JENN CAPONE - LAUREL HOUSE
Last Thursday the Club featured JAEN CAPONE from Laurel House , who gave us a discussion on domestic violence and what Laurel House is doing to help those in danger and to educate the public on this widespread problem. Jean, the Community Education Supervisor for Laurel House, first described what domestic violence is, and how to detect it, pointing out that there are deliberate patterns of behavior that are usually usually used when one is trying to gain control over another. These include boundaries that are crossed in area such as, abuse that is physical, mental, emotional, sexual, economic, and several other areas.
She cited statistics on the problem noting that 1 in 3 students will be affected, 1 in 4 women, and 1 in 7 men,. They are all likely to experience substance abuse in later years.
Laurel House looks at more than just the individual problems and strives to examine ways to change the culture of violence. They offer programs that address ways to change societal norms. Besides the emergency shelter that they offer, they have Clinical counseling, Children's advocacy programs, a Domestic Abuse Response Team, which operates 24/7 365 days a year., and the Community Education team that Jean leads. This group works with schools to push the need for establishing healthy relationships , education on danger signs of dating abuse, and providing a support system for troubled students. This involvement begins in middle school and continues through college, where Laurel House educates , not only the students, but also the faculty in institutions.
To learn more or to get involved in their programs, visit the site: laurel-house.org
Thank-you, Jean, for this talk.