Teen program aims to stop abuse

Name of Program: Teen Project to End Abuse through Counseling and Education.

What it does: This 12-week educational program for teens ages 12 through 18 helps teens recognize the signs of violence and also helps them come up with their own ideas about violence in their relationships and make healthy choices.

The teens learn about healthy choices through videos and talking with mentors. They also use an exercise tool called the “Power and Control Wheel,” which points out the clues of violence.

The participants will form their own ideas, internalize them and make them their own.

“That’s our hope,” said Tara Dowd, a TeenPEACE mentor at the Native Project.

Who runs it: Funding is received from the Spokane County Community Network.

How to get help: Contact the Native Project, 1803 W. Maxwell Ave., 325-5502; Youth Family Adult Connections, 901 E. Second Ave., 532-2000; or Volunteers of America Crosswalk, 525 W. Second Ave., 838-6596.

Typical client: Over the past two years, more than 200 teenagers have graduated from the TeenPEACE program. TeenPEACE helps teens who have been abused, as well as those who have abused.

But the teens will never be referred to as the abused or the abuser, since the mentors of the program don’t want them to take on the traits of those labels.

“We just say ‘people who have experienced violence,’ ” said Dowd.

When participants arrive, they are also assessed by PEACE mentors to determine if they might need other social services such as help with substance abuse, WIC or counseling.

Many times, graduates of the program want to come back and become junior trainers to give back to the program.

“You feel so good about that,” said Dowd.

How to give help: Volunteers are always needed, especially students studying social work. Donations are also accepted.

For more information, call Dowd at the Native Project, 325-5502.