This past Friday, February 16th, Fallston was able to welcome the Sexual Assault Resource Center, better known as SARC, to give a presentation on teen dating violence along with signs of a healthy or unhealthy relationship. SARC’s mission is to provide resources and hope to those who are looking to escape and avoid violence in their lives, including domestic violence, sexual violence, child abuse, and stalking, and that’s something they were able to achieve through their presentation here at Fallston High School.
Students of all grades came together in the auditorium and were welcomed by the One Love club leaders, Elise Buckler and Kyleigh O’Mailey. The leaders talked about the origin of the club as it was centered around a collegiate athlete, Yeardley Love, who was a victim of domestic violence and eventually died due to the violence she was experiencing. They have been active the past two years teaching the healthy and unhealthy signs of relationships so that young people can recognize abusive behaviors before they happen, and these signs were further emphasized throughout the presentation.
The leaders introduced SARC representative Rebecca Chandler who started her presentation with some eye-opening statistics about teen-violence and stalking. She showed that while the statistics do vary, it is believed that 1 in 10 teens has been a victim of teen violence. She also mentioned that 48% of teenagers with dating experience were also stalked at some point in their lifetimes, which was eye-opening for many students in the audience.
Chandler went on to share a video created by the One Love organization that presented the ten unhealthy signs and ten healthy signs shown in relationships. While all of these signs were very moving, it was clear that one stood out amongst the audience: manipulation. You could hear a pin drop as the video explained the definition of manipulation and presented possible scenarios that show manipulation.
After listening and watching the video about the traits, we were given the opportunity to interact as students were polled on their interpretation of scenarios as they chose which unhealthy traits the videos and scenarios exhibited.
Chandler then welcomed Alison Imhoff to help wrap up the presentation as they shared information on SARC’s available resources for those in an abusive situation, including a 24/7 helpline, a weekly chatline, a food pantry, safe housing, counseling services, an abuser intervention program, and more.
SARC was able to make their resources available and accessible to students so that anyone at Fallston has a trusted organization they can go to if they are in an abusive situation, which is so important as we learn how to navigate relationships. Fallston would like to thank both SARC and the One Love club for providing us with this hard-hitting presentation.
If you or someone you know is in an abusive relationship, call the SARC Helpline number: 410-836-8430.
