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YWCA Sparks Conversation During Teen Dating Violence Action Month
This February, YWCA Spokane is looking to engage youth and adults in meaningful dialogue about healthy relationships and dating violence as part of Teen Dating Violence Action Month. In alignment with love is respect’s 2022 theme “Talk About It,” YWCA will host a series of activities to increase awareness and spark conversation.
Events this month include:
- Game Night | Feb 2 | 6 – 7:30 p.m | A virtual game night kickoff event for youth
- Wear Orange Day | Feb 8 | All Day | National day to wear orange and raise awareness
- Instagram Live | Feb 15 | 6 – 7 p.m | Live question and answer event on Instagram for teens, parents, and professionals who work with youth
- Virtual Jeopardy | Feb 22 | 6 – 7:30 p.m | Trivia game on dating violence and healthy relationships for youth
“Our hope is to normalize the conversation around teen dating violence because only one in three of teens in abusive relationships ever confide in someone about the violence,” Lizbeth Reyes Soto, YWCA Spokane lead prevention specialist said in a press release. “By talking with youth about boundaries and healthy relationships, we can work to prevent teen dating violence before it starts.”
From Feb. 6 – 8, the Downtown Spokane Partnership will be encouraging businesses to light up orange to raise awareness of teen dating violence. Community members can spread awareness during Wear Orange Day on social media with #tdvam.
Tracy Simmons is an award-winning journalist specializing in religion reporting and digital entrepreneurship. In her approximate 20 years on the religion beat, Simmons has tucked a notepad in her pocket and found some of her favorite stories aboard cargo ships in New Jersey, on a police chase in Albuquerque, in dusty Texas church bell towers, on the streets of New York and in tent cities in Haiti. Simmons has worked as a multimedia journalist for newspapers across New Mexico, Texas, Connecticut and Washington. She is the executive director of SpokaneFāVS.com, a digital journalism start-up covering religion news and commentary in Spokane, Washington. She also writes for The Spokesman-Review and national publications. She is a Scholarly Assistant Professor of Journalism at Washington State University.
