Columbus Coalition Against Family Violence


			FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 17, 2002 BREAK THE SILENCE INTERFAITH YOUTH FORUM RESPONDS TO CRISIS OF FAMILY VIOLENCE (COLUMBUS) - Faced with statistics that include - one in five female students reporting being physically and/or sexually abused by a dating partner; and one in four women will be physically abused by an intimate partner sometime in their lives - the Columbus Coalition Against Family Violence's Faith Community Task Force is holding the Break the Silence Interfaith Youth Forum, May 26-27 to help high school students break the cycle of violence in their lives. The forum will be held at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, 400 North High Street. The Coalition is accepting application from religious youth groups in Central Ohio. There is no charge for the event, however registration and permission slips are required. Call 722-5985 for details. Adult youth leaders must accompany their groups, with one adult for every five youth. Several hundred high school students and youth workers from a variety of churches, mosques and synagogues across Central Ohio are expected to attend the two-day forum. Topics covered for the youth include: conflict resolution, anger management, dating relationships and intervention techniques. Youth workers will attend sessions on recognizing signs of abuse, understanding teen dating relationships, intervention, creating a supportive environment, and how to talk with victims and perpetrators. At the conclusion, the youth and youth workers will break out by religious denominations for panel discussions and to develop customized action plans for addressing family violence from their specific faith's perspective. National youth violence prevention expert Michael Pritchard will provide a keynote address. Pritchard uses comedy to reach out to kids by melding his talents for comedy and voiceovers. His appearances include The Tonight Show; sharing the stage with Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg, Jerry Seinfeld, Jay Leno and Dana Carvey; and a featured role on an Emmy-Award winning Taxi episode. Pritchard also engages students through his voices and sound effects, including the Ewoks he has done for George Lucas' Star Wars films as well as other voices for Disney and Sesame Street. "Today's youth are growing up in a culture of violence on TV, in movies and increasingly at home. In fact 40 percent of girls age 14-17 report knowing someone their age who has been hit or beaten by a boyfriend," Columbus Coalition Against Family Violence Executive Director Karen S. Days said. "This Interfaith Youth Forum resulted from the rousing success of the initial Break the Silence Interfaith Clergy Forum. Our faith leaders realized that to break the cycle of violence, we needed to reach out to our youth. This weekend is an important step in reaching out to the next generation." Youths from the following church, synagogues and mosques will be attending the forum: First United Methodist Church of Lancaster, Islamic foundation of Central Ohio, Jewish community center, Temple Israel and many Catholic churches in the Diocese of Columbus. The Coalition focuses its work on five touch points - where the victim and societal institutions intersect - with task forces working to create systemic change. These task forces are: Business Community/Public Education, Faith Community, Health Care, Legal System and Victim Services. Founded in 1998, The Columbus Coalition Against Family Violence is comprised of leaders from businesses and organizations in Central Ohio committed to reforming our systems to stop the cycle of violence in our community. The Coalition's mission is to promote a community culture that supports victims and does not tolerate family violence - a pervasive crime that hurts everyone. The Columbus Coalition Against Family Violence is located at 700 Children's Drive in Columbus and can be reached at (614) 722-5985.