May 2017 Community Education E-bulletin

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

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1. Journey of Hope Fundraiser
2. Denim Day
3. Empower Baraboo Activities & Meeting
4. Support Group in Mauston
5. 50/50 Day on May 10
6. Hope House Donation Needs
7. Sexual Assault

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

 

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9th Annual Journey of Hope Fundraiser April 13 at Trappers Turn, Wisconsin Dells

In addition to our wonderful event sponsors, many additional businesses and individuals donate wonderful items and gift certificates for our auctions and our popular Hope Cards! And a special thank you to Platinum Sponsor Badgerland Pyrotechnics LLC for the stunning fireworks show, and to everyone at Trappers Turn Golf Club for the wonderful evening! Thank you to all of you for supporting Hope House! All proceeds from the event go to provide supportive and safety services for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. We are so grateful for all of our amazing supporters!

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HopeFireworks from Cary M Brandt on Vimeo.

 

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Thank You to All the Denim Day Participants
Thank you to the many businesses, agencies, organizations, and schools in our service area that participated in Denim Day by wearing jeans on April 26 to show their support of sexual assault survivors. Pictured below is just a sampling of the many groups that participated. 

 

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RPE Empower Baraboo Advisory Committee Activities & Meeting
The next Empower Baraboo Advisory Committee meeting will be held on May 16 from 6:15-7:15pm in the Baraboo High School library. We welcome all Baraboo area community members who are interested in helping to create a high school environment that is respectful, inclusive, and free of sexual harassment and assault. Meetings are spent planning events that will engage students and staff throughout the high school community. Summer meeting dates TBD. Questions can be directed to Prevention Project Coordinator Nola Pastor at preventcoord@hopehousescw.org or 608-356-9123.

For Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Empower Baraboo members handed out “Ask First – Respect the Answer” wristbands from the Date Safe Project in Junior and Senior homerooms and helped staff a booth at the Baraboo High School Track Relays. They will also be handing out Hershey’s Kisses and information about consent at prom on Saturday.

 

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Support & Wellness Group in Mauston
Has abuse affected your life in some way? Do you seek connections with supportive individuals who have similar life experiences as you? If so, please consider attending Hope House’s support group at Hatch Public Library in Mauston from 11am-noon on Tuesdays May 9, 23, and June 13. All are welcome! To learn more, call Hope House at 608-356-7500 or 1-800-584-6790.

 

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50/50 Day on May 10
“On May 10th, join thousands of organizations, companies, schools, museums, libraries and homes — anywhere people already gather — in a global conversation about what it will take to get to a more gender-balanced world in all sectors of society: business, politics, culture, home, and more…Screen the 20 minute film ‘50/50: Rethinking the Past, Present, and Future of Women + Power’”…Read more

 

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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 the following:

• Kitchen:  Pots and Pans, Silverware, Non Perishable Food Items, and Fresh Produce
• Cleaning supplies: Lysol Spray and Wipes, All Purpose Cleaner, Magic Eraser, and Toilet Bowl Cleaner
• School Supplies: Notebooks, Colored Pencils, Pens, and Backpacks                                         
• Miscellaneous:  Toilet Paper, First Aid Kits, Zippered Mattress Protector, Copy Paper, Journals, Pocket Calendars, Towels, and Wash Cloths

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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Sexual Assault

• 'Passing the Trash': 2 Women Say the Teachers who Sexually Abused Them were Allowed to Continue Teaching: “In a special edition of ABC News ‘Nightline,’ Chelsea and another survivor of alleged abuse by educators, Nallely Hernandez, are stepping out of the shadows to tell their stories publicly for the first time. Both women are now in the midst of civil suits associated with a practice known as ‘passing the trash.’ ‘Passing the trash’ occurs when a teacher accused of sexual misconduct is allowed to leave a school – through a confidentiality, separation agreement or other means - and quietly seek employment at another school without the new employer being alerted to the allegations, according to S.E.S.A.M.E. (Stop Educator Abuse Misconduct and Exploitation), an organization dedicated to the prevention of sexual abuse by school employees”…Read more
• New IU Policy Bans Athletes with History of Sexual or Domestic Violence: “The policy bans ‘any prospective student-athlete — whether a transfer student, incoming freshman or other status — who has been convicted of or pleaded guilty or no contest to a felony involving sexual violence.’ It further defines ‘sexual violence’ as ‘dating violence, domestic violence, rape, sexual assault or sexual violence as defined by the Indiana University policy on sexual misconduct’”…Read more

 

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Domestic Violence

• The Latest San Bernardino Shooting Reveals A Far More Common Form Of Terror: “An 8-year-old and his teacher were dead. But the public breathed a sigh of relief: At least the shooting was not an act of terrorism. That reaction ― or lack of one ― is misguided. The latest San Bernardino shooting was also an act of terror ― a much more common kind, with a much higher death toll: The kind women face when trapped in abusive relationships”…Read more…Read related article: What the San Bernardino Shooter’s Facebook Page Reveals About Domestic Violence
• Guns and Domestic Violence are a Deadly Combination: “Abusers are often deadliest when victims try to leave or have recently fled the abuse. [2] One-fifth of homicide victims with restraining orders are murdered within two days of obtaining the order, and one third are murdered within the first month. [3] After leaving an abuser, victims must continue to make specific plans for their safety, sometimes for the rest of their lives. ‘Even for victims who leave, their safety isn’t automatically secured,’ said Kim Gandy, President and CEO of the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV). ‘Although it is counter-intuitive, sometimes not leaving is the safest thing to do at a given moment. One of the most critical services provided by local domestic abuse programs is safety planning with the victim – preparing and leaving in a way that poses the least risk.’ Guns and domestic violence are a deadly combination. The mere presence of a gun increases the risk of domestic violence homicide by 500 percent”…Read more…Read related article: The Awful Connection Between Mass Shootings and Domestic Violence​

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• Wisconsin Mechanics Stopping Domestic Violence One Car Repair at a Time: “Harbor House and Christine Ann Domestic Abuse shelters created an auto repair business, after research found most women in abusive situations drove older cars needing major repairs…‘One of the main things about being financially secure is being able to get to employment, get around the community in an efficient way and that comes down to reliable transportation for so many people,’ says Beth Schnorr with Harbor House. A portion of JumpStart's profits allow for free or low cost auto repair for domestic abuse survivors”…Read more
• Man Convicted Under D.C.'s Revenge Porn Law For The First Time: “Prosecutors recounted a campaign that escalated from a steady stream of threats to printing out and posting nude photos taken three years earlier. Roberts tacked up the photos outside the gate on his ex-girlfriend's home and on her car windshield, and stood in the lobby of her workplace with one in hand…There are now revenge porn laws on the books in 35 states”…Read more
• The Afghan Restaurant Run by Domestic Abuse Survivors: “The place is run by survivors of domestic violence and here, women are celebrated as strong, independent human beings, not just victims. Bost is a base for eight women, of all ages. Working empowers them to write a new chapter in their lives. It's a long and often difficult process. Still, it helps that every corner of this restaurant pays homage to powerful women”…Read more
• 'Big Little Lies' Teaches an Important Lesson on Domestic Abuse: “Big Little Lies, the explosive HBO limited series that ended on Sunday night, offered many revelatory moments, but perhaps the most surprising were the instances of relationship abuse…The specificities of Celeste and Perry’s unhealthy relationship may not all ring true for others in abusive relationships, but the way in which she tries to rationalize them will”…Read more

 

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Children & Youth

• Meet The Teen Sexual Assault Survivors Who Took On Their School District And Won: “Motivated by the response, Bella decided to do more. She and her friend Nicole took the lead designing and ordering 130 ‘Got Consent?’ shirts and 200 wristbands, a project financed through a combination of students chipping in $10, money from Bella’s family, and help from SART, the local rape crisis center. In the fall, several students marched with Bella in the homecoming parade with signs reading ‘‘No’ Doesn’t Mean ‘Keep Trying.’’ Bella, Nicole and others have passed out information about Title IX at school, which they got from the website for Know Your IX...In the fall 2016 semester, the Survivors Circle started coming together”…Read more

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Miscellaneous News

• ​Twitter Hashtag Reveals Just How Damaging Expectations Of Masculinity Can Be: “On Thursday night, I tweeted out a joke about a memory I had of a time that I failed masculinity as a child ― by not wearing shorts that fell below my knees. Followers soon joined in with their own memories of times that they failed masculinity as children ― and an idea for a hashtag was born. What followed was an emotional, telling and oftentimes painful series of tweets where people, mostly men, shared memories of moments from their own childhood when they, too, failed masculinity. With responses ranging from memories of parents forcing kids to take part in sports against their will to kids and adults policing human responses considered feminine ― like crying or expressing too much emotion ― the hashtag #FailingMasculinity painted an important ― and sad ― portrait of what expectations of masculinity can do to children in American culture”…Read more...Read related article: Young Men Say They Feel Stuck in a ‘Man Box’
• Why Sexism Doesn’t Sell: Demeaning Imagery in Marketing Is Never Harmless: “But with your new Carl’s Jr. campaign, you have shown us that you are finally starting to see the light…Now, your ads have been objectifying women for many, many years (15+ according to Adweek), so I do applaud you for starting to take the reins back…First, perhaps your next commercial could start in an office that has already pulled your old advertisements down, so we don’t have to stare at a woman’s barely covered crotch…Second, the women in the background who work for you seemed more than pleased with the brand shift. Maybe next time we can hear those women speak? Maybe there’s even some female leadership at Hardee’s/CKE that I’m not aware of? Maybe a woman who’s over 40 or doesn’t have the body of a model could say something?...Thirdly, let’s retire the old ‘boys will be boys’ trope. You say your son was just sewing his wild oats and got ‘distracted’...Rather, your ads were indicative and representative of a larger culture in the United States whereby women are systematically objectified and demeaned”…Read more​

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• David Schwimmer Launches New Campaign to Fight Sexual Harassment: “From there, Schwimmer enlisted the help of Mazdack Rassi, co-founder and creative director of Milk Studios in New York City, where all six videos (four adapted from the Israeli series, plus two others) were shot over one single weekend with actors like Cynthia Nixon, Emmy Rossum, Cristela Alonzo, and Schwimmer himself. They called the video series, which launches today, #ThatsHarassment”…Read more [Trigger warning of sexual harassment and assault for videos]
• Too Many Men Are Silent Bystanders to Sexual Harassment: “Female colleagues, in particular the women whom men mentor, also need them to be watchdogs for gender disparities, boldly saying and doing something when discriminatory, disrespectful, or harassing behavior arises. And it is just as important that young men see their male mentors stepping up to confront and call out this kind of behavior. In our view, there is a profound distinction between passive gender inclusion (attendance at diversity and gender workshops, working to avoid harassment and bias in one’s own relationships) and active gender inclusion (demanding respect and equity for women, in both word and deed, especially when no woman is watching)”…Read more
• Today, Facebook Is Taking A Stand Against Revenge Porn: “Though there is an appeals process, don't expect to keep your Facebook profile if you did post an explicit photo without someone's permission. Once your account is deactivated for this type of sharing, it's deactivated, says Antigone Davis, Facebook's global head of safety. These new reporting features are promising, but the truly impressive advancement is a tool Facebook has developed to prevent further sharing of the photo. Photo-matching technologies will detect if someone tries to re-post the image elsewhere, such as on Instagram, and they will be prevented from doing so”…Read more

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Local News

• Read Hope House's letters to the editor for Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April on supporting sexual assault survivors and on sexual assault prevention
• Read the Dells Events newspaper article on teen dating violence and Hope House’s role in addressing it
• Sauk County sees rise in addiction related child abuse, neglect: Check out this article which covered Hope House’s Child Abuse Prevention Month pinwheel display
• Gregory P. Wolfenbarger, 40, of New Lisbon, faces a strangulation and suffocation charge after an alleged domestic abuse incident…Read more
• Sean G. Moore, 51, of Baraboo, has been charged with repeated child sexual assault charges, child enticement, incest and causing a child under 13 years old to view/listen to sexual activity…Read more
• Adam T. Walsh, 32, of Portage, has had charges refilled against him for repeated sexual assault of a child, incest, causing a child to view or listen to sexual activity, and causing mental harm to a child…Read more​
• Philip K. Schroeder, 40, of Necedah, charged with physical child abuse of a 7-year-old…Read more
• Troy L. Crain, 34, of Lyndon Station, faces three domestic abuse charges, including strangulation and suffocation…Read more
• ​Laython W. Fowler, 20, of Mauston, faces five charges, including three domestic abuse counts…Read more
• Jeremy Wilson, 19, of Portage, has been sentenced to two years of probation with sex offender treatment after entering a guilty plea to a charge of defiling a co-worker’s drink…Read more
• ​David A. Schultz, 41, of New Lisbon, was charged with one count of child abuse, intentionally cause bodily harm, and disorderly conduct…Read more

 

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Parents' & Youth Service Providers' Section

• ​​ThatsNotCool.com’s New Respect Effect App: Download the Respect Effect app to pick up healthy relationship skills by completing daily challenges with your significant other, friends or family…Learn more
• The Persistence of Gender Norms: “This has been a recurring theme in these senior reflections for years now. One boy keeps playing baseball despite hating it. Why? Because it is the only way his father tolerates his love for oil pastels. Another boy dumped his girlfriend because his friends had found a poem he wrote to her and ridiculed him for it. Another student who is an athlete bemoans the fact that he never told the guys in his locker room that he was uncomfortable with the way they objectified the girls they talked about. A member of the chamber choir talks about how difficult it was to connect with ‘more normal’ boys. As a male educator and father of two young boys, I am constantly trying to figure out ways to combat these normative ideals of masculine behavior”…Read more
• In Wake of Michigan Boy Killing Himself, How Common Is Youth Suicide? What Parents Should Know: “Suicide in pre-adolescent children is ‘really pretty rare,’ according to Dr. Victor Schwartz, the chief medical officer for the non-profit JED Foundation, which focuses on preventing suicide in teenagers and young adults. Schwartz cites several reasons for this: Young children likely experience fewer suicidal feelings, are less likely than older teens and young adults to have begun experiencing major mental illness and they often do not have access to the ways and means of suicide…He says that research shows such outreach is not going to plant the idea or lead someone to suicide and can, in fact, relieve anxiety and possibly prevent an attempt”…Read more

• Note from Hope House: We've heard from many teens that they've watched 13 Reasons Why on Netflix. Parents, please watch the series before letting your teen watch it to determine if you feel it's appropriate, and if they've already watched it, please talk to them about it. Here are some articles and resources to help:
  '13 Reasons Why' Is Netflix's Best New Show In Years: “The bullying is harsh and often obscene. The show gets darker and darker as it goes, culminating in a pair of absolutely brutal rape scenes, and the heart-wrenching suicide of the lead character, which is not glossed over in the least. It’s not that an R/MA rating for this content is why it succeeds, but it certainly helps. I don’t think the world would have felt as realistic, or the horrible moments would have been as horrible as they needed to be without that kind of freedom”…Read more…Read related article: New Netflix Series Challenges Rape Culture and 13 Reasons Why Talking Points

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Resources

• OVC’s Vicarious Trauma Toolkit: "The Vicarious Trauma Toolkit (VTT) was developed on the premise that exposure to the traumatic experiences of other people—known as vicarious trauma—is an inevitable occupational challenge for the fields of victim services, emergency medical services, fire services, law enforcement, and other allied professionals; however, organizations can mitigate the potentially negative effects of trauma exposure by becoming vicarious trauma-informed. The VTT includes tools and resources tailored specifically to these fields that provide the knowledge and skills necessary for organizations to address the vicarious trauma needs of their staff”…Learn more
• Domestic Abuse Guidebook for Wisconsin Guardians ad Litem: "End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Governor's Council on Domestic Abuse have released the Domestic Abuse Guidebook for Wisconsin Guardians ad Litem: Addressing Custody, Placement, and Safety Issues. The Guidebook is a comprehensive, step-by-step manual for approaching the consequential issue of domestic abuse in child custody and placement actions."

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