Project Anchor- adolescent victims of sexual abuse

We are getting ready for the Holidays!

Every year, we collaborate with the community to help bring gifts to our clients. Our Christmas Star project enables us to provide our teen clients with gifts as well as our adult clients who have small children. The holidays can be especially difficult for victims of trauma. Whether it be financial stress or familial issues- holidays can be not only stressful but triggering for some of our clients. We aim to celebrate the holidays with our clients by not only our Christmas Star program but also doing fun activities such as making ornaments, potlucks, and other holiday-themed activities!

Our adolescent clients need some extra love during these times. Many of our teens depend on coming to us for a safe space- this is very prevalent during the holiday season. Since there are breaks from school, breaks in routine, and potentially unsafe family members coming in for the holidays- we need to be especially supportive during these times. Visitors abound, schedules are hectic, parents might be overwhelmed, and in the wrong situation, abusers take advantage. It is upsetting to think about but in fact, rates of child sexual abuse often increase around the holidays. We use expressive and creative methods to teach our teen clients about the red flags of sexual abuse. Our teen groups help prevent further abuse from happening. Our goal is to keep children and adolescents safe during the holiday season.

Be the Hope this season and help us keep providing our adolescent clients with supplies. As always, we are grateful for the continued support of our donors. We would not be able to do such amazing things without you! We hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season 

Links:

• Fair Haven RCC website

Since my last update, we have expanded our teen services to include two adolescent support groups. We had a slow beginning in the first couple of weeks but as our services grow, more families have discovered our services. We consistently have five kids that come to this support group ranging from ages 12-17 years old. In the years that I have worked here, I have never seen relationships kindle so quickly. Although these teens have not known each other for very long, they have bonded and they take care of one another. It is truly amazing to see how much progress they are making. Our goal is to have these group members join our more “advanced” group which is held on Thursdays. For this group, we focus on first steps of healing and working on building their toolbox of coping skills. We want to create an easy transition into the next support group so they feel completely prepared as well as supported by their peers/staff.

To help facilitate this new group, we have hired a new youth services advocate! We are so excited to welcome her to our team. Amanda is a former Spanish high school teacher.  After nine years as a teacher, Amanda decided to turn her attention to a more direct way to help teens in crisis empower themselves through direct individual and small group interaction.  Amanda will use her Spanish education to interact with our bilingual clients. Amanda has always firmly held the belief that individuals can overcome all obstacles as long as they have the support they need to navigate through their most challenging life events. All things are possible for everyone with the proper guidance and through the power of God. One quote that speaks to Amanda is: “It is not possible to go forward by looking back.”  - Mies Van Der Rohe

We are also getting ready for our annual Fairy Tale Ball in November. This event aims to embrace the innocence of children with a family friendly fundraiser. Children are able to dress up as their favorite fairy tale characters, play games, and take pictures with the princesses. Our theme for 2023 is “How Far I`ll Go”. As we embark on the journey of expansion- this is the perfect mantra for our organization! 

As always, we are so grateful for our lovely donors. We appreciate every donation that comes in and our clients benefit from your amazing generosity. From the Fair Haven Team, we thank you all!