The Prevention Perspective

Let's Talk About Youth Leading Violence Prevention Work!

February 01, 2021 WCA_Boise Season 1 Episode 1
The Prevention Perspective
Let's Talk About Youth Leading Violence Prevention Work!
Show Notes Transcript

In our very first episode of the Prevention Perspective, we kick off Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month by discussing the importance of youth leading violence prevention work! We are joined by WCA Youth REPs, Jayla and Lynae, to talk about their experiences and why violence prevention work should be centered on and led by young people.

If you or someone you care about have experienced domestic, dating or sexual violence please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or one of the WCA's 24-hour hotlines at 208-343-7025 or 208-345-7273.

Follow us on social media!
@wca_boise
@wcayouthreps

For more information and resources, check out these websites!
wcaboise.org
lovisrespect.org

Contact us at prevention@wcaboise.org!

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Narrator:

Welcome to the prevention perspective, a podcast dedicated to sharing information, ideas and resources about violence prevention work. The topics discussed in this podcast, including healthy relationships, prevention practices, and dating or sexual violence can be difficult. And we urge you to listen with care. Our hosts are not licensed counselors or mental health professionals. If you are someone you care about have experienced domestic dating or sexual violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233. You can also find more resources in the description of this podcast.

Cory Mikhals:

And welcome to the prevention perspective. I'm Corey Michaels, along with Tracy De-Marcus, and this is our very first of our podcast series that is going to be going on. This is very exciting.

Tracy Darling-DeMarcus:

It is exciting.

Cory Mikhals:

Now, Tracy, why don't you tell us a little bit about why this is starting, what to expect. And with the 1000s and 1000s of podcasts out there, Why should people listen to this podcast?

Tracy Darling-DeMarcus:

Yeah, so the prevention perspective has been in the works now for a little while just as a response to what has been happening in the world Lately. It's been really difficult for a lot of service providers and people in public and the community to connect with one another, particularly around violence prevention work. And so we decided to start this podcast as a response to what we were hearing from the folks that we work with in our community and our colleagues across the state, to really bring together a way to share ideas and insights around violence prevention work, the things that everyone can do in their daily lives to impact violence happening in our communities and in the world. And so that's really what this podcast is, is hopefully going to do is share those lessons learned. policies, programs, practices that people can implement, to be able to do violence prevention every single day.

Cory Mikhals:

So over the course of the episodes to come, and this one included, there are going to be lots and lots of information. And it's the biggest thing that we want everyone to be able to take out of this is- no one deserves to be abused. Exactly. No child, no woman, no man, nobody deserves to be abused. And if you were in a situation that or you know, someone that is in a situation, there is help. That is very important to know, because I know, in all of my years and working with different organizations, it's that fear, is that loneliness, that feeling of 'no one could possibly understand. Because it's just happening to me.' And so that isolation, I feel for a lot of people is what keeps keeps them in that situation. But being able to know that there is people that care that there are other people that unfortunately have been there have gone through the same situation. Yeah, the circumstances might be different, but the feeling, that abuse, is still the same. And if you're feeling that or if you know someone who is in that situation, there is help and you can call right now.

Tracy Darling-DeMarcus:

Yes, absolutely. The WCA's hotlines operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

Cory Mikhals:

All right. And that number if people

Tracy Darling-DeMarcus:

2083437025

Cory Mikhals:

and for first podcast, we have Lenae and Jayla joining us as well. They are youth reps for the WCA. Well, hello.

Lynae:

Hello.

Cory Mikhals:

How are both of you today?

Lynae:

I'm great. Thank you

Cory Mikhals:

All right now lenae, We'll start with you. What grade are you in right now?

Lynae:

I'm a senior currently.

Cory Mikhals:

You're a senior. I'm ready for that last year.

Lynae:

Yep.

Cory Mikhals:

Now, are you actually in school? Are you virtual school? Um,

Lynae:

yeah, I'm doing a hybrid right now. So it's kind of a combination.

Cory Mikhals:

And what do you want to do?

Lynae:

I'm going to go into nursing into nursing.

Cory Mikhals:

Well, especially right now more than ever before nurses have always been needed. But now, yes, more than ever. What brought you to, to wanting to be a nurse and to help others?

Lynae:

I think it's just mostly the like the passion to help people. It's just kind of been ingrained in me and I think the medical field is just the best way for me to use that as an outlet pretty much.

Cory Mikhals:

All right now, for Jayla, what about you? What grade are you in?

jayla:

I'm a senior in high school as well.

Cory Mikhals:

All right. And so the the months are counting down. Now you're getting ready to graduate here in just a few short months. What do you think you're going to be doing?

jayla:

Yeah, I want to be a lawyer. And then I want to work in politics later.

Cory Mikhals:

Okay. Now, how long have you known you wanted to be a lawyer and to take that political route?

jayla:

I've known that for as long as I can remember, I was in kindergarten and had my 10 year plan isn't my 20 year plan. So I've always been set in what I want to do, and I've always known it's that route.

Cory Mikhals:

Well, Jayla, I commend you, you are a lot more organized at your age than I was. Now, what is the youth rep program about? And well, Lynae, why don't we start with you?

Lynae:

Yeah, basically, the youth rep program is an extension of the W CA, and just taking their mission of safety, freedom and healing from sexual assault and domestic abuse, and just trying to take that to the young people in our society. So like teens who experience this abuse, and just trying to bring that mission to our peers, and making sure that it's a youth, like, led program, making sure that it's not just adults, but we bring it to the actual youth.

Cory Mikhals:

Well, and I know, I remember, way back when, when I was a teenager, you know that as a teen, and the youth growing up, you know, being able to hear something from a from a peer as opposed to the adult, you know, because the adults are always telling us stuff to do and what, what we need to do and how we need to do it and what we should do. But when you hear it from a peer, whether that's same age older, especially for some of the younger kids to hear that from a teenager. Oh, my goodness, that's that's the gospel right there. And so it does make such a huge difference. And now Jayla, why did you choose to join the WCA youth rep program?

jayla:

I chose to join the WCA youth rep program, because I'm super passionate about fostering a community of safety, healing and freedom among my peers, and being able to tell that to my peers coming from their peers, I feel like has a lot more power. And we know how to reach them in a way that they'll understand. And it'll be a lot easier for them to process and know what we're talking about, If we come to them in a way that they'll understand that a lot of adults would know how to reach them in that way. So that's the main reason I joined the WCA Youth rep program.

Cory Mikhals:

Now Lynae, what has really impacted you or influenced yiu since joining the youth rep program?

Lynae:

Yeah, well, I think that I've gained a lot of skills, like the cliche, you know, time management responsibility, but what's impacted me most is knowing that we can all make a difference, even if it's just in these small everyday ways, or big events, or I just think that it's really shown that we all have the power to make change. Even if we have a huge vision, we can all make steps go towards that vision.

Cory Mikhals:

And now Jayla, what about what about you? What are some of your the memories that really stick out with you having been a part of the youth rep program?

jayla:

my main memories are just the friends that I've made, because there were girls last year that were part of the program. And even though they're in college now, and they've moved away, we're still friends. And I think fostering a friendship that we both know what a healthy friendship will look like, has made it a really healthy environment. And I really, really like working with Tracy and now Cody. And I think the main thing is to know about the prevalence of teen dating violence. So being able to be the one to help share that out and educate my peers to create a safe environment for everyone has been the main memory that I hold with me.

Cory Mikhals:

That's wonderful. Well, once again, I'm Corey Mikhals, Tracy DeMarcus, this is the Prevention Perspective. Coming up here in just a moment, we'll be talking about the value of youth in violence prevention work.

Narrator:

February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, every February young people service providers, educators and activists joined together to raise awareness about dating violence. the theme for 2021 is'know your worth'. 'Know your worth' is all about learning about healthy relationships and self empowerment. Every young person is deserving of a healthy, loving relationship. For more information and awareness campaign resources, visit, loveisrespect.org or access the Prevention Resource hub through our website at WCAboise.org.

Cory Mikhals:

We're back with the prevention perspective. I'm Corey Michaels, along with Tracy De Marcus. Now, Tracy, what do you think the importance is, and how critical it is to be able to involve and center all of this around young people in prevention?

Tracy Darling-DeMarcus:

Yeah, so we started looking at more of a youth led youth centered model of prevention. A few years ago, when it just seemed really critical to involve youth voice in the work that we were doing. We've already kind of touched on it a little bit, that information coming from adults is different than coming from a peer, or coming from another young person. And it, it seemed really obvious to use the expertise that was in the youth that we were working with, and to bring them to the table and to really have their voices be the ones to dictate, you know, what prevention looked like to them, or what sorts of things they thought that their peers needed to hear, and the messages that they wanted to get across. And so that's where we really tried to center our work and center our focus. And I think it's been really successful and really impactful in the community.

Cory Mikhals:

I would agree wholeheartedly. And now Lynae, rather than just adults. And again, we talked about this a little bit, but actually having a peer-run prevention program, Why don't you talk a little bit about that? Yeah,

Lynae:

I think it means the world honestly. Because if you think about when we're young, in our, you know, middle school and leading up to high school, we are building the map for our new generation. So the cultural norms and what's just expected of us. So if you know, the high school, pure influence culture, if I wear certain pairs of shoes, and that might be an influence. But if I can make that influence that we all deserve, like a healthy relationship, I think that that means the absolute world. And like you were saying that power dynamic of if an adult tells a teen what to do, they're not going to listen,

Cory Mikhals:

no,

Lynae:

not at all. And so if we have utilize that peer influence culture to really make a difference, and to not make it taboo to talk about a certain thing, or to not make it 'cool', I think it's just using that dynamic to make our influence a good one for the next generation.

Cory Mikhals:

Jayla, it's not that adults don't want to help. That's why we're doing this, we want to help but we come across like a parent. Most of the time, because yeah, as we get older, most of us are parents and, and somehow we shifted from being cool. I don't know when exactly it happened. But somewhere along the line, you know, we just don't have the same vernacular, we don't have the same, you know, it's like, we don't have the same ability to be able to connect in the way that another peer can. So what do you think young people bring other than that, that adults can't, or you know, don't, and not because they don't want to?

jayla:

I think it's critical that they involve young people in the prevention work, because when we're talking to adults, there can be a lot of cross wires in the communications. And I think when we're young people to young people, it's easier for them, to know where to communicate what words to use, and how to make it come across effectively without sounding like a parent. And I also, I believe that young people understand the different ways of communications that are what is cool now, and whether it be social media, or what word to use, or how to act, when you're talking about it. I think young people understand that and know how to get it across to their other peers. And I think that's why it's so important that young people are part of the work because it -the work would have these other perspectives and these other views, and the knowledge to bring to the table to reach young people effectively.

Cory Mikhals:

Oh, absolutely. Now, we've talked about the importance of peer to peer prevention, being able to talk to someone that you can relate to and and vice versa. Now, how do you put that into practice? Well, we're going to be talking about that coming up next. It's the best practices for youth prevention, and we'll talk about that next on the prevention perspective.

Narrator:

Are you looking for more information about violence prevention, whether you're a domestic violence service provider, educator or parent, you can find more resources on our website. At WCAboise.org, you will find lessons, videos, conversation guides, shareable social media content, and more all in one place, resources will be added regularly. So make sure you keep checking back for updates.

Cory Mikhals:

Once again, I'm Corey Mikhals, along with Tracy DeMarcus. This is the prevention perspective, we've got Jayla and Lynae with us, youth reps with the WCA. And we're talking about this time around best practices for youth prevention, and Tracy, for programs or adults that might want to work with youth, What is the most important for for them to know in going into this? They know they want to help. They want to make a difference. But what do they really need to know beyond that, in working with kids?

Tracy Darling-DeMarcus:

I think one of the biggest things that I've learned throughout the last few years and really working with youth in our program is a shared power dynamic. And that can be something I think a lot of adults don't necessarily think about in their programs or how their agency makes decisions, their organization is run. But letting go of some of that power that we as adults tend to really grab on to, especially when we are in professional capacity, and letting the youth take the lead and really having power in decision making. And the ways that things get done, I think is one of the biggest lessons learned that I've had in the last few years working with our young people.

Cory Mikhals:

Now, when Lynae what would you want adults to know in being able to communicate effectively and to be the best advocate for youth and youth programs? What should they know coming into this?

Lynae:

I think that what they should know is that a lot of the time when there's that whole dynamic of like being told what to do, and they don't like that, I think that what's most important, is teens have a lot of passion. And that can come across as rebellion. And I think that they are just very excited about coming into the world. And with these new ideas and these big hopes, which can sometimes come across as naive. And parents don't always like that, or adults, they just want to protect them. But I think that the youth have a lot of passion, they have a lot of plans for the world. So just letting them express that and trying to help them make it feasible. If that makes sense. I think that's the most important thing.

Cory Mikhals:

And Jayla, what about for you What should adults know, in being able to effectively communicate with youth?

jayla:

I think in my opinion, that is most important for them to understand that things are different now in society and socially than they were before. And I think that the passion that the youth have today, is really forward driven. And we need the creative space to use it as an outlet to find the best ways to do this in the prevention work and to communicate with our other peers. And so I think until the older generations in the prevention work, understand these differences, there's always going to be a miscommunication. So I think that's the importance of having youth in the prevention work. So they can talk in prevention work, so they know how to reach peers outside of the work.

Cory Mikhals:

All right now, Lynae, what would you want your peers to know about getting involved?

Lynae:

I would just want to tell them just make the jump. It can be terrifying. You know, I know so many of my peers have this want to get involved, whether it's with prevention work, or just anything in general, but it takes a lot of courage to go out of your comfort zone and actually join something or join a movement, a club, a, whatever it might be, but it is so worth it and to be vulnerable enough to, you know, maybe stick out from your peers that might not be doing the same thing, but it is so worth it. So I just, you know, take the jump is what I have to say,

Cory Mikhals:

Now, Jayla, if there's an organization, they're trying to figure out, they're, they're kind of teetering on the fence about creating a youth Led program, what would you say to encourage or convince them that this is vital and very important to their organization?

jayla:

I would encourage them 100% if they're on the fence about creating a youth led program to do it, just like Lynae said, take the jump, like it's a lot of work I know, to get them started and to keep them running smoothly. But they're so helpful. And if you look at the WCA, their youth lead program, it's a direct connection, where to save space to talk about the differences and how to reach youth and how to talk to them without either side being judged about what they don't know or how to communicate. And it's a place to educate Youth. So then in every day, they can just talk about it easily and be comfortable with it and know what they're talking about. Because without it, there's going to be a disconnect between the youth outside of the prevention work who don't know anything about teen dating violence or healthy relationships, they're never going to be able to learn in a safe, comfortable environment. So I would 100% encourage them to create a youth led program.

Cory Mikhals:

Well, and as we come towards the end of this podcast, first of all, I want to say Lynae, Jayla, thank you so much for being on with Tracy and I, I just invaluable information to be able to share with folks with both adults and with your peers. And I'm going to ask you both this as we as we come to the close here. Lynae, what are your final thoughts and words that you would like people to know about the WCA and about the youth rep program?

Lynae:

Um, well, I'm just gonna speak on youth led programs in general, if that's okay. And absolutely, in relation to the WCA youth program, I think that if you are thinking about creating, you know, a youth led movement or program you have to do it, because the work that we're doing today will not survive If we don't pass on that message to the youth, it will die. And if you want to make meaningful change, you have to continue your message throughout the generations. And you have to change with the times. That's so important. And yeah, I just want to say that I'm very thankful for Tracy, because she's allowed this amazing program to carry on and give this message towards our future pretty much.

Cory Mikhals:

All right, and Jayla for now that you're getting ready to graduate and start going to college and law school and all of that that you're going to be doing, What advice would you give to the youth that is going to be coming after you.

jayla:

The advice I would give is to not be afraid, I was really nervous the first time I applied to be in the youth rep program. But it's been one of the best decisions I've ever made. I've made friends, I've learned how to communicate better. I've learned how to talk about teen dating violence and healthy relationships in a conversation and not be afraid to talk about it. And learning how to do that has made me such a more helpful friend to my friends. Because if I am seeing things, I can talk to them comfortably about it. So I would definitely encourage, If you're thinking about getting into the prevention work, do it. It will change your life. 100%

Cory Mikhals:

Well, once again, Lynae. Jayla, thank you so much for being on with us.

Lynae:

Thank you.

Cory Mikhals:

All right. Coming up next on the prevention perspective, we're going to be sticking with our youth led, youth centered prevention topic. We've got a couple more guests, Monica and Diana, that are going to be joining us. For Tracy, I'm Cory, and we look forward to being able to chat with you again soon.

Narrator:

Thank you for listening to this episode of the prevention perspective. Again, if you or someone you know has experienced domestic, dating, or sexual violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or the WCA is 24 hour hotline at 208-343-7025. Don't forget to follow us on social media at@WCA_Boise and WCAyouth reps. If you have any suggestions for topics you would like us to cover, or if you'd like to get more information about anything you heard in today's podcast, contact us through the email provided in the description of the podcast.