JCADA eNEWS
February 14, 2017

You Can Help Teens Stay Safe

Every year, approximately 1.5 million high school students nationwide experience abuse from a dating partner [i]. Whether a teen is experiencing emotional, physical, sexual, financial, or technological abuse, it is important to think about how they can stay safe in their relationships. A safety plan is a guide that helps someone prepare for potentially dangerous situations and helps them stay safe. Parents, teachers, counselors, coaches, siblings, and friends all play an important role in helping teens stay safe. Below are some safety tips to help teens currently experiencing abuse and/or planning to leave an abusive relationship.

Encourage teens to:
  • Talk to a trusted adult (parent, older sibling, coach, teacher, counselor, etc.).
  • Call a teen dating abuse hotline for help with safety planning.
  • Call 911 if they feel unsafe. 
  • Always bring their cell phone with them so they can call for help if needed.
  • Tell a friend or family member where they are going with their partner.
  • Participate in activities that they enjoy and are relaxing (e.g. taking a walk, calling a friend, drawing, journaling, reading a book, taking deep breaths, meditating, etc.).
  • Set their social media sites to private and only allow people they trust access to their information, pictures, location, etc.
Safety When Breaking Up:
  • Talk to their partner in a public space with other people around.
  • Breakup over text or phone if they don't feel safe talking in person.
  • Tell a friend, family member and/or trusted adult before they breakup. 
  • Do not let the abuser inside of their house after breaking up with him/her.
If you have any concerns or want help creating a safety plan for you or your teen, please e-mail us at  support@jcada.org or call our confidential helpline at 1 -877-88-JCADA (52232) .


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In This Issue
Welcome Cortney Fisher!


JCADA is thrilled to announce the recent addition of Assistant Director, Cortney Fisher, JD, PhD!

Prior to joining JCADA, Cortney was the Deputy Director for Victim Services in the Office of Victim Services and Justice Grants in the District of Columbia, where she managed the policy and program development initiatives of the agency. This included the management of the DC Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner program, the District's continuums of care for domestic violence and sexual assault victims, the District's victim services response in a mass disaster, performance and evaluation initiatives related to victim services, and services for victims of homicide and attempted homicide. 
Past positions include Executive Director of the Maryland Criminal Injuries Compensation Board, Senior  Victim Advocate in the Office of the Victim Advocate at the University of Maryland, Director of Policy and Program Development at the Maryland Crime Victims' Resource Center, and as an Attorney Advisor with the Maryland Division of Parole and Probation. 

At JCADA, Cortney will oversee our victim support services, prevention initiatives, and educational programming to the community regarding domestic and dating violence. Please feel free to send Cortney a virtual welcome at  cortney@jcada.org
AWARE® : Raising Awareness to Prevent Teen Dating Abuse
 
Everyone deserves to have safe and healthy relationships! Throughout February, AWARE® will be posting daily statistics on teen dating abuse and tips for building healthy relationships on our social media sites. Share these posts all month long and tag @AWARENow, using #teenDVmonth and #itsnotlove to help raise awareness! Also, be sure to check out the JCADA Blog to learn how our AWARE® Teen Advisory Board Members are making a difference for their peers!



Building #healthyfriendships  at Berman Hebrew Academy

One way to prevent teen dating abuse is to help students in early adolescence develop positive interpersonal skills with their peers. Earlier this month, AWARE® brought our middle school workshop #healthyfriendships to Berman Hebrew Academy's sixth grade to help them learn skills for building healthy peer relationships. 

Participant responses to, 
"Real friends..."

Want to bring an AWARE® workshop to your school? Contact Kira Doar, AWARE® Program Manager, at  aware@awarenow.org .
Have You Seen Us Around Town? We've Been Busy! 

JCADA's Outreach staff has been on the move! In the last few months, we conducted educational programs at: 
  • Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church where we facilitated a modified version of our AWARE® workshop, It's Not Love®, and held a discussion for 35 parishioners embarking on a new domestic abuse ministry.
  • The Wesley Theological Seminary where we again, facilitated a modified version of our AWARE® workshop, It's Not Love®, and presented to students in the Masters of Divinity program on domestic abuse.
  • And numerous synagogues and other Jewish organizations, including Congregation Ohr Kodesh, where we trained clergy and synagogue staff on domestic abuse in the Jewish community and appropriate responses to it.
In addition, we participated in several community outreach events, including a Mitzvah Fair at B'nai Shalom of Olney. Upcoming educational programs will be conducted at Aish Greater Washington, Shaare Tefila, and Sha'are Shalom. We are also participating in a special Purim event at the Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia on March 1st.

Our interfaith efforts will continue next month as we, together with the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington (JCRC), ADAMS Center, and Foundation for Appropriate and Immediate Temporary Help (FAITH) co-host a Women's Interfaith Program on March 5th for the Jewish and Muslim communities. 


For more information on any of our upcoming events and educational programs, please email Stacy Lang, Director of Outreach, at  educate@jcada.org .
              

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Office: 301-315-8040
Confidential Helpline: 1-877-88-JCADA (52232)
Email:  jcada@jcada.org
Website: www.jcada.org