Project Anchor- adolescent victims of sexual abuse

The past three months have been a new, and not so exciting, adventure for our agency. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, we were-- and still are-- exploring new territory. While we have always done our services in the office, we were forced to look at how we could continue our services in a virtual setting. In the beginning, our only concern was keeping our clients above water during this very unsettling time. Unfortunately, we know that sexual violence tends to spike during times of crisis. We wanted to ensure our clients felt supported, even if we could not sit right next to them.

Getting our adolescents on board to participate in a virtual support group and virtual individual sessions was hard at first. We were faced with a new barrier we had not ben faced with before—everyone locked in at home, and no privacy to become vulnerable. Through dedication and consistency, our teens began to take the leap. We have successfully been running our support group through a virtual platform. These sessions have been focusing on self-care and grounding exercises. We were also able to purchase a “self-care” package for each of our teens. These included an art kit, a beautiful teal sketch book, and a small makeup bag with little items to help them feel good about themselves. We were able to mail these, have clients arrange a no-contact pick up, and even got to hand deliver a few! It was just a small way for us to let our adolescents know that we are committed to continuing to help them heal—even from afar!

Fair Haven’s is still on course to hit record-breaking numbers this year. Regular donations enable us to continue to purchase the items needed to effectively work with our clients. Our adolescent population is particularly interested in art activities, and we are always researching new projects to explore with our clients. We are looking to purchase more games and activities, along with more items to continue to do the art projects that help further our clients on their recovery journey.

As always, we want to thank you, on behalf of the staff and participants of Project Anchor, for your generous support of our program and our mission to help the hurting youth in our community throughout the year.