RAPP Summer Program 2015

Relationship Abuse Prevention Program (RAPP) Peer Leaders are learning how to stop relationship abuse, volunteering at the Center's shelters and completing community service projects. In their "spare" time, the teen leaders participate in fun events, like beach trips, and museum tours at the Museum of Tolerance and LES Tenement Museum.

The students showed off their cooking expertise and expressed their culture on Multi-cultural day at the Center. Dishes ranged from Jamaican jerk chicken to Spanish empanadas to Russian baked goods.  Entertainment then ensued with students acting out skits with props given to them only moments before. It was definitely a memorable day in the midst of a great summer.

"In the RAPP program I experienced things that I would have never thought of doing. This program helped me learn how to communicate with others and broke me out of my shell. Also just the experience in being here, meeting people from different backgrounds, associating (myself) and doing activities with them made me close to each and every one of them. The RAPP program is an awesome experience. You will want to do it every year."
- Alexis R.

Standing Up Against DV

On behalf of the residents, students, staff, & Board of Directors, of the Center Against Domestic Violence, we want to thank everyone involved with our Stand Up Against Domestic Violence Special Spring Event! The night was a huge success largely thanks to our stimulating honoree, diligent staff, hilarious comedians, silent auction and delicious food. Due to substantial help from sponsors, general donations, guests, and silent auction bidders, CADV was able to raise over $80,000 for our youth programs! We could not have pulled this event off without the help of our supporters.

This year, we were sad to say goodbye to Stand Up honoree and CADV Chair, John L. Miscione. John has worked tirelessly for the past nine years to build an even better organization and help even more survivors and victims of domestic violence.  During his Chairmanship, the Center became a leading voice for saving the Teen Relationship Abuse Prevention Program, which provides teen dating violence prevention and intervention services on campuses teaching over 50,000 teens citywide. During John’s Chairmanship, we were able to increase the number of RAPP graduates receiving the Center’s Stuckey Family Scholarship.

As John said goodbye on Thursday night he reflected on his time as Board Chair; “Sitting on the board of the Center you ask how does this get done and then you look at Judy Kahan and the executive team at central office ... While over the years we might worry about strategy or fundraising, but we’ve never worried about our client’s needs being met. We are confident in the team we have and I thank you for how hard they work for our clients and the center”.

John will be missed, but his legacy at CADV will live on, as well as, the dedicated mission to end domestic violence.

February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month

This month, amidst chocolate hearts, flowers and love letters, we celebrated teen dating violence awareness month with waves of awareness campaigns spreading the same message - dating violence can happen in adolescent relationships.  President Obama declared February as Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month, proclaiming, “Healthy relationships are built on respect, trust, and equality. Our commitment to these values demands that we stand up against dating abuse and all forms of intimate partner violence. During National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month, we are called to act.” It is our responsibility to speak up and stop ignoring violence that happens daily.

Adolescence is a tough time.  Bullying through the internet and social media, maintaining good grades, and participating in equal, healthy relationships can affect teenagers.  Teen dating violence happens quite frequently ; in 2011, in New York City, 10.4% of male and female high school students reported being hit, slapped, or physically hurt on purpose by a boyfriend/girlfriend within the past year. (NYC High School Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2011); 1 in 3 teens is affected by teen dating violence.

Campaigns spreading teen dating violence awareness are key to its prevention and elimination.   This Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, CADV RAPP students and Coordinators, shared why teen dating violence awareness is important, through different activities. We posted photos of cutout hearts proclaiming why we support teen dating violence awareness. RAPP students came to the Center’s main office to enjoy pizza while showing off their artistic talents decorating cloth squares that were sewn together into make a giant quilt of teen dating violence awareness. In workshops around the City, RAPP students adorned post-it notes with messages about teen dating violence and why they think violence needs to stop.

While RAPP students and Coordinators campaign to end teen dating violence all year round, designating a particular month to promote awareness helps spotlight the issue.  It is life changing for so many teens to tale the lessons of Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month and live them all year long.  

Statement from CEO Judy Kahan on the Ray Rice Domestic Violence Situation

It’s been impossible to avoid the Ray Rice domestic violence story.  My deepest sympathy goes out to Janay Rice and all people affected by domestic abuse.

One out of four women will experience domestic abuse in her lifetime, making it an issue we desperately need to talk about and work to end. I am grateful for the awareness such a story brings to the issue of domestic violence.

It is the Center Against Domestic Violence’s mission to end domestic violence in our communities. In the midst  of the spotlight the Ray Rice case shines on domestic violence, I want to highlight and remind you of one of the Center’s core beliefs: abuse is a learned behavior and, with education, all people can lead lives filled with healthy, meaningful relationships. This is why we field so many prevention and education programs.

Our Relationship Abuse Prevention Program (RAPP) reaches 27,000 intermediate and high school students on 15 NYC public school campuses. Through workshops, individual and group counseling, and peer leadership training, RAPP works to stop teen dating violence now and prevent domestic violence in the future. The Center pilots Relationships Are Elementary, a healthy relationship education program for elementary school children. Focusing our efforts on younger children creates a better opportunity to break the cycle of violence. The earlier we reach students, from both violent and non violent homes, the better chance we have for laying the ground work for healthy relationships.

Let us concentrate on what we can do to prevent and stop domestic violence in the future. Everyone deserves a safe, violence-free life.  

Throwback Thursday: Save RAPP Rally 2013

CADV's Teen Relationship Abuse Prevention Program (RAPP) has been helping teens for over 13 years. In 2013, for the fourth year in a row, Mayor Bloomberg has proposed cutting all funding for RAPP—one of the nation’s most successful school-based domestic violence prevention and anti-bullying programs. RAPP students and supporters showed their solidarity with the program in a rally outside City Hall.

See more photos from this and other RAPP rallies at our Facebook page.

CADV staff are excited to join RAPP students in front of City Hall.

 

 

"Young people are responsible for all change. I came out [of my office] because I heard you -- thank you for disrupting the City Council." - Councilmember Letitia James

RAPP peer leadership program graduate Denisha explains how RAPP opened doors for her. 96% of RAPP peer leaders go on to college.

Throwback Thursday: Denim Day 2011

Students from the Relationship Abuse Prevention Program participated in Denim Day 2011. Denim Day, which is observed annually on a Wednesday in April, was inspired by an Italian Supreme Court ruling that overturned a rape conviction based on the fact that the rape victim was wearing tight jeans. The justices felt that the victim must have helped her rapist remove the jeans, thereby implying consent. The day after this ruling, women in the Italian Parliament came to work clad in jeans in solidarity with the victim. Ever since, wearing jeans on Denim Day has become a visual symbol of protest against destructive misconceptions around sexual assault.

See more photos of Denim Day 2011 (and other annual Denim Days) on our Facebook page.

 

Throwback Thursday: Stop Street Harassment Rally 2013

In April 2013, RAPP students joined Councilmember Julissa Ferreras and a large number of community activists, elected officials, and organizations for the annual Rally Against Street Harassment in honor of International Anti-Street Harassment Week. Organized by Hollaback!, an organization that was created to end street harassment, the rally drew more than 200 participants who raised awareness on what street harassment is, who it affects and how to fight it. It was a great afternoon and we are proud to stand up for this important cause!

 See more photos on our Facebook page.

Throwback Thursday: RAPP Field Day

RAPP Peer Leaders from our Manhattan high schools got together for a picnic and field day. They got to know students from different schools, participated in team building activities, and celebrated the end of the school year. Visit saveteenrapp.org for more information about the groundbreaking Relationship Abuse Prevention Program, and find more photos of this event on our Facebook page.

 

Throwback Thursday: Save RAPP Rally 2010

Supporters of the Center's Relationship Abuse Prevention Program, which partners with NYC high schools to provide counseling, education, and outreach on abusive relationships, rallied outside City Hall to protest the possibility of RAPP being cut from the NYC budget.

See more photos on our Facebook page.

Happy Holidays from our RAPP Peer Leaders

Thank you for being our ally. Your donations keep our Relationship Abuse Prevention Program running.

We wish you happiness and health.

Denim Day, April 2013

Denim Day, April 2013

 

 Save RAPP Rally, May 2013

 

 RAPP Peer Leader Picnic, June 2013

 

 Shine the Light to End Domestic Violence March, October 2013

 

CADV Fall Breakfast, October 2013

 

Happy Holidays!

 

--CADV RAPP Peer Leaders, 2013-2014

 

 

Support RAPP -- Give the Gift of Safety from dating abuse and bullying to NYC teens.



Join the Global Movement - Today is Giving Tuesday

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Give a life free from relationship violence for teens across New York City! All our children deserve a safe future to reach their highest potential. Support Teen Relationship Abuse Prevention Program - RAPP - a proven violence prevention program reaching almost 50,000 New York City teens each year.

 

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A Breakfast Conversation with Emily Bazelon

Thank you to everyone who attended and supported our Fall Breakfast 2013. Your contributions support the Center’s life changing work. It was a great morning and we hope to see you again soon! 

Missed the Breakfast?

Listen to the audio recording here.

Click here for more pictures.

Special Thanks

Emily Bazelon, author of Sticks and Stones and senior editor at Slate, for engaging us with her important research and conclusions;

Dr. Liz Lasky, Relationship Abuse Prevention Program (RAPP) Coordinator for the Center, for leading the poignant disussion;

Devon Arnold, RAPP Peer Leader, for bravely sharing his story about how RAPP helped him overcome years of bullying;

Andrea Cruz and Amber Perez, RAPP Graduates and Stuckey Scholarship Winners, for inspiring the entire room.

Shine the Light on Domestic Violence

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.The Center Against Domestic Violence was once again a sponsor of Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer’s impressive October 7 rally and light show, Shine the Light on Domestic Violence.

Times Square is sometimes called the crossroads of the world; what better place to light up some of the largest and brightest digital screens to bring awareness to domestic violence?

By turning landmarks around the city and state purple, Shine the Light on Domestic Violence, a statewide public awareness campaign, sparks discussion about this devastating problem that threatens the safety of too many New Yorkers.

Center staff, volunteers, and adult and teen participants stood shoulder to shoulder with other advocates as giant electronic billboards turned purple with messages of hope.  American Eagle, the Disney Store, the ABC Super Sign and many more told viewers about domestic violence, its impact and how to get help. Commissioner Yolanda Jimenez, the head of the NYC Office to Combat Domestic Violence, and playwright Eve Ensler spoke.

Click here for more photos.

Meet Author Emily Bazelon - October 18th

Fall is a time for beginnings.  It’s back to school time for the Relationship Abuse Prevention Program (RAPP), for Relationships are Elementary and for the 150 children in Center Against Domestic Violence shelters.  These programs can transform children and teens from victims to survivors to peer advocates; they teach young people skills to stand against bullying and teen relationship abuse by becoming responsible bystanders.

Two years ago, the Center’s Fall Breakfast at the Harvard Club looked at Bullying in the 21st Century.  We hosted a panel that included a RAPP social worker, a DA at the intersection of cyber-crimes and harassment, a survivor whose landmark case forced Google to release her harasser’s email address; a human rights advocate; and an intermediate school principal.  Everyone at the table agreed that bullying took a great toll on bystanders, and saw these witnesses as key to stopping bullying.  Acting to end the abuse they witnessed stopped bystanders from feeling powerless and ended their own victimization.

This fall we are taking a look at bullying through yet another lens.  On October 18 we will host a breakfast conversation with Slate senior editor and New York Times Magazine contributor Emily Bazelon.  Her highly acclaimed book, “Sticks and Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Character and Empathy” explores teen bullying, what it is and what it isn’t, and how the rise of the Internet and social media make the experience more challenging.   She charts the experiences of bullied children and describes successful anti-bullying measures.  In “Sticks and Stones” Ms. Bazelon, a lawyer who is a Senior Research Scholar and Truman Capote Fellow for Creative Writing and Law at Yale Law School, reviews jurisprudence on bullying, and examines both the virtues and the pitfalls of treating bullying as a crime.  “Sticks and Stones” describes what parents can achieve, what schools can achieve, and what may come of the shifting power differential among parents, schools and social agencies.   She will be in conversation with a Center RAPP Coordinator, a veteran social worker stationed on a high school campus to  teach teens how to have healthy relationships.

Please join us on October 18 at the Harvard Club of NYC for breakfast and great conversation.  Purchase tickets here.

Facebook's Role in Perpetuating Domestic Violence

With over two billion users worldwide, Facebook wields more cultural influence than most governments.  How then did it respond when activists called Facebook to task for hate speech and misogynist images?

Even though Facebook has a system for identifying and removing hate speech until early this month language and imagery that glorifies violence against women were not removed.

What made the difference?  You and I made the difference – with over 5000 emails to Facebook advertisers, more than 60,000 Twitter posts and 224,000 signatures on a Change.org petition.

In response to the public outcry against posts that said things like “Don’t wrap it and tap it – Rape it and Tape it!” fifteen advertisers pulled their support from the ubiquitous social media site.  Facebook has promised to review and update the guidelines regarding hate speech on the site, and plans to increase the accountability of users who post hateful content.

More and more, online behavior influences behavior in the real world.  The Center Against Domestic Violence is dedicated to cultivating a society free from violence and abuse.  We drive cultural change through education and intervention.  Through our Relationship Abuse Prevention Program on fifteen campuses throughout New York City, the Center teaches 27,000 teens to be pro-social online and in the real world.

Our groundbreaking programs teach young people how to identify and avoid abuse so that they can develop healthy relationships.  The Center has added new units that address online behavior to our acclaimed Speak your Peace (intermediate school) and Pride Education Equality Respect – PEER (high school) curricula.  The acceptance of violence, gender inequality, harassment, and bullying, are not new – only the venue is new.  As citizens, parents, and activists, we need to condemn violence and create positive environments in both places.

The Center’s Relationship Abuse Prevention Program is a public/private partnership that depends on your contributions and your advocacy to continue.  Relationships are Elementary, the Center’s pilot program to teach elementary school students about healthy relationships, is completely funded by your contributions.

Together we can make this a safer world for ourselves and our children.

Funding for RAPP Will End in July - We Must Again SAVE RAPP

Mayor Bloomberg has eliminated Teen RAPP! (Relationship Abuse Prevention Program) from his preliminary budget for the next fiscal year. If RAPP’s funding is not restored, this highly successful and cost-effective relationship violence prevention and anti-bullying program—reaching over 40,000 public middle and high school students—will cease to exist in July.

Therefore, once again we must mobilize our supporters—RAPP students, teachers, principals, parents, social service providers, interested citizens—to join in our effort. We must send a clear message to the Mayor and City Council that RAPP works—and that they must restore the $3 million in funding that will allow Teen RAPP to continue to provide information and tools to help current and future generations of NYC youth break dangerous cycles of violence.

With your help over the past two years, we have been extremely successful in gaining the support of our local Councilmembers—resulting in the reinstatement of funding for Teen RAPP. We urge you to please join with us again by logging on to www.SaveTeenRAPP.org where you can instantly send a letter to the Mayor, City Council Speaker and your local elected officials.

Thank you in advance. Together we can save Teen RAPP!

Fall Breakfast 2012: Preventing College Dating and Sexual Violence

The Center Against Domestic Violence Presents

Building Healthy Relationships: Preventing Sexual Assault & Dating Violence on Campus

Audrey Meredith & Kyle Rosenbaum – Event Co-Chairs

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

8:00 am- 9:30 am

The Harvard Club

35 West 44th Street, NY

Join us for breakfast.

Hear from advocates dedicated to stopping sexual assault, harassment and dating violence on campus.  

Keynote Speaker 

Jovan Martinez

Former RAPP Peer Leader

Deborah M. Stuckey Family Scholarship Recipient

Junior -Virginia Commonwealth University

Moderator

Susan Xenarios

Director

St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Crime Victims Treatment Program

Panelists

Rhiannon Auriemma

Student Peer Health Advocate

The New School

Guarav Jashani

Coordinator, Men’s Peer Education Program

Columbia University

Emily May

Executive Director

Hollaback!