HYPA (Helping Young People Achieve) will shine a light on domestic violence and healthy relationships this week as it hosts its first community event in the Limestone Coast.
Held in conjunction with the 16 Days of Activism – a campaign against gender-based violence which begins on White Ribbon Day – the event “Let’s Talk” will focus on helping young people in the region build healthy relationships.
Seeing just how prevalent domestic violence is in the region, youth project officer Jo Menz said it was important parents and teachers were aware of how they can make a difference in helping young people make the right choices.
“If you keep them talking and keep them well supported, that in itself will do massive things for them,” she said.
“It is the biggest step in keeping people out of unhealthy relationships.”
Previously holding similar events with youth at schools throughout the region, Ms Menz said she was excited to take a different approach to the issue by speaking with parents.
“Although there have been improvements over my years working in this sector, the community still doesn’t talk about domestic violence much, people don’t want to acknowledge that it exists,” she said.
“But I want to make sure that everyone is safe and being able to provide the right information to not only young people but the wider community is really exciting.”
Receiving funding through the Attorney-General’s Department’s Crime Prevention and Community Safety grant program to run the session, Ms Menz said she aims to answer the key questions to keep young people safe and away from unhealthy relationships.
“We will talk about what a healthy relationship looks like, how to talk to young people about healthy relationships, how we can help young people build respectful relationships and the prevalence of domestic violence in our community,” she said.
“However, it won’t just be me talking, the session will be very interactive with opportunities for people to bring up further questions.
“If this one is successful we will look at holding further sessions, perhaps in smaller informal settings with sports groups and mothers groups for example.”
Let’s Talk is a free event open to the public and will take place tomorrow at the Mount Gambier Library from 6.30pm to 8.30pm.
Contact Ms Menz on 0466 384 994 to book or for more information.
