Safe Harbor is fortunate to have many long-term, dedicated partners who are invested in our mission. One of those partners is Verizon. Yesterday, we received $20,000 in funding to use toward prevention efforts, specifically our Relationship Education Project.
“Last year, when you came to my school, I realized I was in an abusive relationship. He would push me and hit me. He made me feel so stupid. He was always pressuring me to do things (sexually) that I didn’t want to do. Your presentation helped me to get the courage to leave the relationship. I was so happy to see you back this year and now realize how important your message is. You never know who you might be helping.”
REP (Relationship Education Project) is Safe Harbor’s prevention program, providing education on healthy relationships and teen dating violence prevention to thousands of students annually in middle schools and high schools throughout Safe Harbor’s four-county service area.
National statistics state that 1 in 3 teens experience violence in a relationship. Two-thirds of them never report it to anyone. Females between the ages of 16-24 are more vulnerable to intimate partner violence than any other age group. And in South Carolina, where we are ranked number one in the nation for deaths of women by men and have ranked in the top ten for almost 20 years, it is critical for us to address the issue of domestic violence before it’s too late.
We are so thankful to Verizon for their support in furthering healthy relationship education in our community.
To learn more about Hopeline visit: http://www.verizon.com/about/responsibility/hopeline
To learn more about the Relationship Education Project visit: https://www.repsc.org
