Start Strong!

Wow – lookit that! After I hit publish on this puppy, I will have posted 15 days in a row, one for each day in November! Of course, it’s not always in the morning, and once there was even a “oh crap! here! have a picture of snow!” – but none the less, we’ve made it halfway through the month! Hurray! How are my other NaBloPoMo-mates doing?

(…don’t ask about NaNoWriMo… Shhh.)

So! Today, I wanted to point you to another site, which my lovely Mama pointed me too. She works for the local Women’s Shelter, which councils women who are in domestic violence situations. As we know, this often starts in the teenage years – with the first relationships, so that’s where we need to start, and Start Strong is an initiative that aims to do just that.

Start Strong: Building Healthy Teen Relationships is the largest initiatve ever to be funded to target the 11-14 year olds. It aims to rally entire communities to promote healthy relationships, and uses the Start Strong Mode to:
– educate and engage youth in and out of school settings,
– educate and engage teen influencers such as parents and caregivers, teachers and other mentors,
– change policy and environmental factors, and
– implement effective communications and social marketing strategies.

Start STrong has started in 11 communities, and hopes to expand. If you’re near Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Bridgeport, Bronx, Idaho, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Oakland, Providence or Wichita, please check them out, and consider getting your teens involved.

Healthy relationships start at home, and every added bit we can do to educate our teens is well worth it – so check them out!

Tags: NaBloPoMo, Start Strong, Teens on Teens, Violence