Club to host workshop on teen dating violence
TROY, N.Y. >> People interested in knowing more information about teen dating violence will have the opportunity to learn more during a workshop being hosted at the Troy Boys and Girls Club.
The community teen dating violence awareness workshop will take place Wednesday, March 1, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. The workshop is part of a series of workshops being hosted by Team Helping Everyone Recognize Opportunity and The Block Center; both are programs within the Troy Boys and Girls Club.
Jerry Ford, who is a volunteer teen program coordinator at the Troy Boys and Girls Club, helps to organize these workshops. In the past, the group held workshops related to domestic violence and also a special Martin Luther King Jr. Day workshop related to community policing.
“This is a continuation of our series called “Don’t Block the Truth”, “said Ford.”The whole goal of this series was to talk about issues that are brought on in our community that people don’t really want to talk about or address. So our goal at the very least is to just start a conversation.”
The workshop Wednesday night will feature several guest speakers and will also feature victim impact statements. There will also be several mini workshops taking place during the event. Guests who attend the event will also be treated to food and refreshments and will have entertainment from a disc jockey. New to this workshop will also be a “selfie” photo booth station to help raise more awareness though online social media outlets, as well.
“We will also have Unity House domestic violence unit there, the Sexual Crimes Victim Unit of Samaritan Hospital,” explained Ford. “We do also have the Troy City School District as part of this event and CEO Youth Build program is on board too.”
Ford said he hopes that more awareness will be brought to teen dating violence after people attend the workshop.
“If we have people talking about this issue, then that is good,” said Ford, “and then having the resources available to them right there will be good, so that they can have information that they can take back with them. I love that we are able to talk about things that are affecting the nation and we’re bringing them right to our city and starting a conversation right in our city.”
The next topic for this series is scheduled to be on Mental Health, although no date has been scheduled for that workshop yet.
Nicholas Buonanno can be reached at 290-3941.