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Safety Planning for Youth: How Can I Be Safe in My Abusive Relationship?

A safety plan is a set of actions that can help lower your risk of being hurt by your partner in an abusive relationship. It includes information specific to you and your life that can increase your safety at school, home, and other places that you go daily.

Youth Safety Plan

Providing Support to a Vulnerable Population

Many of us may have a loved one in our lives who is transgender – even if we don’t know it. Transgender people are often misunderstood and treated poorly. Up to date statewide and national data is lacking, but the most recent documentation shows that a disproportionate number of vulnerable trans female youth are exploited, trafficked, abused, and murdered. A 2021 study done by the Boston-based Judge Baker Children’s Center found that about a quarter of transgender students in Massachusetts, mainly girls, report having been raped or abused while dating.

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Recent Articles

BOOK REVIEW: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

By |Dating & Domestic Violence, Healthy Relationships, Media|

Summary Eleanor is a 15-year-old girl who recently moved back in with her mother, stepfather Ritchie, and 4 younger siblings after having been kicked out by her stepfather for a year. Her father is distant, emotionally negligent, and unavailable. Her mother is in a domestic violence relationship with Ritchie, which is primarily directed at her mom though also at the children, especially Eleanor. Ritchie [...]

BOOK REVIEW: Dreamland by Sarah Dessen

By |Dating & Domestic Violence, Healthy Relationships, Media|

Summary After her 18-year-old sister runs away to escape the pressure of living out their parents' visions of her future, 16-year-ols Caitlin begins acting out. Behaving both in ways to fill and reject the expectations left behind by the absence of her sister, she becomes a cheerleader and starts dating a wealthy drug dealing 5th year senior named Rogerson. Well after it is revealed [...]

BOOK REVIEW: Sparrow by Mary Cecilia Jackson

By |Dating & Domestic Violence, Healthy Relationships, Media|

Summary  Sparrow and Lucas are juniors in high school, best friends, and the lead ballerinas at a youth ballet conservatory. Sparrow experiences a near-death dating violence incident at the hand of a powerful upper-class peer around the same time that Lucas’ father abruptly passes away from cancer. Their friends, family, and community struggle to support these teens as they process these intense traumas. Everyone [...]

BOOK REVIEW: What Kind of Girl by Alyssa Sheinmel

By |Dating & Domestic Violence, Healthy Relationships, Media|

Summary  Alyssa Sheinmel Maya goes to the principal at her private school with a black eye and tells her principal that their track star and all-around Good Guy of campus hit her. The news spreads fast across campus as different perspectives are pulled to the readers’ attention. Masterfully touching on a variety of issues including addiction, self, harm, recovering from abuse, [...]

Survivor Story – The Scars That Don’t Show

By |Child Abuse, Healthy Relationships|

The following is the anonymous, personal story shared by a survivor of childhood emotional abuse and the response from one of HCWC’s Children’s Counselors. HCWC currently employs 8 professional counselors that specialize in working with children and teens across our programs. "Having a narcissistic parent can be very rough; especially when you don’t know how to explain your [...]

Helping Children Process Trauma

By |Child Abuse|

As a society we are increasingly exposed to tragic and traumatic events, and unfortunately our children often suffer as a result. Trauma comes in many shapes and sizes. Witnessing violence or an accident. Experiencing violence or abuse. Encountering a man-made or natural disaster. These are all examples of trauma. If you are aware your child has been a part of any of these [...]

Prevent Sexual Violence – Start Talking to Youth About Media Literacy

By |Healthy Relationships, Sexual Assault|

Sexual Assault Awareness month is an opportunity to shine a light on the importance of preventing sexual violence. Conversations with youth about healthy relationships and consent are imperative to preventing sexual violence and need to happen well before they’re thinking about sex. Whether they find it on their own or are shown by a friend, most young people’s first encounter [...]

Demystifying Forensic Exams

By |Child Abuse, Sexual Assault|

Sexual Assault Forensic Exams (SAFEs), sometimes called “rape kits”, are exams on survivors of sexual violence conducted by a specially trained nurse or physician, usually to gather any evidence of the crime that might be present. Not every assault is going to have physical evidence present, but there are other very important benefits to have a SAFE, whether it occurred less than five [...]

It Takes a Village: The Importance of a Coordinated Community Response to Child Abuse

By |Child Abuse|

Child Abuse including sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse and neglect impacts children and youth in our communities every day. Locally, the Department of Family and Protective Services reported 363 confirmed cases of child abuse in Hays County in 2022 (Locally, DFPS reported 119 confirmed cases of child abuse in Caldwell County in 2022). As a community everyone plays a role in ensuring [...]

Author

  • Nathan Thompson

    Nathan is a graphic designer and digital educator who loves the outdoors, kombucha, and making people happy. He has a BFA in Communication Design from Texas State University and loves designing logos, print materials, and websites. His true passions exist in nature and spending as much time as he can outside — mostly in his kayak at the river.

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