60 public sexual assault allegations against him’”…Read more
• A Post-Cosby-Trial Question: Is the System Stacked Against Women?: “In the Cosby case, Professor Schneider said, the judge could have allowed testimony from more of the dozens of women who came forward, some after decades of silence, to accuse Mr. Cosby of drugging and assaulting them. (The judge in the Cosby trial allowed one other woman to testify.) While judges need to be vigilant about not trying defendants for crimes other than those at issue in a particular case, such strikingly similar accusations and circumstances could be relevant and therefore could be heard by a jury, she said. Professor Nielsen said that she believed that the next legal frontier would be for more states to adopt the California standard of ‘yes means yes’ — meaning that women must affirmatively give permission for sex”…Read more…Read related articles: The Deck Is Stacked Against Every Sexual Assault Victim in America. The Cosby Case Is No Different. and Bill Cosby’s Legal Defense Was a Case Study in Rape Culture
• USA Gymnastics: Sexual Assault Investigation Urges Cultural Change: “‘What we’ve recommended will take time and strategic planning and execution to implement,’ Daniels said on a call late Monday with USA TODAY Sports and selected other news outlets. ‘But If USA Gymnastics does as they have said they will today, adopt these recommendations and implement them effectively, it’s poised, I would think, to be in the forefront of the U.S. Olympic movement in the protection of athletes from abuse’”…Read more

• ​ ​Breaking Free: Native American Women Tell How They Survived Sex Trafficking: “Native Americans make up less than 2% of the overall population in the United States, but in the Minneapolis area at least, they make up almost 25% of arrests for prostitution. The disproportionate number of Native women involved in sex trafficking isn’t limited to the Minneapolis area; in fact it bears out globally...Advocates point out that poverty, homelessness, and addiction make women vulnerable to entering into prostitution or being trafficked because pimps can help meet those basic needs. Also, the reason so many Native women are homeless and impoverished is, in part, because of federal policies that have made the population the poorest ethnic group in the nation”…Read more
• Why So Many Rape Victims Don’t Simply ‘Fight Back’: “The researchers spoke to nearly 300 women who went to an emergency clinic in Stockholm within one month of a rape or attempted rape. Seventy percent of the women said they experienced significant ‘tonic immobility,’ or involuntary paralysis, during the attack. And nearly 50 percent reported extreme paralysis, such that they were effectively catatonic”…Read more
• Body Memories and ‘Grounding’ in Sexual Trauma Therapy: “The potential for this is why I start all therapeutic relationships by establishing safety. Judith Herman, in her classic Trauma and Recovery, outlines the three necessary stages to any effective trauma resolution process: (1) safety, (2) remembrance and mourning, and (3) reconnection. That first piece, safety, is where developing the grounding skill happens. Other grounding and safety techniques may include the following”…Read more

 

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Domestic Violence

• Once Again, a Mass Shooter Has a History of Domestic Violence: “Americans who follow news about public shootings in the country will not be surprised by the biography of James T. Hodgkinson, the 66-year-old from Belleville, Illinois, who shot up a D.C.-area baseball practice for congressional staffers on Wednesday morning.* He is a white man with a legal license to own firearms, for one thing. And, like so many men who attempt mass murder, he has a history of violence against women”…Read more
• Film Depicts One Domestic Violence Survivor’s International Fight for Justice: “The first 20 minutes of Home Truth, a documentary premiering at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival on Sunday in New York, are difficult viewing. Filmed over nine years, the film follows Lenahan, the first domestic violence survivor to successfully sue the United States for violating her human rights. After more than a decade of legal battles, Lenahan’s case has changed federal policies concerning domestic violence victims in ways that are still in effect today”…Read more
• Karl Curtis: Domestic Violence, Homelessness and Brain Injuries Go Hand in Hand: “Knowing this information, it stands to reason a person with TBI might lack income and wind up homeless, or that a person who sustained a TBI via domestic abuse might become dependent on the abuser. So why has it taken so long to make these connections? One reason is people with TBI often appear ‘normal’ on the outside and go undiagnosed...For the Fox Valley social service workers, adding TBI awareness to their toolbox has the potential to create better service delivery to those seeking help. For example, by accounting for TBI-related memory issues they can develop better strategies for ensuring clients remember and attend scheduled appointments. Similarly, making adaptations for TBI-related anxiety or sensitivity to light and sound can make interviews and meetings more successful”…Read more

 

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Children & Youth

• 25 Things You Do as an Adult When You've Experienced Childhood Emotional Abuse: “We wanted to know what kinds of effects childhood emotional abuse can have on adulthood, so we asked our mental health community to share one thing they do now that stemmed from the emotional abuse they experienced in their upbringing. No matter what your experience of childhood abuse was, it is important to remember hope is never lost and there is help out there”…Read more
• More than a Third of Teenage Girls Experience Depression, New Study Says: “A large new study out this week contains some alarming data about the state of children's mental health in the United States, finding that depression in many children appears to start as early as age 11. By the time they hit age 17, the analysis found, 13.6 percent of boys and a staggering 36.1 percent of girls have been or are depressed…The surprise was that the gap is already quite large at age 12, Breslau explained, ‘which indicates that the differences have origins that starts earlier in childhood than was previously thought’”…Read more
• How Can You Make A Non-Sexist Public School Dress Code?: “That policy states, ‘Clothes must be worn in a way such that genitals, buttocks, and nipples are covered with opaque material.’ This language is designed to avoid girls getting penalized for wearing running tights or leggings, or having their tank tops and shorts measured by ‘finger tip tests’ or ‘three finger tests’ or worse. It takes out the assumption that showing the belly or back is inherently sexual. It also avoids having teachers scrutinize cleavage to determine how much is too much (something a male teacher reported being expected to do, which made him intensely uncomfortable)…Most dress codes instead start with the premise that girls’ bodies are rife with disruption and the mere sight of thigh or shoulder could be a problem. This leads to body shaming, sexist enforcement, and victim blaming. Many dress codes and enforcement discussions explicitly call out ‘distraction’ as the problem. What they mean is that boys (and sometimes male teachers, which is disturbing and predatory) may comment on or react to the girls”…Read more

 

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Miscellaneous News

• The Role Of Yoga In Healing Trauma: “The new Georgetown Law report argues that, since the effects of trauma can be physical, ‘body-mind’ interventions, like yoga, may be able to uniquely address them. Regulated breathing, for example, calms the parasympathetic nervous system. Practicing staying in the moment counteracts some of the dissociative effects of trauma. And the physical activity of yoga, of course, can directly improve health”…Read more​
• Study Explores Sexual and Intimate Partner Violence in College Women with Disabilities: “‘Disability-specific abuse manifested in several ways, such as the abuser using disability-specific name calling such as ‘crazy,’ ‘bipolar,’ and ‘moron’; putting women down because of a disability (e.g., ‘[He would say] ‘you always get so emotional, you need your safe space’); saying women are undesirable because of a disability (‘He would call me every name in the book [laugh] and uh similar things like ‘No one else is going to love you’ and like ‘I’m all that you’re going to ever have.’); and blaming women’s prior sexual victimizations on their disability’…The authors recommend that colleges create safe spaces for women on campus and ensure that campus sexual assault programs collaborate with disability services”…Read more

 

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Local News

• Steven Rist, 45, of Columbus, was charged with felony child enticement, exposure, misdemeanor lewd and lascivious behavior and two counts of fourth-degree sexual assault following an encounter with a 16-year-old girl in 2015…Read more
• Gary Worthley, 19, of Portage, will serve a 75-day jail sentence followed by probation, bringing a close to five criminal cases including two charges of felony domestic abuse…Read more
• Jared Thurber, 29, of Columbus, faces single counts of felony strangulation, operating a motor vehicle without consent, misdemeanor battery and disorderly conduct, all as domestic abuse charges…Read more
• Joshua J. Morales, 34, of Mauston, faces a possible $25,000 fine or imprisonment of no more than 10 years, or both, for the first offense and the same penalties for the second charge. Morales was also charged with misdemeanor battery, domestic abuse, criminal damage to property, telephone harassment and disorderly conduct, domestic abuse…Read more
• Kevin Kroener, 42, a former driving instructor from Tomah, was found guilty June 9 at the Juneau County Justice Center in Mauston of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old student in May 2015…“While instructing a young driver, Kroener allegedly took the student to a secluded area in New Lisbon and forced the student to commit sexual acts. Kroener was previously charged with sexual assault and child enticement in 2012, but charges were dropped”…Read more
• Clifford A. Petrusky, 70, of Lyndon Station, faces four counts of possession of child pornography…Read more
• A domestic dispute Sunday night turned into a standoff with police Monday morning, with both parties involved in the dispute being arrested by Columbia County law enforcement…Read more
• Anthony J. Peterson, 33, of Necedah, faces two domestic abuse charges, along with a felony bail jumping charge…Read more

 

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Parents' & Youth Service Providers' Section

• Watching Gender: How Stereotypes in Movies and on TV Impact Kids' Development: “Our analysis of media focuses primarily on scholarly research on television and in movies. The research brief is complemented by a national survey of approximately 1,000 parents that explores parents' attitudes toward gender as it's reflected on television and in movies. Take a look at the infographic and read our blog post for highlights”…Read more…Read related post Gender Stereotypes Are Messing with Your Kid
• 7 Ways to Calm a Young Brain in Trauma: “The best approach, according to Perry and van der Kolk, is to acknowledge the negative reactions by giving these students a safe place for a few minutes, allowing the brain and body to calm down. Below are some strategies I implement in K-6 classrooms that prepare the brain for sustained attention and reduce distractions. These strategies are beneficial for all students, but especially those who come into the classroom carrying negative emotion. We implement these throughout the day—at the beginning of class, after recess or lunch, or at the end of the day”…Read more
• LGBTQ Youth and Sexual Abuse: Information for Mental Health Professionals: “The NCTSN Child Sexual Abuse Collaborative Group has published a 7-page tip sheet which mental health practitioners will find invaluable in their work with lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, trans, and queer youth. LGBTQ Youth and Sexual Abuse: Information for Mental Health Professionals provides a short glossary of relevant terms; a chart delineating the continuums of sex, gender, and sexual orientation; brief summaries of issues concerning LGBTQ youth and their parents related to sexual orientation and sexual abuse; a table of common myths and stereotypes about LGBTQ youth and sexual abuse; recommendations for practitioners and agencies on counseling LGBTQ youth; and guidance in treating LGBTQ youth following sexual abuse”…Read the tip sheet here
• ​New Study: Rates of Anti-LGBTQ School Bullying at 'Unprecedented High': “Despite assumptions that today’s youth are more welcoming and accepting of LGBTQ identities, RTI’s analysis concludes the widespread targeting such youth face has ‘not improved since the 1990s’…Statistics from 1992 to the present, she explained, indicate that ‘LGBTQ students are two to three times more likely than their peers to be physically assaulted or threatened at school.’ This victimization doubles and in many cases quadruples the likelihood that a young person will attempt to take their own life, and those rates have remained steady. If RTI claims that LGBTQ people ‘experience violence and victimization in disproportionate numbers throughout childhood, adolescence, and adulthood,’ the numerous studies that researchers reviewed attest to this fact”…Read more
• Webinar: Dear Stop It Now! Helpline – Is my child safe online? July 26 from 11am-Noon: "Children’s behavior online worries parents and educators. We’ll share Helpline questions from a parent concerned about her pre-teen daughter’s safety online because strangers are contacting her and from a parent who is concerned about his young son’s safety through use of interactive gaming. Exploring our Helpline’s response to these parents, we’ll talk about preventing specific online risks through a prevention-focused lens, learning about risks and prevention tasks for specific developmental ages. Concepts and practices associated with privacy, social media, gaming and parental controls will be discussed. Handouts will be provided. To register, click here. Check back for more information and registration for the next Dear Stop It Now! Helpline webinar in September!"

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