Grant to address cyber-bullying
KCSARC’s proposed violence prevention program aims to stop Internet-initiated sexual assault against high risk youth. According to KCSARC, approximately 30% of all youth assisted by their sexual assault legal advocacy program report a cyber element to the crime – the program serves more than 1,000 youth victims per year. This number is staggering, especially given the fact that most youth do not report the crime of sexual assault to authorities.
“Kids are made vulnerable by the fact that they are not able to get good information and support around sexual orientation issues from their family and schools, so they are out there online,” says David Finkelhor, Ph.D., director of the Crimes against Children Research Center and a supporter of this Cyber Safety project.
Among youth most at risk for sexual assault—whether perpetrated online or in other ways—are queer and questioning youth. Sexual violence perpetrated against LGBTQ youth is not new. However, the Internet provides perpetrators with another way to reach these vulnerable youth, many of whom have experienced a high degree of family rejection and peer harassment.
While numerous programs around the country promote youths’ safe use of the Internet, no program specifically acknowledges the need to focus on youth who are most at risk for Internet predation, including queer and questioning youth. The most current research urges the development of educational and outreach programs specifically targeting these youth. KCSARC’s Cyber Safety Project will respond with a focused effort to reach local high risk youth and to develop a website and other outreach tools that will greatly add to the body of information available nationally.
Pride Foundation’s support for this project helped KCSARC leverage further support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Recent grants approved in Pierce County and Black Hills Regions
The Rainbow Center (Tacoma, WA) www.rainbowcntr.org $5,000 to support core operations to maintain programming and expand community education and outreach efforts. The Rainbow Center is a safe, accessible and welcoming community space for meetings, activities and events that strengthen the lives of people the LGBTQ community. Further, the Rainbow Center provides a centralized source of information and referral for and about the LGBTQ community – including core support services available, history and culture. Currently offering 25 drop-in hours per week, the Rainbow Center also provides free space to community partners in the evening and on weekends for social, education and training events.
Oasis Youth Center – a program of Pierce County AIDS Foundation (Tacoma, WA) www.oasisyouthcenter.org $5,000 to support Oasis Youth Center in their continued efforts to enhance and sustain health and well-being of LGBTQ youth ages 14 to 24 in Pierce County, Washington. Oasis is a youth-adult partnership in which young people and adults come together for shared teaching, learning and action. The mission of Oasis focuses on LGBTQ youth by saving individuals lives, building community and development youth leaders who can change the world.
Teen Sexual Minority Support Group – a program of Good Samaritan Outreach Services (Puyallup, WA) www.multicare.org/goodsam/sexual-minority-counseling $5,000 for group support and outreach to School Districts in Eastern Pierce County. The TSMG has been meeting weekly for over 13 years. The group is a safe place for teens who identify on the LGBTQ spectrum. The rural nature of the area and lack of services for young people in general (particularly for queer youth) in Eastern Pierce County can lead to extreme isolation and difficulties. The TSMG provides a safe, consistent place for LGBTQ young people to come together to discuss experiences, feelings and challenges around the complexity of school environments, family, friends and personal identity.
Capital City Pride (Olympia, WA) www.capitalcitypride.net $4,500 will support monthly 20th anniversary activities to be held January through June of 2011. Events, open to residents of Thurston and neighboring counties, celebrate this LGBTQ milestone and builds toward the June parade and festival. Topics for each month include: honoring Our LGBTQ elders and the launch of Olympia’s new Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE) chapter; and HIV/AIDS education in conjunction with United Communities AIDS Network and the Health Department.
United Communities AIDS Network/UCAN (Olympia, WA) www.ucan-wa.org $2,000 for MPowerment program services targeting HIV/AIDS prevention for men who have sex with men ages 18-29. These funds will be mainly used for rental expenses for their shared Co-LAB meeting space and for HIV testing. UCAN is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, highlighting the organization’s flexibility in addressing the HIV/AIDS epidemic since 1985. The current focus on MPowerment relies on four integrated activities: Formal outreach, M-groups, Informal Outreach/Ongoing Publicity and HIV Counseling & Testing.
PFLAG Olympia Pizza Klatch (Olympia, WA) www.pizzaklatch.org $4,000 for operational support to provide free pizza and trained facilitators at 4 Thurston County high schools one day each week of the school year during 2 lunch periods “for confidential facilitated support” for GLBTQQA youth. Current high schools are Timberline, North Thurston, Avanti and Tumwater. River Ridge High School will be added if sufficient funds are available for the pizza and facilitator stipend. Pizza Klatch is a drop-in group welcoming GLBTQQA youth and their allies.
Stonewall Youth (Olympia WA) www.stonewallyouth.org $4,500 will provide general operational support for their speaker’s bureau, drop-in support group, Activism Summer School, winter retreat aka Gay Camp, annual Drag Show Extravaganza and the new downtown Olympia drop-in center. Stonewall Youth, now in its 20th year of operation, serves LGBTQQIA age 21 and under from Thurston and neighboring counties.
Loading ...