Youth counseling key to stopping cycle of domestic violence at WomenShelter

To halt the rhythm of home maltreatment and violence, it’s cardinal to drawback it erstwhile boys and girls are young, according to the experts astatine WomenShelter of Long Beach.

“Often parents deliberation that since the kids are successful different room, they won’t cognize what’s going on,” said Marissa Gonzalez, WomenShelter’s younker services coordinator. “Or they deliberation they’re excessively young to remember. But they don’t forget.

“They larn that this is an OK mode to explicit anger,” she added.

Since 1977, WomenShelter of Long Beach has been providing information and enactment for victims of home violence. And since 2003, Grunion Gazette readers person supported that enactment during the yearly Gift Card Drive, making Christmas play a small amended for all, but peculiarly for the youngsters.

Almost 10% of the clients astatine WomenShelter’s assets halfway connected Atlantic Avenue are children. And much than a 1000 teens attended acquisition sessions past year, during which they learned to admit signs of home unit and however to debar it.

Studies person shown that those who acquisition home unit erstwhile they are young are much prone to either go an abuser oregon a unfortunate themselves, Gonzalez said. A 16-week counseling and grooming program is designed to assistance youngsters to halt blaming themselves for what their parents bash and to find amended ways to explicit their feelings.

“We enactment connected choler management, connected expressing feelings,” Gonzalez said. “They’re dealing with the household separation. Sometimes they blasted the ma for the separation, and that’s who they are with.

“We supply a abstraction for healing and learning,” Gonzalez added, “and however to explicit themselves successful due ways.”

Control of the different idiosyncratic is astir ever a information for home violence. Children, Gonzalez said, often effort to power what’s happening, and slump oregon worse results erstwhile unit occurs anyway.

“With our program, they larn that it’s not their occupation to power others,” she said. “You lone person power implicit yourself.”

Holidays, peculiarly Christmas, often are hard for children aft a separation. They miss household traditions and the feel-good ambiance of a location astatine the holidays — adjacent if that ambiance is forced.

“Exactly what the holidays mean is antithetic for each child,” Gonzalez said. “Some of them mightiness inactive beryllium successful interaction with the father, but it isn’t the same. And those who (aren’t) person a precise hard time.”

That’s wherever the Grunion Gazette Gift Card Drive comes in. A fewer Christmas presents and a bully repast isn’t going to magically marque each the atrocious worldly spell away, but it does supply a small alleviation — a small joyousness astatine a clip erstwhile it is greatly needed.

Grunion — and for the archetypal clip this year, Long Beach Press-Telegram — readers tin assistance by donating acquisition cards oregon money. WomenShelter uses the donations to assistance families of home unit victims person a amended Christmas, with some gifts and the quality to bargain a bully Christmas dinner. Then what remains is utilized each twelvemonth agelong to assistance radical get backmost connected their feet.

It’s casual to donate. Gift cards of immoderate benignant are gratefully accepted; cards to the large stores similar Walmart and Target are valued due to the fact that they are the astir versatile.

Cash and checks are invited arsenic well. Checks should beryllium made retired to WomenShelter of Long Beach.

Cards and checks tin beryllium mailed to Gazette Newspapers Gift Card Drive, Attn. Harry Saltzgaver, 5225 E. Second St., Long Beach, CA 90803. They besides tin beryllium dropped disconnected astatine the Gazette bureau by putting them done the message slot. Online donations tin beryllium made at womenshelterlb.org/grunion.

This year, each donors volition beryllium entered to triumph 1 of 25 pairs of tickets to the Aquarium of the Pacific oregon 10 $50 acquisition certificates to Sevilla. People should see a self-addressed envelope oregon code to person tickets oregon acquisition certificates.

We’re conscionable a mates of weeks distant from the deadline to get the acquisition cards to Santa’s helpers astatine WomenShelter. Thanks successful beforehand for everything you tin do.