HelpLine of Delaware & Morrow Counties is seeking individuals to volunteer as SARN (Sexual Assault Response Network) and/or Prevention Volunteers.  Our SARN Program is committed to serving survivors of sexual assault with immediate crisis intervention and referral services.  Our prevention educators provide education to the all school age children and pre-school aged children in preventing violence. To learn more about HelpLine visit our website at www.helplinedelmor.org. If you wish to join our volunteer team, please contact Shilo Gall at 614-507-5703 or sgall@helplinedelmor.org.

Creating safety for LGBT teens through
HelpLine’s Safe Youth Project

 According to the nationwide 2009 School Climate Survey published by the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN) in 2010, key findings painted a disturbing picture of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth and safety:

• 84.6% of LGBT students reported being verbally harassed, 40.1% reported being physically harassed, and 18.8% reported being physically assaulted at school in the past year because of their sexual orientation.
• 29.1% of LGBT students missed a class at least once, and 30% missed at least one day of school in the past month because of safety concerns compared to only 8% and 6.7%, respectively of a national sample of secondary school students.
• 72.4% heard homophobic remarks, such as “faggot” or “dyke”, frequently or often at school.
• 61.1% of students reported that they felt unsafe in school because of their sexual orientation, and 39.9% felt unsafe because of their gender expression.
• Increased levels of victimization were related to increased levels of depression and anxiety and

decreased levels of self-esteem (GLSEN, 2010).

These statistics are startling. HelpLine believes that every youth deserves a safe, caring, and supportive learning environment in which to grow and succeed.  Through our experiences of serving the area’s schools with our various programming efforts, we know that school staff and administration, and our community at large share these goals, as well.

In an effort to continue to serve the needs of area youth, HelpLine applied for and received funding to launch the Safe Youth Project.  The information below outlines our vision, mission, and project goals for the first year of funding:

Vision Statement
HelpLine of Delaware and Morrow Counties, Inc. Safe Youth Initiative envisions supportive educational and community systems where all youth thrive regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression.

Mission Statement
HelpLine is a community non-profit agency providing Crisis Intervention, Suicide Prevention, and Rape Crisis Services.  Additionally, Helpline provides sexual and dating violence, and bullying prevention programming K-12 and in the college setting.

The Safe Youth Initiative is funded by the Ohio Department of Health, Sexual and Domestic Violence Section’s administration of the federal Violence Against Women Act Monies. The underlying guiding principal of the Safe Youth Initiative is the belief that active engagement with community partners, youth, and schools will ensure safe schools for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender youths and all students.  We accomplish this mission in the following ways:

• Providing training to schools and community members,
• Offering community awareness through HelpLine’s various print and online communications,
• Offering opportunities for adult engagement through active participation on the Safe Youth Initiative Committee and youth support for Day of Silence Awareness activities,
• Offering opportunities for youth engagement and leadership through active participation in Day of Silence and Breaking the Silence activities,
• Offering youth and adults support on the Safe Youth Committee to continue the work of the committee beyond 2011-2012 school year,
• Providing a movie screening of the film Bullied,
• Providing community education about legislation related to safe schools for all.

How you can participate:

Corina Klies, Prevention Educator is spearheading the Safe Youth Project.  If you would like to participate on the committee and/or help with the planning of Day of Silence, please contact Corina at (740) 363-1835 or at cklies@helplinedelmor.org.  Youth participation is encouraged and welcome.

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About HelpLine

HelpLine of Delaware and Morrow Counties, Inc. is a private, non-profit organization that provides a 24-hour crisis support hotline, information and referral to direct services and advocacy, and serves as the area’s only volunteer center. Committed to empowering people through knowledge, support and resources, HelpLine facilitates stability and self-sufficiency through linkage to services, crisis management, and mental health related & violence prevention education in Delaware and Morrow County communities.

HelpLine is a contract provider of the Delaware-Morrow Mental Health & Recovery

Services Board and partially funded by the Council for Older Adults. A United Way

Agency, HelpLine is accredited by the American Association of Suicidology, National

Alliance of Information & Referral Systems and certified by the Ohio Department of

Mental Health. For more information, please visit: www.HelpLinedelmor.org.

Contact:

Sue Hanson, Executive Director

740.363.1835, ext. 107

E-mail: shanson@helplinedelmor.org

“SOCIALIZING FOR SOCIAL CHANGE”

Improving the Lives of Girls & Women

Delaware, OH- HelpLine of Delaware and Morrow Counties, Inc. (HelpLine) and Youth to Youth hosted “Socializing for Social Change” on December 5, 2011. It was a memorable night celebrating the extraordinary girls of the Thank Goodness I’m Female (TGIF) program which tackles relational aggression amongst girls within the Buckeye Valley and Westerville school districts. The night consisted of youth-led and developed presentations about relational aggression (female bullying) & the TGIF programs’ accomplishments and future plans.

Special guest speaker, Debra Penzone from Charles Penzone Salon, encouraged the girls to uncover their personal beauty and style from the inside out by sharing her own memories of relational aggression. At the end of the evening Debra said, “Tonight’s event has been very empowering to see the next generation of girls fighting relational aggression and supporting each other to make a difference.”

The room was full of TGIF Buckeye Valley and Westerville middle and high school students, their parents, family members, school administrators and Delaware & Franklin County community leaders. Although the program focuses on females, many dads were present at the event as well, showing their support for their daughters. Lloyd Rutledge, Father of Alison Rutledge a 7^th grader at Buckeye Valley Middle School expressed, “I grew up with four sisters and I have three daughters so I have witnessed first-hand the fighting that goes on between girls. It is nice to see people encouraging change and witnessing the after effects.”

Attendees participated in interactive activities encouraging cross-generational sharing and crafted pledges to stand-up against female bullying. Robin Kuebler, mother of Maddie Kuebler a 6^th grader at Buckeye Valley Middle School, shared the impact TGIF has had on their relationship as she said, “It has given us an opportunity to share our common experiences.”

TGIF is made possible by the Women’s Fund of Central Ohio and is gaining momentum as it just received the Ohio Department of Education’s 2011 Asset Builder Award to School-based Youth Group award. The ultimate goal of the TGIF project among Genoa and Buckeye Valley Middle Schools’ girls is to catalyze long term social transformation through open dialogue, skill building, a social-norm campaign, and social networking “Youtube-like” videos to change aggressive attitudes as well as behaviors among girls.  Additionally, The Community Foundation of Delaware County is funding a mini-conference for TGIF.

Candice Dobbins a 7^th grader at Genoa Middle School is excited about the future of TGIF and continuing the relationships that have been built as she stated, “Ever since I have been a part of TGIF my school friends have turned into family.”

# # #

About HelpLine

HelpLine of Delaware and Morrow Counties, Inc. is a private, non-profit organization that provides a 24-hour crisis support hotline, information and referral to direct services and advocacy, and serves as the area’s only volunteer center. Committed to empowering people through knowledge, support and resources, HelpLine facilitates stability and self-sufficiency through linkage to services, crisis management, and mental health related & violence prevention education in Delaware and Morrow County communities.

HelpLine is a contract provider of the Delaware-Morrow Mental Health & Recovery

Services Board and partially funded by the Council for Older Adults. A United Way

Agency, HelpLine is accredited by the American Association of Suicidology, National

Alliance of Information & Referral Systems and certified by the Ohio Department of

Mental Health. For more information, please visit: www.HelpLinedelmor.org.

Contacts:

Sue Hanson, Executive Director

740.363.1835, ext. 107

E-mail: shanson@helplinedelmor.org

Brande Urban, Prevention Educator

740.363.1835, ext. 102

E-mail: burban@helplinedelmor.org

Click here to download the press release (pdf version)