February 2010
We are still working out the kinks in our new website and newsletter system. We are not able to use all our signature graphics and other graphics at this time; but we are confident that we will have them back in April's issue!
Also, a great BIG THANK YOU to Andrew Nixon of Aztec Web Design for all he has done to help our program with the new web site!
CONNIE’S CORNER By Connie Huffman
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL. This past year was a very busy time for HLHAS. Cindy Larson, the programs Coordinated Community Response (CCR) coordinator has been very busy developing two more CCR’s. This is very time consuming, however very rewarding. We now have them in Pondera, Glacier, and Toole counties. One of the most rewarding projects that we do is our Christmas Store. For the past several years HLHAS has set up a room in our office to provide Christmas presents for our victims and their families. These items have been donated from the many communities we serve. Some organizations send monitory donations; others donate children’s items, quilts, toys, etc. This year, staff member Allison Peterson, took on the project and contacted a number of stores, and asked for help to provide Christmas presents for the children of our victims. They really came through, especially Pamida,. Wal-Mart, Bath &Body, and Licini. Thank you to those businesses, you really made a difference in a child’s life. We also want to thank all of you that sent in private donations. This year we had 37 children we were able to help provide Christmas for. It is out of the goodness of so many that help throughout the year to touch other people’s lives. We are so fortunate to live in rural Montana, where communities reach out to those less fortunate and make a huge difference. There are so many organizations that are looking for volunteers. If you are thinking about doing some volunteer work and want to know more about our organization, please contact our office at 406-278-3342 or e-mail us at hlhas@mcn.net.
2009 STATS & FACTS
# of new victims 312
# of ongoing victims 287
# of crisis calls 793
Total # of services provided 8,019
WHAT’S NEWS!! By Monica Huffman
JOINING FORCES THROUGH NATIONAL YOUTH VIOLENCE PREVENTION WEEK
Under the leadership of GuidanceChannel.com, a brand of Sunburst Visual Media, and National Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE), organizations across the country are beginning to plan for an educational and awareness event that highlights the role students can play in making their schools and communities safer. In addition to promoting various violence prevention strategies, National Youth Violence Prevention Week, held March 22-26, 2010, will provide a unique opportunity for people of all ages and walks of life to join forces to address this crucial issue. Since founding the event, GuidanceChannel.com and National SAVE have been helping various associations to connect and collaborate through the initiative. Within the first two years, they gained the support of the American School Counselor Association, Teaching Tolerance, Association for Conflict Resolution, National Association of Student Councils, Youth Service America, National Youth Court Center, National Education Association's Health Information Network, National Association of Social Workers, National Association of School Safety and Law Enforcement Officers, United Religions Initiative, and YouthNOISE. The coalition has expanded enormously for the 2006 event, bringing participants from a wide variety of perspectives and resources to the campaign. Thousands of students are taking part through associations such as FCCLA's Stop The Violence, Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), United National Indian Tribal Youth (UNITY), and the National Peer Helpers Association. Mental health professionals are involved through the National Association Of School Psychologists, American Counseling Association, National Mental Health Association, and School Social Work Association of America. Researchers are offering their expertise with the support of such sponsors as the Hamilton Fish Institute, Institute for Mental Health Initiatives at GWU's School of Public Health And Health Services, UCLA's School Mental Health Project/Center for Mental Health In Schools, and Portland State University Research and Training Center on Family Support and Children's Mental Health. On a state level, The Governor's Prevention Partnership of Connecticut, Ohio Commission on Conflict and Dispute Resolution, and Kentucky Center for School Safety signed on, as well. The campaign is also facilitating interagency collaboration among violence prevention programs and agencies throughout the country. Prevention specialists from the Empower Program, Non-Violence Project, BiasHelp of Long Island, and PAX Real Solutions To Gun Violence are connecting through the campaign. Community-based activists are mobilizing local action with the help of MADDADS of Jacksonville and the Institute for Community Peace. Large coalitions, such as the National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS) and the Stop Bullying Now! Campaign, are sharing information through their network of member groups. National leadership is also coming from organizations such as the National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center, National School Safety Center, National Dropout Prevention Center, and the Help Increase the Peace Program (HIPP) of the American Friends Service Committee. By facilitating a dialogue among the country's top violence prevention advocates, the National Youth Violence Prevention Campaign is creating a national roundtable to address this important issue. It is also modeling an approach that will be replicated on a local level. On March 30th, participating schools will be hosting in-school violence prevention conferences during which they will be initiating community roundtables to develop action plans for reducing violence throughout the year. Like the national roundtable, these roundtables will be engaging voices and visions from all sectors of each community. All those involved in the campaign will have the opportunity to connect through the campaign website, www.ViolencePreventionWeek.org. Serving as the crossroads to the campaign, the site features links to all of the sponsors' websites, message boards for networking, e-cards to share activity ideas, and a media kit to promote the event. It also provides everything needed to prepare for the event, including the official campaign Action Kit that serves as a step-by-step planning guide, suggestions for how each sector of the community can support the campaign, and the campaign newsletter to keep updated on campaign events around the country.
Campaign Founders Background About GuidanceChannel.com GuidanceChannel.com is an online portal that offers insightful articles, thought-provoking interviews, tips website reviews, and other content that addresses the social, emotional, and educational issues facing today's youth. It is a brand of Sunburst Visual Media, a publishing company that develops award-winning guidance and health videos, DVDs games, activity books, curricula, pamphlets and print materials for the K-12 school market. The company’s products provide support and high-quality resources for educators as they create curriculum for the classroom topics of violence prevention, character education, career education, conflict resolution, family life, parent education, and drug prevention. Top selling Sunburst titles include Anger! You Can Handle It, Gossiping, Taunting, Bullying—It’s All Harassment, and PeaceTalks. Sunburst Visual Media is a division of Global Video LLC and proud member of the School Specialty Family. School Specialty is an education company that provides innovative and proprietary products, programs, and services to help educators engage and inspire students of all ages and abilities. Through leading brands, School Specialty designs, develops, and provides PreK-12 educators with the latest and very best curriculum, supplemental learning resources, and classroom basics. Working in collaboration with educators, School Specialty reaches beyond the scope of textbooks to help teachers, guidance counselors, and school administrators ensure that every student reaches his or her full potential. For more information about School Specialty and each of their brands, visit www.schoolspecialty.com.
About National SAVE
The National Association of Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE) is a national nonprofit organization that assists students in starting and operating SAVE chapters across the country. The mission of SAVE is to promote the meaningful involvement of students in providing safer environments for learning. SAVE strives to decrease the potential for violence in our schools and communities by connecting students to safety efforts. The key to SAVE is that it is student initiated-started by students for students. Started in 1989 by a group of students after a violent incident that left one of their classmates dead, SAVE has spread from coast to coast with 1590 chapters in 44 states involving over 174,000 students.
COMMUNITY CONCERNS By Cindy Larson
There are times when it is important to reflect on and re-evaluate one’s core beliefs and ways of doing things, and it seems like the new year is always a good time for that. I was reminded this week of how important the art of listening is and how much easier it is to hear than to listen while undergoing a surgical procedure to restore the hearing in one of my ears. For the last several years, I have struggled with a hearing loss and trying to adapt and cope as best I could. While there were things I could do and devices I could use to help amplify the sounds around me, it has been difficult to find an adequate combination of those things that worked for me. I suppose this experience has made true listening even more vital for me as an advocate because of my limited ability to hear. As advocates, we develop certain listening skills that help us understand where a victim is coming from emotionally and also help us determine the level of danger that she is being exposed to. Because of the nature of domestic violence, someone who has been treated with abusive behavior over a period of time often feels as if she is lacking in intelligence and/or the capability of making a rational decision on her own. After all, being told repeatedly that you are stupid, worthless, and a waste of someone’s time, would certainly lead you to doubt your ability to make good decisions. Too often, our communities are confirming what these victims feel through our inability to adequately address domestic violence within the context of our social systems. Much as I struggled to overcome the obstacles of being able to hear, so too are many of our local agencies struggling to overcome the effects of domestic violence within our communities. What finally had to happen for me was a medical intervention to surgically remove the obstacle that held me back from normal hearing. Perhaps that is what is needed to create a local environment where domestic violence is appropriately addressed—cutting out the obstacles and removing them completely so we can truly hear what victims want and need. Only when we work together as a community, a state, and a nation can we begin the process of true listening that will lead to action; action that will give the victims of domestic and sexual violence a place to be heard.
Phone: 406-278-3342
Fax: 406-278-5137
Email: hlhas@mcn.net
SUGAR & SPICE By Allison Etter-Peterson
January, well, what to say but that we have sure hit the ground running that month. On Jan 9th we completed the first section about domestic violence with Connie Huffman, and also had a presentation by Allison Peterson about the different ways that one can volunteer at HLHAS. We had prepared for section two to be held on Jan 23rd; this section will be on child abuse and will be taught by Monica Huffman. Unfortunately, it had to be rescheduled. On Feb 6th we will have our third section which will be about sexual assault taught by either Dawn Olivo or Connie Huffman. For this section we will also have a presentation by Shana Munson as to the one on one financial counseling service HLHAS provides for our clients. We will be wrapping things up on Feb. 20th and will be doing additional training at that time for those who wish to become volunteer advocates. We look forward to seeing you there.
When I Whine
Today, upon a bus, I saw a girl with golden hair
I looked at her and sighed and wished I was as fair.
When suddenly she rose to leave, I saw her hobble down the aisle.
She had one leg and used a crutch But as she passed, she passed a smile.
Oh, God, forgive me when I whine I have 2 legs, the world is mine.
I stopped to buy some candy
The lad who sold it had such charm I talked with him a while,
he seemed so very glad If I were late, it'd do no harm.
And as I left, he said to me, "I thank you, you've been so kind.
It's nice to talk with folks like you.
You see," he said, "I'm blind."
Oh, God, forgive me when I whine.
I have 2 eyes, the world is mine.
Later while walking down the street,
Isaw a child with eyes of blue
He stood and watched the others play
He did not know what to do.
I stopped a moment and then I said,
"Why don't you join the others, dear?"
He looked ahead without a word.
And then I knew, he couldn't hear.
Oh, God, forgive me when I whine.
I have 2 ears, the world is mine.
With feet to take me where I'd go.
With eyes to see the sunset's glow.
With ears to hear what I would know.
Oh, God, forgive me when I whine.
I've been blessed indeed,
The world is mine.
“Fleas” Read This!! By Dawn Olivo
The other day, I posted a question for the friends and fans of Hi-Line’s Help on Facebook. I wanted to get some different perspectives on the following question: "What do u think the punishment should be for 1st time convicted child abusers/molesters?" I received some interesting answers; some printable and some not printable. Here are the ones I could repeat.
“Considering that recidivism rates for child molesters are high, that almost 100% of child molesters are pedophiles, and that pedophilia is incurable, I'd say for child molesters: (1) a long prison sentence in solitary confinement with hard labor; AND (2) mandatory chemical castration at the convict's expense for the rest of his natural life; AND... (3) classification as a felon; AND (4) registration as a sex offender; AND (5) enhanced monitoring of the convict's whereabouts (again at the expense of the convict); AND (6) wearing a globally recognized symbol for a child molester that a convict must wear and keep visible at all times on his person (like an orange neon wristband worn on the right wrist . . . since my preference of branding the convict's forehead with "Molester," or with "I like to diddle babies," would probably be considered cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the 8th amendment). As for child abusers, a long prison sentence in solitary confinement with hard labor in which any earnings are passed on to the victim, plus classification as a violent offender so as to trigger mandatory violent offender registration, plus a starring role as the bully in prison's version of "bully beatdown" on a monthly basis for the duration of the convict's prison term. While I'd love to suggest throwing the convict in with the wolves, so to speak, in the belief that the prison population will punish the abuser enough, I fear that placement in the general pop would only serve to intensify the monstrous nature of the convict should he be eligible for release.” ~Angie
“Definitely prison... they aren't well liked there either... then permanent status as a Tier III sex offender.” ~Holly
“I really think that anyone who abuses or molests children should be locked away n not given the chance to re- offend because the majority of these people are being sent out into public just a few months after getting in trouble for these offenses and then doing it again and again or ending up murdering this innocent little human beings and its not fair that we as parents or our little ones have to live in fear of these people!!!” ~Jessi
“My opinion is that any person convicted of child abuse or molestation should be sentenced to life in prison. Over the last 30 years I have learn that most of these offenders never stop. Check Ryan United and Derek and Jane and you will find that the offender would do it again. I found this out from the psychologist that worked with the offender while in prison but after serving his sentence he could not be held even though they knew he would do it again, this is just one reason I feel this way. The ladies at Hi-line Help are the greatest, keep up the good work.” ~Dick
“Just like rape, they are both crimes of violence. An offender should be incarcerated for life. There are some crimes that warrant second chances, but not these. After all, do you want your child to be the guinea pig for their next chance?” ~Cody
You can use your imagination as to what the other non printed answers were. Needless to say, the public is not happy with the current laws regarding someone who is convicted of child abuse and/or molestation. It seems that the perpetrators rights are more important than the victims rights in our justice system. There are those out there who say that to impose harsher punishments is “cruel” or taking away their “rights”. What about the rights of those children that they hurt? Shouldn’t their rights be more important than the rights of criminals?
HI-LINE’S HELP FOR ABUSED SPOUSES
300 North Virginia Suite 307
Conrad, Mt. 59425