Love is respect - National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline » peer ambassador focus

Peer Ambassador Spotlight: Shelby Gerstenberger

admin — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 14:00:39 +0000

In honor of National Volunteer Appreciation Week we wanted to give a big shout out to all of our Peer Ambassadors who have been working very hard since we met in Dallas back in October of 2009. Our Peer Ambassadors have been raising awareness about teen dating abuse at their schools and in their communities by hosting block parties, starting clubs, giving presentations & leading workshops.

Shelby, a Peer Ambassador from California, has prepared presentations for the health classes at her school. She has also requested pamphlets from the local domestic violence shelters to hand out to all the local high schools. She is also thinking of leading a Saturday workshop in her community open to all the public to promote healthy relationships. She has also started a club at her school to educate her peers on the dynamics of teen dating abuse. In this photo, Shelby is recruiting more members for the club at her school.

Peer Ambassador Spotlight: Daegan Ross

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:27:37 +0000

Since her return from the Peer Ambassador retreat in Dallas, Daegan has become very active in her community to raise awareness about teen dating abuse. She is in the process of starting an organization to promote the ideas of loveisrespect called Badgers Against Dating Abuse, or B.A.D.A. This is a great idea because her school has not had a club similar to this one. She would like to begin promoting healthy relationships at her school and has decided to put loveisrespect posters around her school to advertise both the club and the website.

Peer Ambassador Spotlight: Faythe Utsey

admin — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 12:46:15 +0000

One of our most active peer ambassadors, Faythe has been continuing her projects with her school organization, Angels Against Abuse, which raises awareness on teen dating violence. The organization holds many events in the community to promote healthy relationships such as skit performances and an annual block party. In honor of National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month, the organization has placed victim posters around the campus describing different stories of teens that have been killed. There are also 500 light blue flags out on the courtyard representing the one in four students who will experience an abusive relationship during their time in school. Among many other things, Angels Against Abuse is working toward raising awareness in the community.

Recently, Faythe was featured on a PBS special in Colorado as part of a panel on Teen on Teen Violence. Faythe represented both her school organization and the teenage perspective. Along with the Director of the local domestic violence shelter in Denver, Faythe focused on teen dating violence. The video can be found by clicking here.