By: Kathy Branning, MS, LCSW, LCPC, CCM, CADC- VP of Marketing & Fund Development

Remedies Renewing Lives provides education on healthy relationships to all Rockford Public Schools.  The healthy relationship education is provided to all middle through high school students on an annual basis.  The educational program provided to middle and high school students is included in Remedies mission statement and strategic plan to:

1. Provide domestic violence prevention and education.

2. Continue to work collaboratively with clients in the community to provide intervention services.

3. Provide comprehensive domestic violence programming and services.

Remedies domestic violence advocates also provide individual advocacy to any student who requests to talk to an advocate one on one.  Students are generally referred for individual sessions by the school counselor.  Under the Mental Health Act, students can meet confidentially with an advocate for up to eight times without parental consent.  If a student requests additional sessions with a domestic violence advocate, the advocate would require a consent to the parents.  Many students sign a consent for the advocate to contact the parent(s) prior to the first session.  The purpose of the sessions is to listen to the student’s experiences in a compassionate, non-judgmental fashion and to provide trauma informed support and encouragement to the student’s unique situation. 

Students are given appropriate coping options for coping with their specific situation.  Students are also given support and encouragement for utilizing their unique personal strengths for coping with difficult situations at home and in their academic environment.

There is no question that children that experience childhood trauma and associated negative live circumstances will have an impact on the child’s educational achievement.  The consequences of living in a violent environment has serious implications not only for the victims, but also the schools and community in which the victims live.

Remedies’ domestic violence advocates who provide healthy relationship training, counseling and advocacy report that a good indicator on measuring the impact of what they do is reported by the students by:

1.  How well the student understands the dynamics of domestic violence;

2. The student’s ability to identify two safe people in their lives. 

3. The student’s ability to identify two different ways that they can stay safe.

All children have a universal need to feel loved and safe. Children exposed to violent environments have high rates of juvenile delinquency, low academic achievement, substance abuse and mental health issues. One positive and caring role model in that child’s life can make a positive difference that can turn the tide away from the negative impacts of environment into the motivation to succeed.