Alaska has some of the most troubling statistics regarding child welfare in the union.  Alaskan youth are facing domestic violence and abuse, teen pregnancy, substance use, suicide & mental illness, rape, and school drop-out at rates that top those in the lower-48.  For a few weeks, we would like to focus on some of those numbers – and ways in which Alaskans are working to turn those numbers around.

At Fairbanks Youth Advocates, our focus is currently on the specific needs of runaway and homeless youth.  Opening The Door is our first step towards addressing those needs.  But those needs are not all we are concerned about, nor what our long-term focus is limited to.  Our mission is Facilitating life transitions for at-risk youth.  That includes addressing problems faced by Alaskan youth, and connecting with programs who work to address them.

There are some incredible agencies and individuals in Alaska.  We would like to focus on a few of them.

Today, I am troubled by the percentage of Alaskan women (and men) who experience domestic violence and sexual violence.  This month is National Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month.  Tweets and posts and news-articles discussing the issue have filled my inbox.

Some things I’ve learned (1) (2) (3) :

• a third of teens in the US has experienced dating violence
• girls and young women 16 – 24 experience the highest rates of intimate partner violence at rates three times higher than the national average
• being physically or sexually abused makes a teen six times more likely to get pregnant and twice as likely to get an STD
• the severity of intimate partner violence is often greater in cases where the pattern of abuse was established in adolescence
• Alaska’s rate of rape is 2.5 times the national average
• Alaska’s rate of child sexual assault is six times the national average
• 45% of women in Fairbanks have experienced intimate partner violence or sexual violence

For victims of domestic violence or sexual assault, support services are critical to address the safety, support and healing necessary to help survivors.

In Fairbanks, the Interior Alaska Center for Non-Violent Living is dedicated to providing those needed services.

Their services include:

• Support groups, safety planning, crisis intervention, and referral.
• Emergency shelter for women and children in need of safe shelter.
• Legal advocacy.
• Community Batterer Intervention Program: educational program for male batterers, with the main objective of the program being safety for the victim.
• Sexual Assault Response Team: provides support to victims through the investigative and medical exam process.
• Transitional and pre-transitional housing for women and children escaping domestic violence.
• Stevie’s Place advocacy for victims of childhood sexual abuse.
• Community education and outreach programs.

The Interior Alaska Center for Non-Violent Living is such a valuable resource in this community.  Domestic violence and sexual assault are sad realities of Alaskan life.  The IAC works with survivors of violence to recover from their trauma, with batterers to understand and rehabilitate their behavior, and with the community to understand and recognize the signs.

We would like to recognize the Interior Alaska Center for Non-Violent Living  for the difference they are making in the community.  Thank you for all you do!