High School Students Take a Stand Against Bullying

BPG (Bully Prevention Group)  has been very busy throughout the year trying to accomplish our goal of preventing bullying around our high school. This group was started by four students who thought that bullying was a very big issue in the small town of O’Neill, NE. This year has been our most active year, and we hope that it will only keep growing. Our group has had meetings every Thursday to talk about the projects we are working on. We started our year off by hosting a kick- off event where we had some games for the Junior High School students to play that had an anti bullying message; some of the games included:  Toss Away Bullying and Don’t Break Your Trust.  After that we hosted a Mix-up Day where students grabbed a card and sat with the people who had a similar card; we believe that this helps students realize that they aren’t as different from each other as they think. We have also taken several surveys that prove that we are not the only ones who think that bullying is a problem in our school.  It’s also a giant problem all over the U.S.  For example according to Dan Olweus, National School Safety Center “American schools harbor approximately 2.1 million bullies and 2.7 million of their victims.” The National Safety Center also said “1 in 7 Students in Grades K-12 is either a bully or a victim of bullying.” Our group BPG wants to be in the other half of this equation.  We want our students to treat each other with respect and understand that in no circumstance is bullying okay. We refuse to have our school be part of these statistics.  BPG members have fun being in the group and enjoy making changes in our school and community. We hope that the group will stay as successful as can be so that kids themselves can control the bullying in our area.

Written by Maranda Winter, Junior at O’Neill High School

January is Stalking Awareness Month

January is National Stalking Awareness Month, a time to focus on a crime that affects 3.4 million victims a year. This year’s theme—“Stalking: Know It. Name It. Stop It.”—challenges the nation to fight this dangerous crime by learning more about it.

 

Stalking is a crime in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, yet many victims and criminal justice professionals underestimate its seriousness and impact. In one of five cases, stalkers use weapons to harm or threaten victims, and stalking is one of the significant risk factors for femicide (homicide of women) in abusive relationships.

 

Victims suffer anxiety, social dysfunction, and severe depression at much higher rates than the general population, and many lose time from work or have to move as a result of their victimization.

 

Stalking is difficult to recognize, investigate, and prosecute. Unlike other crimes, stalking is not a single, easily identifiable crime but a series of acts, a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause that person fear. Stalking may take many forms, such as assaults, threats, vandalism, burglary, or animal abuse, as well as unwanted cards, calls, gifts, or visits. One in four victims reports that the stalker uses technology, such as computers, global positioning system devices, or hidden cameras, to track the victim’s daily activities. Stalkers fit no standard psychological profile, and many stalkers follow their victims from one jurisdiction to another, making it difficult for authorities to investigate and prosecute their crimes.

If you believe you or someone you know is a victim of stalking; or if you have any questions about your situation, please call Bright Horizons toll free at 1-877-379-3798 to speak with an advocate.

Written by Sara

Bright Horizons Recieves $20,000 from Mary Kay Foundation

Mary Kay shelter grant program to help many of the 61,000 domestic violence survivors assisted each day in the United States

 

Bright Horizons has been chosen to receive a $20,000 grant from The Mary Kay Foundation as part of the organization’s annual $3 million national domestic violence grant program.  Bright Horizons is one of 150 domestic violence organizations participating in the program.  The grant will be used to make some necessary safety and security updates at shelter.

“This grant is such a blessing to Bright Horizons in a variety of ways,” said Linda Olson, Executive Director.  “Not only does it make up for a deficit in funding this year but also gives us hope and strength to continue what we do.  Domestic violence is not going away and deserves very serious attention.  Programs to help battered women and their children require a lot of resources.  That’s why we are so thankful The Mary Kay Foundation is helping us help families in northeastern Nebraska.”

Domestic Violence Outlook

According to the second “Mary Kay Truth About Abuse” national survey conducted in March 2011, domestic violence shelters indicate the economic downturn has increased demand for services.  Shelters also report, the ability to raise funds and provide services will be hampered into 2012.  Due to the economy, the survey also revealed:

• 80 percent of domestic violence shelters nationwide (more than three out of four) report and increase in women seeking assistance from abuse, and most attribute this to financial issues.
• 76 percent of domestic violence shelters (three out of four) indicate their funding has decreased.
• 65 percent of women in shelters can’t find employment due to the economy.
• 56 percent of shelters note the abuse is more violent now than before the economic downturn.

 

“In light of the economic downturn and alarming increases in domestic violence, The Mary Kay Foundation’s mission is more critical than ever before.  Bright Horizons has helped so many women and their families in the northeastern Nebraska area.  We know they will use these funds to benefit even more domestic violence survivors and their children and help end domestic violence,” said Jennifer Cook, The Mary Kay Foundation board member.
About Bright Horizons

Bright Horizons serves victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking and their families.  All of their services are free and confidential and available 24-hours a day 7 days a week.  Bright Horizons serves Antelope, Boyd, Holt, Knox, Madison, Pierce, and Stanton counties.  They have an office and shelter in both Norfolk and O’Neill.   They provide individual advocacy, support group for adults and children, shelter, assistance with protection orders and criminal justice and legal advocacy.  They also provide education in the community on these issues.

 

About The Mary Kay Foundation

The Mary Kay Foundation was created in 1996, and its mission is two-fold: to fund research of cancers affecting women and to help prevent domestic violence while raising awareness of the issue.  Since the Foundation’s inception, it has awarded $28 million to shelters and programs addressing domestic violence prevention and more than $16 million to cancer researchers and related causes throughout the United States.  To learn more about The Mary Kay Foundation, log on to www.marykayfoundation.org or call 1-877-MKCARES (652-2737).

 

What we can learn from Penn State

 It’s unfortunate that it takes national headlines to get people talking about a problem that is all too prevalent in our society but we can take advantage of this opportunity to shine the light on the issue of child sexual abuse and recognize that we all have a responsibility to protect children.

 

• We’ve learned that this issue is not about big universities, celebrity, or the Catholic Church.  It’s not about reputations, or legacies or any one institution.  This issue is about children.
• We’ve learned that we have to step into the reality that there are people in our midst that would rob children of their innocence and they are people we know and trust.  They will go out of their way to appear above reproach and they will infiltrate our families and organizations where they can have easy access to children.
• We’ve learned that it takes tremendous courage for children and adults that have been abused to come forward.  We must support and honor this courage and work together to ensure their story is not handed down to other innocent children.
• We’ve learned that child safety is the job of an adult.  Teaching children how to keep themselves safe from abuse is important, but adults bear the burden of stepping up and speaking out when something doesn’t look or feel right with respect to the wellbeing of a child.  We’ve learned that it may or may not be our legal responsibility as mandated reporters depending on where we live but morally it is the right thing to do.  If you see something or suspect abuse, call the police.
• We’ve learned that the ramifications of not acting responsibly are clear.  More abuse occurs, more children are harmed, fewer children get the help they so deserve.  To be silent bystanders is to be complicit in its occurrance and wake. To intervene is to ensure that a child is treated and supported, that they are healed and better protected from potential lifelong hardships of trauma.
• We’ve learned that child sexual abuse is preventable.  We can learn the facts, we can acknowledge the reality, we can talk to others adults, we can ensure youth serving organizations have comprehensive child protection policy, and we can talk to our children.  Awareness and education is the answer.
• The fight against child abuse cannot be the job of one agency; it has to be a collaborative effort.  It will take all of us to change culture–to one where engaged adults offer no place for a perpetrator to commit their heinous acts and no access to children.
• We can be stuck in the shock and horror of what happened at Penn State staying focused on who knew what and when or we can pledge right now to stay focused on the things we can do today that better protect children.  Let Penn State serve as a wake-up call.  Will we stay vigilant or will we again become complacent when the smoke clears?

 

** This article came from the Darkness to Light website which is www.d2l.org.  If you would like more information about how you or your organization can take an active stand against child sexual abuse, call Audrea at 402-379-2026 to learn how.

31 Ways to continue Domestic Violence Awareness

Even though Domestic Violence Awareness Month is over, it is still important to continue the awareness of the issue.  Raising awareness can be as simple as posting statistics and information about domestic violence on your Facebook, Twitter, or blog page!  Following are 31 ways we encourage you to “Take a Stand. Let your Voice be Heard!”

1. Domestic Violence is everyone’s issue!
2. Nothing causes someone to be abusive
3. A woman is beaten every 15 seconds
4. 1 in 4 women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime
5. Lead by example:  work at creating a culture that has a “no tolerance” policy to domestic violence
6. Speak up: if someone says something derogatory, abusive or disrespectful about women, let them know their behavior is wrong
7. Find one way today in which you tell/show others that intimate partner violence is wrong
8. Domestic violence is NEVER the victim’s fault
9. Social change starts with you, let your voice be heard one time today that abuse is wrong
10. What is one thing you can do in your life, that states abuse is intolerable
11. Challenge others when you hear them say, “why doesn’t the victim leave” and ask “why doesn’t the abuser stop?”
12. Intimate Partner Violence happens in same-sex relationships
13. 10 murder-suicides take place each week (violence policy center)
14. Respect is one aspect of a healthy relationship
15. Domestic violence = establishing and maintaining power and control over ones intimate partner
16. Speak out against inappropriate jokes
17. Speak out and treat women and men with respect
18. Find out how you can help your local domestic violence/sexual assault program (ex)volunteer, what items do they need donated…
19. In 1967, shelters begin emerging for battered women in the United States
20. On October 17, 1981, the National Coalition against Domestic Violence declared a national day of unity on behalf of battered women across the country
21. Speak out and keep your friends accountable against domestic violence
22. Do you recognize domestic violence when you see it? Learn more at NDVSAC.org
23. There is no room for domestic violence in ‘family values’
24. In one day, Nebraska’s 21 domestic violence/sexual assault programs, served 615 victims
25. In 1978, Nebraska passed the Protection from Domestic Abuse Act
26. Challenge: Ask 3 people if they could recognize domestic violence & how. Use this for an opportunity to educate the community
27. In a healthy relationship, the two individuals can talk freely and openly with each other without fear of reprisal
28. One of the most dangerous times for a victim of domestic violence, is when the victim leaves/attempts to leave
29. Domestic violence is not about an “anger problem” -  it’s about power and control over one’s intimate partner
30. What are you doing today to raise the awareness of domestic violence?
31. Domestic Violence IS your issue!